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Royal Decree 327/2003 Of 14 March Which Regulates The Regime Of The Paying Agencies And Coordinating With The Eaggf-Guarantee.

Original Language Title: Real Decreto 327/2003, de 14 de marzo, por el que se regula el régimen de los organismos pagadores y de coordinación con el FEOGA-Garantía.

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TEXT

Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricultural policy, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1287/95 of 22 May 1995, lays down that In the case of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), the Guarantee Section of the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) is responsible for the control of expenditure under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF). EAGGF Guarantee Section and the Member States to take full and effective action responsibility. It also makes it possible to appoint several paying agencies, in such cases the need to create a single body which harmonises the application of Community legislation and acts as a single partner in matters relating to the EAGGF-Guarantee Section.

Moreover, Article 44 of Law 55/1999 of 29 December 1999 on fiscal, administrative and social measures for the year 2000 sets out the procedure for making the principle of financial co-responsibility effective. according to which the paying agencies and the administrations of those who are dependent must assume the financial responsibilities which result from their action, and determine that they will be the competent bodies of the General Administration of the competent to propose or coordinate payments of aid to each Fund or Instrument, prior to the hearing of the entities concerned, who will resolve the determination of the financial liabilities.

The Statute of the Autonomous Fund of the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund, approved by Royal Decree 1441/2001 of 21 December 2001, confers on it the purposes and functions of coordination and information to the Commission of the European Union. European in all matters arising from the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 of 17 May 1999 and of Regulation (EC) No 1663/1995 of 7 July 1995 in addition to the duties incumbent on it in its national-level paying agency for EAGGF Guarantee measures in respect of which the General Administration the State has management, resolution and payment competence.

All this new legislation determines the need to establish a new legal regime for the paying agencies of the EAGGF Guarantee Section expenditure, its relations with the coordinating body, as well as the the procedure for making the principle of financial co-responsibility effective.

In the elaboration of this royal decree, the autonomous communities have been consulted.

This royal decree is dictated by the state competence in terms of bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity provided for in Article 149.1.13. of the Constitution.

In its virtue, on the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, with the prior approval of the Minister of Public Administrations, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation of the Council of Ministers in its Meeting of the day 14 March 2003,

DISPONGO:

Article 1. Object and definitions.

1. The purpose of this royal decree is to establish the legal status of the paying agencies for expenditure financed under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and the coordinating body, as well as of the financial liability arising from its management and control.

2. For the purposes of this royal decree, it is understood by:

(a) Paying Agency: the service or body authorised for the payment of expenditure under the EAGGF Guarantee Section.

(b) Coordination body: the body responsible for centralising the information to be made available to the European Commission and for promoting the harmonised application of Community provisions.

(c) Competent authority: the authority responsible for issuing and withdrawing the authorization of the paying agencies, in accordance with the terms laid down in Article 1.2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/1995 of 7 July 1995, the detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/1970 as regards the procedure for the clearance of the accounts of the EAGGF Guarantee Section are laid down.

Article 2. Paying agencies.

1. They are national paying agencies in respect of actions in which the State has the responsibility for the management, resolution and payment of the Guarantee Section of the EAGGF, the Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (FEGA) and the Regulation Fund. and Organization of the Market for the Products of Marine Fisheries and Crops (FROM).

2. The autonomous communities shall have a single paying agency for aid in respect of which they have the responsibility for management, resolution and payment under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, in accordance with the conditions laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1663/1995 of 7 July 1995.

Article 3. Coordinating body.

1. The FEGA will be the coordinating body for the purposes of article 1.2.b) of this royal decree and will be the only representative of Spain to the European Commission for all those questions concerning the section Guarantee of the EAGGF the terms provided for in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 1663/1995.

2. Where the FEGA acts as a coordinating body, it shall take the necessary measures to differentiate that action from that of the paying agency.

Article 4. Competent authority. Authorization criteria.

1. Within the scope of the General Administration of the State, the competent authority is the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

2. It is for the autonomous communities to determine the competent authority to authorise their paying agency.

3. The approval criteria for each paying agency shall be established by the respective competent authority in accordance with the general guidelines set out in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1663/1995.

Article 5. Communications and information.

1. Each Autonomous Community shall communicate to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the identity of the competent authority referred to in Article 4.2 and shall forward, after the establishment of the paying agency, the approval certificate and the entire information to be transmitted to the European Commission under Community rules, in particular Article 4 (6) and (7) of Regulation (EEC) No 1258/99 for the transfer to the European Commission.

2. For the purpose of coordinating and harmonising the content and form of the information to be provided to the European Commission, each paying agency should provide the coordinating body with all the information necessary for the implementation of the information. from:

(a) The obligations imposed by Community legislation, in particular revenue and payment accounts.

(b) The duties of information necessary for the preparation or proposal of the relevant measures and standards.

3. The information referred to in the previous paragraph shall be forwarded within the time limit and form to be determined by the coordinating body.

4. The coordinating body, in the field of its powers, shall regularly inform the paying agencies of the matters dealt with in the Community institutions.

5. Failure to comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall result in the assumption of responsibilities under the terms set out in Article 12.

6. The coordination body shall also provide the certification body with the necessary information to ensure compliance with the certification of the accounts.

Article 6. Certification of accounts.

1. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall be the certification body responsible for issuing the certificate of integrity, accuracy and veracity of the accounts rendered, as provided for in Articles 3 and 4 of the Regulation. (EC) No 1663/1995 in respect of the actions of the General Administration of the State developed by the FEGA and the FROM.

2. Each autonomous community, following the authorisation of its paying agency, shall also designate a certification body.

3. The General Intervention of the State Administration shall, on the basis of the certificates issued by the corresponding certification bodies of each paying agency, issue a certificate of integrity, accuracy and veracity of the single account referred to in Article 9.

Article 7. Obligations of the paying agencies.

1. In accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999, paying agencies shall provide sufficient guarantees that:

a) Before issuing the payment order they control that the requests meet the necessary requirements and comply with the requirements of the Community and national regulations.

b) The payments made are accounted for accurately and comprehensively.

(c) The required documents are presented within the time limits and in the manner provided for in the Community and national legislation.

(d) Dispose of the supporting documents for the payments made and the documents relating to the execution of the mandatory administrative and physical checks.

2. The authorization of the paying agency assumes the assumption on its part and, in the alternative, by the administration of which it depends, of all the obligations and duties laid down in the Community rules regarding the EAGGF Guarantee and the established in this royal decree, in particular financial corrections resulting from the clearance of accounts procedures.

Article 8. Relations between paying agencies.

1. Paying agencies established within the national territory may directly relate to each other, irrespective of their scope of action.

2. The relations and communications of those with paying agencies of other Member States or with the European Commission shall be carried out, in any case, through the coordination body.

3. The harmonised application of the rules, participation and collaboration of the paying agencies of the autonomous communities shall be carried out within the appropriate sectoral conference, in the form and by the bodies that it determines.

Article 9. Accounting.

1. The paying agencies shall keep an adequate accounting of the payments and revenue incurred and, where appropriate, of the products, stored in such a way as to enable the drawing-up, within the time limits, of an annual account of all the Operations under the EAGGF Guarantee Section.

2. The referral of the account provided for in the preceding paragraph, by the paying agencies to the coordinating body, shall be accompanied by all the necessary documents and within the time and form to be determined by the paying agencies, in order to ensure compliance with Community legislation and the development of the single account to be provided by the Member State.

Article 10. Advance of funds to the paying agencies.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, within the scope of their respective powers, may lay down the conventions necessary to meet the national pre-financing of payments under the EAGGF-Guarantee Section.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food may conclude collaboration agreements with the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities to ensure the pre-financing of their paying agencies.

3. The advance funds to the paying agencies of the autonomous communities shall be entered into a single and specific account from which the corresponding payments shall be made. Such account shall bear interest in normal market conditions. Interest earned on this account will be settled to the Treasury on a quarterly basis through the coordination body.

Article 11. Control missions.

The coordinating body shall accompany, when deemed necessary by the autonomous communities, the control missions carried out by the bodies of the European Union in the autonomous communities in the field. of the management of funds under the EAGGF Guarantee Section.

Article 12. Financial co-responsibility.

1. The paying agencies which, in accordance with their respective powers, carry out management and control measures for aid financed on behalf of the EAGGF Guarantee Section, shall assume the responsibilities arising from such aid. actions, including actions that are taken over by decisions of the bodies of the European Union, and in particular with regard to the clearance of accounts process and the implementation of budgetary discipline.

2. The FEGA, in accordance with Article 44 of Law 55/1999 of 29 December 1999, of fiscal, administrative and social measures, and Article 3 of its statute, after hearing the paying agencies concerned, shall decide on the determination of the of those financial liabilities.

3. For the purposes of the above paragraphs and without prejudice to the mechanisms to be used to make the payment effective:

(a) The paying agencies shall be responsible for the payment of financial corrections, in the following cases and matters:

1. For causes arising from the management, resolution, payment, control and sanctioning of aid in which it has jurisdiction.

2. By the actions resulting from the management by the autonomous community of the aid whose powers of resolution and payment correspond to the General Administration of the State and the correction does not result from the actions of that Administration.

3. The causes of non-compliance with the obligation to report in time and form provided for in Article 5.

(b) The responsibility for financial corrections imposed by the European Union in the following cases and matters shall be attributable to the General Administration of the State:

1. Non-compliance by the FEGA with the obligations set out in Article 3.1.

2. The failure to comply with the obligation to establish measures for the coordination of aid controls, in the field of the Integrated Management and Control System, as well as the delay in communicating to the paying agencies Community information or instructions where it results in undue or out-of-time payments.

3. The non-compliance with the deadlines provided for in the pre-financing agreements for the referral of funds to the paying agencies when payments are due to be made out of time.

4. The unjustified non-compliance with the co-financing obligations where they originate in the event of non-payment.

5. The failure or delay of the obligation to issue the acts or resolutions of a legal nature necessary for the performance by the autonomous community of the actions of management of operations of intervention and regulation of the markets entrusted to it.

6. The failure to comply with the obligation to forward to the European Union the information that is regulated by law when such non-compliance is not attributable to an autonomous community.

Article 13. Procedure for determining responsibility.

1. Where the European Commission, as a result of a financial correction or the rejection of the Community financing of aid paid, minorates the funds referred to the Member State under the EAGGF Guarantee Section, the FEGA, without prejudice to the any appeals to the Court of Justice of the European Union shall make a reasoned proposal for the correction or rejection, in accordance with the criteria set out in the previous Article.

2. The body concerned shall have one month from the notification to make claims, providing the documentation it deems appropriate. In justified cases, the FEGA may extend that period.

3. After that period, and after the submission of the claims submitted, the FEGA, within three months, shall convene a bilateral meeting in order to reach an agreement. The bilateral meeting shall not be held if the body concerned has not made any representations to the original proposal or those claims have been assumed. After that meeting, a maximum period of one month for the communication, where appropriate, of any additional information necessary to substantiate the position of the parties, may be established by common agreement.

4. After the end of the period, or if the body concerned does not accept the call for the bilateral meeting or does not attend, the FEGA shall draw up its final proposal.

The proposal will be submitted to the Sectoral Commission for the Coordination of Paying Agencies, created for the purpose of the Sectoral Conference, whose decision will have to be decided within two months and will not be binding.

5. The FEGA, in the light of the file, shall, within a period of two months, adopt the final decision as appropriate, which shall be impugable on a judicial-administrative basis, subject to an appeal to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Article 14. Recovery of quantities not recognised by the EAGGF.

1. Of the resolution referred to in the previous Article, the Ministry of Economy shall be transferred to the relevant financial settlements, deductions or compensation to be applied to the bodies concerned.

2. The Ministry of Economy shall forward to the FEGA the information relating to the amounts recovered to regularise the corresponding advances with the Treasury.

3. Unrecognised amounts corresponding to those autonomous communities which are not covered by the national pre-financing system may be automatically deducted from the transfers to be made in respect of repayments. Community.

Additional disposition first. Adaptation.

The paying agencies validly constituted at the entry into force of this royal decree will have to adapt within three months to the provisions of this.

Additional provision second. How to make financial responsibility effective.

The liquidation, deductions and financial compensation to be carried out as a result of the resolution referred to in Article 13 of this royal decree will be carried out by the Directorate General of the Treasury and Financial, by deduction of their amounts in the future bookings to be carried out on behalf of the EAGGF Guarantee Section and with the procedures to be established by order of the Minister of Economy, prior to the report of the departments competent.

Additional provision third. Advances on behalf of the European Union.

The actions of the FEGA related to the Order of 12 September 1996, which regulate the financial flows between the European Community and the General Administration of the State, will continue to be developed within the framework established by that standard.

Single transient arrangement. Co-responsibility procedure.

The procedure laid down in Article 13 shall apply to financial corrections or Community financing rejections corresponding to aid financed from the EAGGF Guarantee Section paid since the establishment of the paying agencies of the Autonomous Communities.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

As many provisions of the same or lower rank are repealed, they oppose the provisions of this royal decree and, in particular, the Royal Decree 2206/1995 of 28 December, for which the actions are regulated. (a) administrative expenditure relating to expenditure under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF)

Final disposition first. Competence.

This royal decree is dictated by the state competence in terms of bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity, as provided for in Article 149.1.13. of the Constitution.

Final disposition second. Entry into force.

This royal decree will enter into force on the day following its publication in the "Official State Gazette".

Dado en Madrid, a 14 de marzo de 2003.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

MIGUEL ARIAS CANETE