Section 8 Consequences of Non-Compliance with Scheme Rules and Conditions
8.1 Sanctions
Prior to agreeing to enter the RSS, you must be sure that you have the resources to undertake each of the options you have chosen and to carry them out in the stipulated timescale. Failure to comply with any of your agreed proposals will be considered a breach of Scheme conditions. Depending on the nature of the breach, the Department can impose one or more of the following sanctions:
- the withholding of any payments due to you;
- recovery of payments already made plus interest;
- termination of your undertaking;
- the addition of a penalty of up to 10% of the total EC reimbursable aid you were due to receive;
- a ban from entering another rural development scheme for 2 years.
8.2 Exceptional circumstances
The only exception to the above would be in case of force majeure, i.e. where you could not reasonably have foreseen the cause for the non-compliance. In such cases, the Department can decide not to apply any of the above sanctions.
Each case will be considered on its merits, but circumstances that could count as force majeure include:
- a severe natural disaster;
- compulsory purchase order.
- accidental destruction of buildings for livestock;
- the death or long-term incapacity of the farmer.
8.3 Notifying SEERAD
As soon as you are aware that you are unable to fulfil any part, or all of, your RSS obligations, you should notify your local SEERAD office immediately in writing, giving a full explanation of the situation and enclosing any supporting information. If you fail to notify any non-compliance and it is picked up during a compliance inspection, this will be taken into account in determining the appropriate sanction. The sanctions to be applied in a breach case will be commensurate with the seriousness of the breach in terms of the damage caused and/or its significance to the overall aims of the approved proposals. Serious breaches include: deliberate damage, or providing false or misleading information. Sanctions in such cases will be at the top end of the scale.
8.4 Withdrawal from the Scheme
There is no right to withdraw from the Scheme without sanctions other than on completion of your agreed period in the Scheme (normally 5 years) or where force majeure applies. If you wish to withdraw from the RSS, you should write to your local SEERAD office explaining why you wish to do so. Normally, you will be required to repay any RSS payments already made to you, plus interest, including the payment for the Environmental Audit and Moorland Management Plan.
A penalty may also be applied.