Defra

7.1 Breaches of agreement

You will be in breach of your agreement if you:

• fail to comply with any agreement conditions; or
• make any false or misleading statements in your application or in any other correspondence relating to your agreement.

This is the case whether it is you or anybody else who causes a breach. It is your responsibility to ensure that all agreement conditions are fulfilled, and that all information in your application and other correspondence is accurate.

7.2 Penalties for breaches of agreements

If you breach your agreement, any future payments due may be withheld. Part or all of the payments already made may be reclaimed and interest charged covering the period between the date of notification and reimbursement. Your agreement may also be terminated. Where a serious breach has occurred you may be subject to an additional penalty of up to 10% of the amount paid or payable, and may be prohibited from entering a new agreement under this scheme or any other EU agri-environment scheme for up to two years.

Before penalties are imposed, you will be given a written explanation of the reasons for the proposed steps and an opportunity to make any written representations. A final decision will be made after taking all the circumstances of your case into account.

Please see appendix 5 for further information and a description of penalties that can apply to breaches of your agreement.

7.3 Overpayment

It is your responsibility to check that payments you receive are in accordance with the details set out in your agreement. If you are paid more aid than you are entitled to under your agreement you will be liable to reimburse the amount overpaid and you may also be liable to pay interest on that amount covering the period between the date we notify you of the overpayment and reimbursement. We will write to you explaining how the sum has been calculated and how the overpayment must be repaid.

7.4 'Force majeure' (exceptional circumstances)

Where a breach is due to circumstances beyond your control that could not have been avoided by reasonable action, the Secretary of State has a discretion to decide not to take enforcement action to recover or withhold payments. In order for 'force majeure' to be taken into account, you must have notified your RDS office of the 'force majeure' event in writing within ten working days of you, or your representative, being in a position to do so. Please note that these categories are very narrow and cover only the most exceptional circumstances.

Examples of 'force majeure' are:

• death of the agreement holder;
• long-term incapacity of the agreement holder;
• expropriation of a large part of the land provided this could not be anticipated when the agreement was signed;
• severe natural disaster gravely affecting the land;
• accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the land;
• an epizootic (such as foot and mouth disease) affecting part or all the agreement holder's livestock.

7.5 Variation of your agreement by the Secretary of State (acting through Defra)

Very rarely, it may be necessary for the Secretary of State (acting through Defra) to vary your agreement in line with changes to European law and in other exceptional circumstances. In applying for the scheme you are accepting that such changes may be made at any time. You will be given notice in writing of any such changes.

7.6 What if I disagree with any Defra decision or proposed action regarding my application or subsequent agreement?

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the way your application or agreement has been dealt with, you should write to the Business and Delivery Centre Manager at your RDS office who will ensure that your case is properly investigated and advise you of the procedure to be followed. In the event of a dispute, initially your case will be dealt with informally by RDS advisers. Where informal discussions fail to resolve the dispute, you will be sent a written explanation of our concerns, explaining the action, if any, we propose to take.

If you are still dissatisfied with the decisions that have been taken by RDS officials following reasonable attempts to informally resolve the dispute, you can ask to have your case referred to a RDS officer who has not been involved with your agreement. This officer will consider any points that you have raised and report to the Secretary of State with their view on the step or steps proposed to be taken to resolve the dispute.

Where you remain dissatisfied with the decision of the Secretary of State you have the option to have the matter referred to one or more independent persons, nominated by the Secretary of State, for further consideration.

Further details of the internal complaint procedure which will be followed in the event of a dispute are available from your RDS office, or via the internet at www.defra.gov.uk/erdp/schemes/es

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Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs