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Direct payment for breeding dairy cows

Passed 05.01.2017 No. 3
RT I, 06.01.2017, 16
Entry into force 09.01.2017

Amended by the following legal instruments (show)

The Regulation is established under subsections 19 (2) and 21 (2) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, Article 52 (1) 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, 20 December 2013, pp. 608–670), and Article 53 (1) of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 639/2014, supplementing 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 amending Annex X to that Regulation (OJ L 181, 20 June 2014, pp. 1–47).

§ 1.  Scope

  This regulation establishes general requirements for the receipt of direct payments as well as the payment application procedure and proceedings for direct payments for breeding dairy cows.

§ 2.  Requirements for an applicant

 (1) A direct payment for breeding dairy cows (hereinafter the payment) can be applied for by a natural or legal person or an association of persons without the status of a legal person who comply with the requirements of section 2 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 (hereinafter the applicant).

 (2) Payments can be claimed by applicants who have up to 400 dairy cows pursuant to information in the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the calendar year of submitting the application.

§ 3.  Requirements for dairy cows

 (1) A dairy cow, regarding whom the payment is applied for, must be duly identified and its data must be recorded in the register of agricultural animals.

 (2) A dairy cow within the meaning of subsection 2 (2) is a cow with a breed identification of Estonian Holstein (EHF), Estonian Red (EPK), Estonian Native (EK), Brown Swiss (AP), Ayrshire (FA), or Jersey (JER).

 (3) A cow who originates from crossing of a meat breed and belongs to a cattle of meat bovine animals is not considered a dairy cow.

§ 4.  Requirements for the size of the cattle

 (1) To receive a payment, the dairy cows of the applicant must comply with the requirements of subsections 2 (1)–(3) and the cattle must contain the number of cows fixed in the application from the day of submitting the application to 8 May of the year of submitting the application. The number of dairy cows in a cattle cannot exceed the number established in subsection 2 (2).

 (2) Cattle may contain fewer dairy cows 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, p. 549);
 2) removal of a dairy cow 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 a dairy cow 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.

§ 5.  Cross compliance requirements

 (1) A beneficiary identified in Article 92 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, pp. 549–607) will perform the requirements specified in Regulation No. 4 of the Minister of Rural Affairs ‘Good agricultural and environmental condition of land’ of 14 January 2015, as well as the mandatory requirements for holdings pursuant to subsection 32 (2) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy in his or her agricultural activities and on the entire territory of agricultural holdings.

 (2) A beneficiary will perform all requirements specified in subsection (1) during the entire calendar year of submitting the application.

§ 6.  Applying for payment

 (1) An applicant will submit an application through the e-services environment of the Agricultural Registers and Information Board (hereinafter the ARIB) from 2 March to 21 March, containing information required in section 15¹ 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, as well as the number of dairy cows that are subject to the applied payment and whom the applicant is breeding pursuant to data of the register of agricultural animals as at 2 March of the calendar year of submitting the application.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

 (2) If an applicant is not applying for a direct payment specified in clauses 11 (1) 1), 2), or 3) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act, a transitional national aid under an entitlement to a complementary national direct payment for arable crops or hayseed, or a payment specified in Article 28, 29, 30, or 33 of Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on support for rural development by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No. 1698/2005 (OJ L 347, 20 December 2013, pp. 487–548), the applicant will submit information specified in subsection 1, and additional information specified in clauses 15² (1) 1)–6), 12), and 13), subsections 15² (2) and (3), and section 15³ 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 to the ARIB by 21 May of the calendar year of submitting the application electronically through the ARIB e‑services environment.
[RT I, 29 December 2017, 16 – entry into force 1 January 2018]

§ 7.  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 1 September.
[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 7 (2), the transferee of a holding will submit the following information to 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]

§ 8.  Checking applications

 (1) The ARIB will verify the correctness of the information given in an application and its compliance to payment requirements pursuant to Articles 24–43 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014.

 (2) Authorities identified in subsection 33 (1) of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act will verify the compliance to requirements identified in section 5 pursuant to Articles 65–72 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014.

 (3) An applicant will notify the authorities identified in subsections 1 and 2 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.

§ 9.  Unit amount

 (1) The ARIB will decide unit amount of the payment by 1 December of the calendar year of submitting the application.

 (2) A beneficiary who has up to 100 dairy cows will receive a payment compliant to the unit amount specified in subsection 1.

 (3) A beneficiary who has 101–400 dairy cows will receive a payment compliant to a unit amount calculated by multiplying the unit amount specified in subsection 1 with the multiplication factor 0.5.

§ 10.  Reduction of payment

  The ARIB will decide on the reduction of payment on the grounds and in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to the integrated administration and control system and conditions for refusal or withdrawal of payments and administrative penalties applicable to direct payments, rural development support, and cross compliance (OJ L 181, 20.6.2014, pp. 48–73), and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 809/2014.

§ 11.  Fulfilment or refusal of application

 (1) The ARIB will decide on the fulfilment or refusal of an application by 10 December of the calendar year of submitting the application.

 (2) The ARIB will decide on the refusal of an application pursuant to provisions of section 22 of the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act.

§ 12.  Financial discipline

  The sum of direct payment that the applicant receives is adjusted upon necessity pursuant to Article 8 (1) of the Regulation (EU) No. 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

§ 13.  Payment

  Payment is paid by 30 June of the calendar year that follows the calendar year of submitting the application.

§ 14.  Publication of the data of the beneficiaries

  The ARIB will inform the beneficiaries that their data will be made public in accordance with Articles 111 and 112 of Regulation (EU) No. 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and that the data may be processed for the purpose of safeguarding the Union’s financial interests in accordance with Article 113.

§ 15.  Repealing the regulation

[Omitted from this text.]