Q&A: Basic Payment Scheme preliminary checks very successful in 2016
The closing date for BPS applications, online or traditional, is Monday, May 15, 2017.
The preliminary check facility introduced in 2016 is again available to online applicants, allowing them be advised of certain errors at an early stage, which can be corrected without penalty.
According to Agriculture Minister Michael Creed, preliminary checks proved very successful in 2016.
Exclusive to online applicants, they allow for pre-checks of applications for any non-compliance in the areas of over-claims, dual claims and overlaps.
Farmers are notified via the online system, and offered the opportunity to rectify any such non-compliance, with no penalty applied, where the non-compliance is fully rectified by June 19, 2017.
The purpose of preliminary checks is to enhance the correctness of BPS applications, to lower reductions and administrative penalties, which will be even more important when the EU requires 100% online BPS application by 2018.
Preliminary checks will identify any over-claims, overlaps or dual claims in online BPS applications.
Where a preliminary check identifies such an issue, farmers are given the opportunity to amend their claim by June 19, 2017.
Farmers may wish to retain their original claim, or to amend their claim in light of the preliminary check notification.
For example, where a preliminary check highlights a dual claim, the response can either confirm that the farmer asserts the right to claim the dual claimed parcel, or withdraw the relevant parcel without penalty, where the land may have been inadvertently claimed.
Where a preliminary check identifies a dual claim, over-claim or overlap, a notification will issue on the BPS online system.
Farmers and advisors should check the correspondence section of their BPS online account.
Where a farmer is signed up for text message alerts, a text will issue to advise them that they have a notification on their BPS account.
Where a farmer has applied online through an adviser, the advisor will receive notification via the BPS online account in respect of any of his /her clients, where a preliminary check has identified a dual claim, over-claim or overlap.
Farmers who have applied through an adviser will also get a text message alert, where they are signed up for this service.
When a notification/text message alert of a preliminary check is received, you should log into your BPS online account to read the notification.
Where a preliminary check has identified a dual claim, overlap or over-claim, there will be a clear indication of this in the centre of the BPS home screen.
Farmers who have applied through an advisor should contact their adviser in relation to responding to the preliminary check.
Where preliminary checks have identified an over-claim, overlap or dual claim, this will be clearly signalled on the home screen of the BPS online application system.
A farmer or adviser can click the “View Preliminary Checks” button to see the detail in each case.
It is important to note that a preliminary check can only be responded to once.
In each instance, the farmer/adviser will be given the opportunity to either amend his/her original claim to take account of the preliminary check, or to maintain the original claim.
There will be instances where it is valid to maintain the original claim, for example, in the instance of a possible over-claim identified, where an area of scrub has been removed and brought back into agricultural use, with a resultant increase in eligible area.
Where a response to a preliminary check is sufficient to fully rectify the issue at hand, no penalty will apply.
Further administrative checks will still need to be carried out on all applications, and thus, further issues and reductions/penalties may arise later in the process, in respect of any application.
No. An action is only required of farmers/advisers where a preliminary check has identified a dual claim, over-claim or overlap on an application.
