What You Can Claim
For Actual Cost Capital items, you may claim what is agreed in your contract. Your claim must not exceed the maximum grant approval for that item in your contract and schedule of works.
For capital work supported on a Standard Cost basis, you may claim for the area/length/quantity actually produced, and cannot exceed the quantities indicated in your Schedule of Works.
Claims for Standard Costs can only be made for Capital Items which are available for the Option(s) approved in your Proposal. If you are unsure of the Standard Cost Capital Items available for a particular Option, please see the Option guidance.
There is no restriction on the proportion of the cost of your Proposal which is made up of capital items. Some Proposals may comprise capital items only.
You cannot make a claim for any item which is not approved in your contract. If you are seeking approval for a capital project under Rural Priorities you will need to submit three years' business accounts. You should consult your Case Officer if you have fewer than three years' business accounts. Your application will still be considered but approval may be dependent on further documentary evidence that your business is a going concern. You will not be able to make a claim without this approval.
When to claim
The claim year for capital items will run from 1 January to 31 December, in line with the year for Annual Recurrent Payments. For more information about the timing of Capital Cost claims and payments, please read Timing for Standard Capital Cost and Actual Capital Cost Payment Claims.
You can only claim payment in the year stated in your Schedule of Works (SoW). If the SoW states, for example, that an item will be claimed in 2009, then the claim must be submitted by 31 December 2009.
How to claim and what to include
Until further notice*, claims should be submitted in paper format with original hard-copy invoices. The claims form will be available to download and print from Rural Payments Online. Copies will also be available from your local area office.
Details should be given in the claim form about the costs for which funding is being claimed and whether this is an interim or final claim. Interim claims will only be considered for Actual Cost Capital Items.
You are also required to provide any consents required such as planning approval, electrical certificates and Controlled Activities Regulations licences, as well as any other required information, along with your claim.
If the claim is an Actual Cost claim, properly receipted original invoices must also be provided.
Time sheets for machinery and labour, actual cost payment rates for the use of claimant's own tractors and vehicles and labour on approved eligible works, and Electrical inspection and testing certificate can be found here.
Once a claim has successfully gone through all the relevant processes, you will receive payment by Bank Automated Credit System (BACS).
*Please note, we are planning to implement an electronic claim system in the near future. We will issue guidance on how to use this when it goes live.