Council Regulation (EC) No 546/2002 of 25 March 2002 laying down, by groups of varieties and by Member States, the premiums and guarantee thresholds for leaf tobacco for the 2002, 2003 and 2004 harvests and amending Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 on the common organization of the market in raw tobacco, has also introduced a profound amendment to the Community Tobacco Fund, increasing its financing and giving new guidance on their use.

The Fund is nourished by a withholding tax on premiums paid to tobacco producers, which has been set at 2% for the 2002 harvest, 3% for the 2003 harvest and the possibility of reaching 5% in the 2004 harvest. Proposal from the Commission.

The field of agronomic research has been replaced by specific actions to support the development of initiatives for the conversion of tobacco producers to other crops or economic activities creating jobs, in agreement with the programme for the reacquisition of tobacco quotas, as well as studies on the possibilities for the conversion of tobacco producers to other crops or activities.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2182/2002 of 6 December 2002 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2075/92 as regards the Community Tobacco Fund lays down the new regulatory framework for the same.

As regards the scope of the conversion actions, individual and general interest specific actions are defined, studies on alternatives for conversion eligible for funding and the beneficiaries of the different types of actions; the intensity of the aid for the various actions as well as the total amount of the aid per producer for the whole of the shares; the time limit and the procedure for the distribution of the resources The financial contribution of the Fund between the producer Member States; the content of the programmes they must be drawn up; the beneficiaries ' commitments and the checks and penalties to be applied; and the communications and information to be sent to the Commission by the Member States.

It is therefore necessary to adopt the national provisions necessary for the proper implementation of the programme and to define those responsible for the programme, which will, in general, be the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities. in the case of individual actions for the conversion of producers. These authorities will also be involved in the prior study and subsequent monitoring of the so-called general interest actions, the aid of which will, however, be granted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. This is due both to the special characteristics of the recipients of the same, because of their status as Organisms or Public Entities which are not necessarily located in the tobacco production areas as such actions consist of research activities.

The recent publication of the relevant European legislation and the need to establish immediately certain deadlines and requirements to be taken into account by the participants in the aid scheme are circumstances. which, by reason of the urgency of the case, justify the exceptional recourse to this Order.

The elaboration of this standard has been submitted to the Autonomous Communities and representative entities of the sector.

In its virtue, I have:

Article 1. Object.

The purpose of this Order is to define and develop certain aspects of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002 of 6 December 2002 concerning the conversion measures provided for in Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2182/2002. to these actions under the Community Tobacco Fund established by that Community provision.

Article 2. Programmes relating to conversion measures and actions of general interest and studies on the possibilities for the conversion of tobacco products.

1. The Directorate-General for Agriculture, consulted by the Autonomous Communities producing tobacco, shall draw up annually the national programme relating to the individual actions for the conversion of producers and to actions of general interest and studies on the possibilities for the conversion of tobacco producers in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

2. The Autonomous Communities producing tobacco shall forward to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, before 31 January each year, a report on the situation of its tobacco production sector, the strategy it proposes, the objectives of the and priorities for the conversion of tobacco production, the assessment of the social, economic and environmental impact, an indicative financial framework for conversion actions, and how much information is considered in the relationship to the proposed strategy, objectives and priorities, within its scope territorial.

Article 3. Beneficiaries of the conversion actions.

1. The beneficiaries of the individual conversion actions shall be those defined in Article 15.1 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

The possibility of submitting an application to benefit from the Fund's assistance will be limited to the first year during which the beneficiary ceases to have a attributed quota.

2. The beneficiaries of the actions of general interest and of studies on the possibilities for the conversion of tobacco producers shall be those specified in Article 15.2 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

Article 4. Amount of the aid according to the type of beneficiary and the action.

The total amount of Community aid granted, its variability depending on the type of beneficiary and action, is defined in Article 16 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

Article 5. Eligible expenditure.

1. Eligible expenditure in individual actions for the conversion of tobacco producers referred to in Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002 may cover, inter alia, the following concepts:

-the construction and acquisition of real estate, except the purchase of land;-the purchase of new machinery and equipment, including software;-general expenses, such as architects ' fees, engineers and consultants, feasibility studies, patent acquisition and licensing, up to a limit of 12% of the costs of the previous two indents.

Those relating to the acquisition of plant material and the introduction of new crops.

2. In actions of general interest and studies on the possibilities for conversion of tobacco producers as described in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 2182/2002, eligible expenditure may be, inter alia, the production, publication and dissemination of the work carried out and, the recruitment of specialist consultancy services.

Article 6. Request for the help.

1. Producers who fulfil the conditions specified in Article 3.1 of this Order may make a request for assistance from the Fund during the first year in which they no longer have a quota, before 15 February of each year, to the the competent authority of the Autonomous Community where its exploitation is based, by any of the channels provided for in Article 38 of Law 30/1992, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

2. The bodies and public authorities referred to in Article 3.2 of this Order, which are interested in carrying out actions of general interest and/or studies on the possibilities for the conversion of tobacco producers, may submit a application for aid, formerly culture, fisheries and food, for any of the channels provided for in Article 38 of Law 30/1992, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

3. Applications for aid shall be accompanied by a draft and a signed declaration by which the applicant undertakes not to submit for the same project a new application for aid under any other aid scheme.

When individual actions for conversion or reorientation do not require the development of a project, at least one feasibility study must be presented with pro forma invoices.

4. Applications shall contain at least the identification of each applicant, the amount of the investment broken down according to the type of action and the amount of aid applied for and, in the case of producers, the particulars descriptive and basic indicators of their exploitation.

Article 7. Annual allocation of the Fund's resources corresponding to individual conversion actions.

1. The Autonomous Communities producing tobacco shall draw up and send to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food before 15 March each year an interim plan for the financing of applications submitted, differentiated by type of action.

2. For individual actions: Once the European Commission has made the annual allocation of resources of the Fund, provisional and final, in accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002, the Sectoral Conference of Agriculture and Rural Development shall give the final distribution by Autonomous Communities of the resources corresponding to the individual actions for conversion, taking into account the requests for intervention submitted.

3. For actions of general interest and studies: Following the decision of the European Commission for the indicative and final allocation of resources from the Fund, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food shall specify and disclose the amounts annual available to finance general actions and studies.

Article 8. Approval of projects and funding.

1. The approval of the individual action projects, as well as the determination of the financing thereof, shall be the responsibility of the competent authority of the Autonomous Community of the production of tobacco referred to in Article 6.1 of this Order, which shall be subject to the final financial resources allocated in accordance with Article 7.

2. In the case of projects relating to actions of general interest and studies, the Directorate-General for Agriculture, immediately before drawing up the motion for a resolution, shall forward the dossiers to the Autonomous Communities producing tobacco for issue report on the same. In the light of the abovementioned reports, the Directorate-General for Agriculture will submit the proposal for a resolution to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who will give the appropriate resolution approving or not projects submitted and, if positive, the financing of such projects.

3. Irrespective of the applications submitted for a type or other action, the total amount of the projects approved may not exceed the total of the annual resources allocated.

Article 9. Deadline for the implementation of projects and actions.

Projects will be executed within two years from the date of notification to the beneficiary of their final approval.

Article 10. Time limit for payment of the aid and advances.

1. The aid shall be paid by the competent authority of the Autonomous Community and, where appropriate, by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, after verification of the implementation of the project or study concerned and, at the latest, within three years. from the date of notification to the beneficiary of the approval of the project or study.

2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities and, where appropriate, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, may anticipate payment of the aid, provided that:

(a) the execution of the project has begun; (b) the beneficiary has deposited a security equal to 120% of the amount of the advance. However, public institutions may be exempt from this obligation. For the purposes of applying Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85, the obligation shall be to implement the project within the time limit laid down in paragraph 1

Article 11. Controls and penalties.

1. The competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall carry out administrative checks and on-the-spot checks on all projects approved definitively financed by the Fund. In particular, it shall be monitored that such projects do not benefit from another aid scheme in accordance with the undertaking acquired by the applicant.

2. Where the undertaking referred to in the last subparagraph of the previous paragraph is not complied with, the penalties provided for in Article 19 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 2182/2002 shall apply.

3. For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, they shall be deemed to be competent:

(a) For individual conversion actions, the competent authority of the Autonomous Community that has approved the project and established its funding.

(b) For actions of general interest and studies, the competent authority of the Autonomous Community in whose territory it is located, wholly or for the most part, the area covered by those actions.

Article 12. Information and follow-up.

1. The computer file containing all the elements of the projects financed by the Fund, in accordance with Article 20 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002, shall be provided, where appropriate, by the Autonomous Communities to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for each beneficiary, as well as the corresponding certificates for the implementation of the action to be supported and the fulfilment of the commitments entered into by the beneficiary.

2. The competent bodies and the paying agencies of the Autonomous Communities shall, where appropriate, be depositaries of the information to be provided for the purposes of covering the following 10 years at least for the 10 years following that of their registration. requirements of the European Commission in the exercise of the monitoring, evaluation and control functions, and shall forward to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the information necessary for the fulfilment of the relevant obligations under the Community institutions, in particular by providing the supporting documents compliance with Articles 23 and 24 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

3. The competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities shall forward annually to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, before 15 March each year, a detailed report on the progress of the programme during the previous year.

4. For the purposes of implementing the monitoring of compliance with the requirements of Community legislation and to facilitate the activities to be carried out by the institutions of the European Community, they shall be established with the competent bodies. of the Autonomous Communities the appropriate mechanisms for the implementation and coordination of such controls.

Single additional disposition. Harvest 2003.

For the 2003 harvest, the intervention applications referred to in Article 6 may be submitted up to and including April 30 and the dates on communications shall be modified in accordance with the provisions of the Article 26 of Regulation (EC) 2182/2002.

Final disposition first. Competence title.

This Order is dictated by the provisions of Article 149.1.13.a of the Constitution, which attributes to the State exclusive competence in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of the activity. (i) economic, as well as in Rule 1.15.a of that precept, on the promotion and general coordination of scientific and technical research.

Final disposition second. Application.

By the General Secretariat of Agriculture and Food and the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund, in the field of their competences, resolutions shall be issued and measures shall be adopted for the application of this standard.

Final disposition third. Entry into force.

This Order shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Madrid, 16 April 2003.

CANETE ARIAS