This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Details of 2004 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme
03/11/2003
The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs
Department (SEERAD) today announced that from Tuesday,
November 11, sheep producers in Scotland may notify
transfers and leases of quota to cover claims under the
2004 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme.
This will enable producers to obtain quota or dispose of
any surplus quota for the 2004 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme
(SAPS) which opens for premium applications on December 4,
2003.
Completed transfer and lease notification forms must
reach the Department by Wednesday, February 4, 2004, the
deadline for submitting claims for Premium - any forms
received after that date must be rejected. Producers are
advised to make their quota trading decisions and ensure
that transactions are notified to SEERAD as early as
possible in the trading period.
Producers with more than twenty units of quota should
note that they must use at least 70 per cent of their sheep
quota in the 2004 scheme year otherwise the unused part
will be withdrawn without compensation.
However, producers with twenty or fewer units of quota
must use 70 per cent of their quota every other year if
they wish to avoid having quota withdrawn. To use quota in
this context means either to claim premium on it or to
lease it out.
Notification forms and explanatory leaflets for the
transfer and lease of suckler cow quota for the 2004 Scheme
year will be available at the Department's local area
offices from November 11. If producers wish to take
advantage of these arrangements, it is their responsibility
to obtain the form, complete it correctly and return it to
the Department by the due date.
Notification forms SAP-Transfer-2004 for notifying
transfers of quota and SAP-Lease-2004 for the temporary
leasing of quota and an Explanatory Leaflet will be
available from Executive Environment and Rural Affairs
Department (SEERAD) local area offices from November
11.
Producers may not dispose of quota by transfer or lease
in the 2004 notification period if they received quota from
the national reserve with effect from the 2002 or 2004
Scheme years.
It is the responsibility of the producers selling or
leasing out quota to ensure that they have sufficient quota
at their disposal to allow the transaction to take place.
If for example they have not used all their quota in 2003,
they should satisfy themselves that they will not be
subject to a withdrawal of quota under the usage rules
affecting their 2004 quota position, as this could lead to
the transfer or lease being rejected.
Separate but similar arrangements are being made in
England, Wales and Northern Ireland.