The Scottish Government

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6. Reductions, exclusions and penalties

Failure to declare all the land you have

If you do not declare all the permanent and seasonal land that you have on the 15 May 2009 on your SAF we will reduce any payments due to you under the SFPS; SBCS; ECS; PCP; and NAS.

If there is a difference between the total area you declare on your SAF and the total land that you should have declared, we will reduce your payment as follows:

If you have any doubt about what areas you should declare, you should contact your SGRPID area office or seek professional advice.

Discrepancies in areas claimed

We cannot pay on an area greater than the area you claim on your SAF. If we find that the area of a crop group is greater than the area you claim on your SAF, we will pay on the area you claim. For the SAF, the crop groups are:

• SFPS;
• Energy crops;
• Protein crops;
• Nuts.

If we find a difference between the number of SFPS payment entitlements you hold and the number of eligible hectares you claimed on your SAF, we will calculate your SFPS payment on the lower number.

Within the same crop group, we can offset an over declaration of one land parcel's area against an under declaration of another's.

If the area we determine (eligible area we find) for a crop group is less than the area you claimed on your SAF, we will calculate your payment on the eligible area we found or, for SFPS only, the number of payment entitlements you hold, if this is less than the eligible area we found.

Over declaration Penalties

These rules apply in cases where the number of hectares of eligible land found is less than the number of hectares claimed as part of the SAF. For SFPS whether penalties are appropriate depends on a comparison between the number of hectares of eligible land claimed; the number of eligible hectares found; and the number of entitlements held. For example:

• If the total area we find is less than the land you claimed but the land you claimed is equal to or less than the number of entitlements you hold, we will calculate the penalty on the difference between the land claimed and found.
• If the total area we find is less than the land you claimed but the land declared is less than the number of entitlements you hold, we will calculate the penalty on the difference between the land claimed and found.
• If the total area we find is less than the land you claimed but the land you claimed is greater than the number of entitlements you hold, we will calculate the penalty on the difference between the land found and the number of entitlements held.

We will not penalise your SFPS for an over declaration (ie overclaim) of eligible areas if the total eligible area we find is equal to or greater than the number of payment entitlements you hold.

Where we find a difference between the number of hectares of eligible land we find and the number of hectares you claimed for a crop group, or the number of entitlements you hold (whichever is the lesser), penalties will apply as follows:

• If the difference is less than either 3% or 2 hectares of the number of hectares of land you claimed, we will calculate the payment on the total area we find. Example: You claim 100 hectares of SFPS land and have 100 entitlements, but we only find 98.5 hectares of eligible land. No reduction will apply as the difference is less than 3% and 2 hectares and, we will pay you SFPS on 98.5 hectares.
• If the difference is more than either 3% or 2 hectares of the number of hectares of land you claimed, but not more than 20%, we will reduce your payment by twice the difference we find. Example: You claim 20 hectares for PCP but we only find 17 hectares of eligible land. As the difference of 3 hectares is 17.65%, we will pay you PCP on 11 hectares (ie 17 hectares - (3 x 2) hectares).
• If the difference is more than 20% of the number of hectares of land you claimed, we will not pay you for the crop group concerned. Example: You claim 250 hectares of SFPS land and have 250 entitlements, but we only find195 hectares. As the difference of 55 hectares is 28.20% of 195 hectares you will not receive a SFPS payment.
• If the difference is more than 50% of the number of hectares of land you claimed, we will not pay you for the crop group concerned. In addition we will reduce any payment due next year by an amount corresponding to the difference in payments between the area you claimed and the area we found for that crop group.
• If we cannot deduct the full payment from your next year's payment, we will deduct the remainder from payments in the following two years EXAMPLE: You claim 100 hectares for SFPS and have 100 entitlements valued at €200 each but we only find 45 hectares of eligible land. As the difference of 55 hectares is 55% of 100 hectares you will not receive a SFPS payment and we will reduce your payments next year by €11,000.
• However, SFPS will be exempt from this penalty if the area we find is equal to or greater than the number of payment entitlements you hold.

Energy Crop Scheme

If you fail to deliver the correct quantity of crops grown under the ECS, you will be subject to the same reductions as set out above. We calculate this area by multiplying the area of land cultivated for these crops by the percentage shortfall in the delivery of the crop.

Intentional over declaration

If you intentionally over claim land within a crop group, and the difference between the area you claimed and the area we find is more than 0.5% of the area determined or more than 1 hectare, but not more than 20% or less of the area found, we will make no payment for that crop group that year. If the difference is more than 20%, as well as making no payment that year, we will reduce your payment in the next calendar year by an amount which corresponds to the difference in payments between the area you claimed and the area we found. If we cannot take the full amount from your payment in the next calendar year, we will take the remainder from payments in the two subsequent years.

Penalties for over declaration of land on your SAF for LFASS are explained in Annex 1. Penalties for over declaration of land on your SAF for LMO or RDCRP are explained on our website.

False declarations

A false declaration made intentionally or recklessly is a criminal offence which carries a maximum sentence of an unlimited fine or two years imprisonment. If we find that you have intentionally or recklessly made a false declaration you will be liable to prosecution.

Reductions for cross compliance failure

These are detailed in the Cross Compliance Notes for Guidance.

Force majeure/exceptional circumstances

We may accept that a farmer was prevented from meeting certain obligations due to a force majeure/exceptional circumstance event. If so, we may not apply penalties. A force majeure/exceptional circumstance event comprises an objective element (an unusual circumstance, outwith your control which prevented you from complying with scheme rules) and a subjective element (the consequences of which you could not have avoided in spite of the exercise of all due care). Some examples of a force majeure/exceptional circumstance event are:

• the death of the farmer
• the long term professional incapacity of the farmer
• a severe natural disaster affecting the holding's agricultural land
• the accidental destruction of livestock buildings, and
• an epizootic disease affecting livestock.

To apply for force majeure/exceptional circumstances, you must write to your SGRPID area office within 10 working days of being able to tell us about it. You will need to send us as much evidence as you can to support your case, including proof that the event occurred. We will consider each case on its merits.

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