Commission Regulation (EC) No 885/2006 of 21 June 2006 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 as regards the accreditation of paying agencies and other bodies and the clearance of the accounts of the EAGF and of the EAFRD

In order to be accredited, a paying agency as defined in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 shall have an administrative organisation and a system of internal control which comply with the criteria set out in Annex I to this Regulation (hereinafter accreditation criteria) regarding:

1. internal environment,

2. control activities,

3. information and communication,

4. monitoring.

Member States may lay down further accreditation criteria to take account of the size, responsibilities and other specific features of the paying agency.

For each paying agency, the Member State shall designate an authority at ministerial level which is competent for issuing and withdrawing the agency’s accreditation and for carrying out the tasks assigned to it by this Regulation (hereinafter the competent authority). It shall inform the Commission thereof.

The competent authority shall, by way of a formal act, decide on the accreditation of the paying agency on the basis of an examination of the accreditation criteria.

The examination shall be carried out by a body which is independent from the paying agency to be accredited and shall include, in particular, the arrangements regarding the authorisation and execution of payments, the safeguarding of the Community budget, the security of informationsystems, the maintenance of accounting records, the division of duties and the adequacy of internal and external controls, in respect of transactions financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD).

If the competent authority is not satisfied that the paying agency complies with the accreditation criteria, it shall address instructions to the agency specifying the conditions it is required to fulfil before accreditation may be granted.

Pending the implementation of any requisite changes, accreditation may be granted provisionally for a period to be determined taking into account the severity of the problems identified, which shall not exceed 12 months. In duly justified cases, the Commission may, upon request of the Member State concerned, grant an extension of that period.

The communications provided for in Article 8(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 shall be made immediately after the paying agency is first accredited and in any case before any expenditure effected by it is charged to the EAGF or the EAFRD. They shall be accompanied by declarations and documents concerning:

1. the responsibilities vested in the paying agency;

2. the allocation of responsibilities between its departments;

3. its relationship with other bodies, public or private, which are responsible for implementing any measures under which the agency charges expenditure to the EAGF and the EAFRD;

4. the procedures by which claims by beneficiaries are received, verified, and validated, and by which expenditure is authorised, paid and accounted for;

5. the provisions concerning the security of information systems.

The Commission shall inform the Committee on the Agricultural Funds of the paying agencies accredited in each Member State.

The competent authority shall keep the paying agencies for which it is responsible under constant supervision, notably on the basis of the certificates and reports drawn up by the certification body under Articles 5(3) and (4), and shall follow-up on any deficiencies identified. Every three years, the competent authority shall inform the Commission in writing of the results of its supervision and indicate whether the paying agencies continue to comply with the accreditation criteria.

Member States shall establish a system that ensures that any information suggesting that a paying agency does not comply with the accreditation criteria is communicated to the competent authority without delay.

Where, as regards an accredited paying agency, one or more of the accreditation criteria are no longer respected or so seriously deficient as to affect the agency’s ability to fulfil the tasks set out in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005, the competent authority shall put the agency’s accreditation under probation and draw up a plan to remedy the deficiencies found within a period to be determined according to the severity of the problem, which shall not exceed 12 months from the date on which the accreditation is put under probation. In duly justified cases, the Commission may, upon request of the Member State concerned, grant an extension of that period.

The competent authority shall inform the Commission of any plan drawn up pursuant to paragraph 3 and of the implementation of such plans.

If accreditation is withdrawn, the competent authority shall without delay accredit another paying agency in accordance with Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 and Article 1 of this Regulation to ensure that payments to beneficiaries are not interrupted.

Where the Commission finds that the competent authority has not complied with its obligation to draw up a remedial plan pursuant to paragraph 3 or that the paying agency continues to be accredited without having fully implemented such a plan within the determined period, it shall pursue any remaining deficiencies through the conformity clearance provided for in Article 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005.

The statement of assurance referred to in Article 8(1)(c)(iii) of Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 shall be drawn up in due time for the certification body to issue the opinion referred to in point (b) of the second subparagraph of Article 5(4) of this Regulation.

The statement of assurance shall be as set out in Annex II and may be qualified by reservations quantifying the potential financial impact. In that case, it shall include a remedial action plan and a precise timetable for its implementation.

The statement of assurance shall be based on an effective supervision of the management and control system in place throughout the year.