The Integrated Administration And Control System: explanatory booklet

SUBMISSION OF SINGLE APPLICATION FORM ( SAF)

Online guidance on this section can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk/SAF07/submission

What You Must Do

11. If you are applying for aid in 2007 under one or more of the schemes listed at paragraph 9, you must complete and return a SAF to declare all the land you farm in the United Kingdom as a separate IACS business. If you do not declare all your land, we will apply penalties, but see paragraphs 33-34.

12. The SAF is a declaration of all the land you farm on 15 May 2007, including all seasonal land (arable and forage). You must complete:

• A Single Application Form ( IACS(2));
• The appropriate number of Field Data Sheets ( IACS(3) and IACS(4)), covering all the land farmed by your business on 15 May 2007;
• A Land and Business Change Form ( LBCF) if:
  - You have changed your business;
  - You have changed your permanent field boundaries;
  - You have moved whole fields between holdings;
  - You had fields coming in to agriculture for the first time;
  - You had fields going out of agriculture.

13. If your business structure changes after 15 May, this may affect the aid which you can subsequently claim. You should inform your SEERAD Area Office immediately, before the changes occur, by completing an LBCF. You should also consider seeking professional advice.

Deadline for Applications

14. You must submit the SAF, with all supporting documentation for the land you farm, so that your SEERAD Area Office receives it by 15 May 2007.

Acknowledging the SAF

15. When we receive your SAF, we will record it and send you an acknowledgement, normally within 10 working days. If you delay submitting your SAF until close to the deadline our acknowledgement may take longer. It will confirm the total areas you have claimed or declared and if you have claimed PCP, ECS and NAS. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THE INFORMATION IN THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT LETTER and tell us of any problems you identify. If we dispute receiving your SAF, you must be able to produce our official acknowledgement to show that we received your claim before the closing date. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, you should enquire at your SEERAD Area Office in good time so that, if necessary, you can deliver another SAF before the closing date.

Signing of SAFs

16. The SAF may be filled in and signed by:

• An agent or farm manager if they have been authorised to do so for the individual or business;
• A company official if they have been authorised to do so for the company;
• A sole trader;
• A partner in a partnership if they have been authorised to do so for the partnership;
• A representative of a sheep producer group if they have been authorised to do so for the group, by the group as a whole.
• An Executor of a will

Appointment of Agents

17. You may appoint an agent to act for you or your business. You must fill in form AA1 (available from your SEERAD Area Office) to authorise an agent to act for you, if you have not already done so. However, as the farmer, you will still be responsible for meeting the scheme rules and for any penalties we might apply for rule breaches by yourself or the business.

Payments by BACS

18. We will make payments under all schemes covered by IACS ( SFPS, SBCS, PCP, ECS and NAS) to your business' bank account using the Bankers Automated Clearing System ( BACS). If we do not already have your bank account details, or if you want to change them, you must fill in a BACS(1) form and submit it to your SEERAD Area Office.

We will not process requests for mandates.

Sterling or Euros?

19. We can pay you in either Pounds Sterling or Euros (except LMCMS where the payment amounts have only a Sterling value). We will pay you in Sterling unless you choose to be paid in Euros.

To be paid in Euros you need to tick the box at Question 6 of the IACS(2) form. We will send you a BACS (2) form for Euro payments. If we paid your 2006 claim in Euros, we will use the same account details for your 2007 payment unless you tell us not to. If you tick the Euros box on the IACS(2) form or send in a completed BACS form, you will have until 30 June 2007 to change your choice. After 30 June 2007, you will be tied to payments in either Sterling or Euros until the following IACS year.

20. Please keep your BACS details up to date to avoid payment delays. Blank BACS(1) forms are available from your SEERAD Area Office and blank BACS(2) forms are available from SEERADHQ, Pentland House.