Text size:

• Small
• Medium
• Large

Transitional national aid for livestock farming

Passed 16.02.2017 No. 17
RT I, 21.02.2017, 8
Entry into force 24.02.2017

Amended by the following legal instruments (show)

The Regulation is established under subsections 25 (2), 28 (2), and 29 (2) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, and Article 37 of Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing rules for direct payments to farmers under support schemes within the framework of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 637/2008 and Council Regulation (EC) No. 73/2009 (OJ L 347/608, 20 December 2013, pp. 608–670).

Chapter 1 General provisions 

§ 1.  Scope

  The regulation establishes precise requirements for the receipt of transitional national aid as well as the application procedure and proceeding for the following payments:
 1) transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows;
 2) transitional national aid for breeding ewes;
 3) transitional national aid for milk;
 4) transitional national aid for bovine animals;
 5) transitional national aid for ewes.

§ 2.  General requirements for receiving transitional national aid for livestock farming

 (1) A transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows or ewes, or a transitional national aid for milk, bovine animals, or ewes (hereinafter jointly referred to as transitional national aid for livestock farming) can be applied for by a natural or legal person or an association of persons without the status of a legal person who exercises an agricultural activity in a holding pursuant to Article 4 (1) c) of Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (hereinafter the applicant).

 (2) Holdings are, for the purposes of this regulation, all units used for agricultural activities and managed by a farmer, situated within the territory of Estonia, and containing at least:
 1) one hectare of agricultural area, verified during a proceeding of application for single area payment as at 31 December before the calendar year of submitting an application, or whose existence is otherwise verified by the applicant, or
 2) number of agricultural animals equal to a single livestock unit, according to information on the register of agricultural animals as at 31 December before the calendar year of submitting an application, or whose existence is otherwise verified by the applicant.

 (3) The agricultural area specified in subsection 2 (1), on which an applicant has not received a single area payment, must be maintained with such agrotechnical methods that eliminate the possibility of extensive spreading of undesirable vegetation and enable the land to be implemented for exercising agricultural activities in the coming growing season without additional costs.

 (4) The calculation coefficients for converting agricultural animals to livestock units as specified in subsection 2 (2) are available in the Annex.

§ 3.  Transfer of agricultural holdings

 (1) Article 8 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014, laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system, rural development measures, and cross compliance (OJ L 227, 31 July 2014, pp. 69–124) is applied in transferring agricultural holdings.

 (2) The period specified in Article 8 (3) a) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014 begins on 22 March and ends on 21 April.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

 (3) In the case of transferring an agricultural holding, to notify of such transfer and apply for payments during the period specified in subsection 3 (2), the transferee of a holding will submit the following information to the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (hereinafter the ARIB):
 1) the name and registry code or personal identification code of a transferor of a holding;
 2) the name and registry code or personal identification code of the transferee of a holding;
 3) a verification from the transferor and the transferee on the transfer of an agricultural holding;
 4) information on the payment application from the transferee of the agricultural holding.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

§ 4.  Unit amount

  Pursuant to subsection 31 (2) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, the ARIB will decide on the unit amount of a transitional national aid for livestock farming by types of payments by 10 June of the calendar year of submitting the application.

Chapter 2 Requirements for receiving a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes 

§ 5.  Requirements for applicants of transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes

 (1) Transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows can be applied for by an applicant who is breeding at least one suckler cow according to the data on the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the calendar year of submitting the application.

 (2) Transitional national aid for breeding ewes can be applied for by an applicant who is breeding at least ten ewes according to the data on the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the calendar year of submitting the application.

§ 6.  Requirements for suckler cows and ewes

 (1) A suckler cow regarding whom the transitional national aid is claimed must be duly identified and registered pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council, establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 820/97 (OJ L 204, 11 August 2000, pp. 1–10).

 (2) For the purposes of subsection 5 (1), a suckler cow is a cow and a heifer of at least eight months old who belongs to one of the following breeds: Hereford (Hf), Limousin (Li), Aberdeen-Angus (Ab), Charolais (Ch), Highland cattle (Hc), Piedmontese (Pi), Blonde D’Aquitane (Ba), Simmental (Si), Belgian Blue (Bb), Dexter (De), Galloway (Ga), Aubrac (Au), German shorthorn (SH), Salers (SA), Tyrol Grey (GR), or Wagyu (WA).

 (3) A suckler cow or heifer is considered a breed specified in subsection (2) if it carries relevant characteristics or originates from a crossing with a beef breed and belongs to the same cattle as meat animals.

 (4) An ewe who is subject to the transitional national aid must be at least one year old as at 27 April of the year of submitting the application, duly identified and registered pursuant to Council regulation (EC) No. 21/2004, establishing a system for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine animals and amending Regulation (EC) No. 1782/2003 and Directives 92/102/EEC and 64/432/EEC (OJ L 5, 9 January 2004, pp. 8–17).

§ 7.  Requirements for the size of the cattle

 (1) An applicant must own suckler cows in the number specified in the application and compliant to requirements of this Regulation from the day of submitting the transitional national aid application to 8 May to receive a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows.

 (2) An applicant must own ewes in the number specified in the application and compliant to requirements of this Regulation from the day of submitting the transitional national aid application to 8 May to receive the transitional national aid for breeding ewes.

 (3) An applicant claiming for a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows is not allowed to replace a suckler cow identified in an application with another suckler cow.

 (4) Cattle may contain fewer suckler cows or ewes than fixed in the application due to force majeure or exceptional circumstances, including:
 1) circumstances specified in Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the financing, management, and monitoring of the common agricultural policy and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No. 352/78, (EC) No. 165/94, (EC) No. 2799/98, (EC) No. 814/2000, (EC) No. 1290/2005, and (EC) No. 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20 December 2013);
 2) removal of an animal from cattle against the intentions of the applicant, and the applicant can prove it with a copy of a statement submitted to the Police and Border Guard Board;
 3) death of an animal for reasons of disease or accident or slaughtering for veterinary reasons, and the applicant can prove it with a written notice from the veterinary office.

Chapter 3 Requirements for receiving transitional national aid for dairy, bovine animals, or ewes 

§ 8.  Requirements for applicants of transitional national aid for dairy, bovine animals, or ewes

  Transitional national aid for dairy, bovine animals, or ewes can be claimed by any applicant who is subject to or obtains entitlement to a complement to direct payment compliant to subsection 26 (1) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act as at 21 March of the year of submitting an application.

Chapter 4 Applying for transitional national aid for livestock farming and the proceeding of applications 

§ 9.  Applying for transitional national aid for livestock farming

 (1) An applicant will submit an application through the e-services environment of the ARIB from 2 March to 21 March, containing information required in subsection 15¹ (1) of Regulation No. 32 of the Minister of Rural Affairs ‘General requirements for the receipt of direct payments, single area payment, climate and environment payment, and payment for young farmers’ of 17 April 2015.
18 January 2018 11.18 a.m.
Amendment – an amendment of an obviously deficient word ‘e-services’ according to subsection 10 (4) of the Act in Riigi Teataja.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

 (2) In addition to information specified in subsection (1), an applicant for a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows must submit the amount and identification numbers of the suckler cows who are subject to this payment and who he or she is breeding according to the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the year of submitting an application.

 (3) In addition to information specified in subsection (1), an applicant for a transitional national aid for breeding ewes must submit the number of the ewes who are subject to this payment and who he or she is breeding according to the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the year of submitting an application.

 (4) In addition to information specified in subsection (1), an applicant for a transitional national aid for dairy, bovine animals, and ewes must submit a verification that he or she is claiming this payment pursuant to relevant entitlement.

 (5) If an applicant for a transitional national aid for dairy, bovine animals, or ewes is granted entitlement pursuant to section 27 of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, he or she will submit an application to the ARIB through the e-services environment of the ARIB along with a notification or document identified in Regulation No. 86 of the Minister of Rural Affairs ‘Notification about the transfer of entitlements to a complement to direct payment’ of 14 December 2017.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

 (6) [Repealed – RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

§ 10.  Reduction of a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows or ewes

 (1) The ARIB will decide on the reduction of a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows or ewes compliant to subsection 29 (1) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act.

 (2) If a verification reveals that the difference between the number of animals fixed on an application and the number of animals required (hereinafter the number of animals required) is up to three animals, then the transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes is calculated according to the number of animals required.

 (3) If a verification reveals that the difference between the number of animals fixed on an application and the number of animals required is more than three animals, then the amount of aid calculated according to number of animals required is reduced pursuant to a determined per cent. The determined per cent is calculated by subtracting the number of animals required from the number of animals fixed on an application and the relevant result is divided by the number of animals required and multiplied by a hundred.

 (4) If the determined per cent:
 1) is lower than 5, then the amount of transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows or ewes is determined according to the number of animals required;
 2) if the number is higher than 5, but lower than 10, then the amount of transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes is decreased by the determined per cent;
 3) if the number is higher than 10 but lower than 20, then the transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes is determined according to the number of animals required, decreased by a double determined per cent.

 (5) If the difference between the number of animals fixed on an application and the number of animals required is less than three animals and the determined per cent exceeds 20, then the application for transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes is refused.

 (6) In the case specified in clause 29 (1) 3) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, the amount of a transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes, which already includes the reductions pursuant to this Regulation, is reduced by 5 per cent.

§ 11.  Checking applications

 (1) The ARIB will verify the correctness of information given in an application and its compliance to payment requirements.

 (2) The ARIB will verify at least 5 per cent of applicants for transitional national aid for breeding suckler cows and ewes on the spot.

 (3) An applicant will notify the authorities identified in subsection 1 of all circumstances relevant to deciding on the fulfilment of the application, including upon necessity gathering the cattle or positioning them to enable a verification of ear tags or identification numbers.

§ 12.  Fulfilment or refusal of application

 (1) The ARIB will decide on the fulfilment or refusal of an application for transitional national aid by 22 June of the calendar year of submitting the application.

 (2) The ARIB will decide on the refusal of an application for transitional national aid pursuant to provisions of section 30 of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act.

§ 13.  Payment

  The transitional national aid of livestock farming is paid by 30 September of the calendar year of submitting the application.

Annex Calculating livestock units (LU)