In the Official Gazette (Part I) no.334 of 20 April 2023 was published HG no.352/2023 on the granting of an emergency support measure for agricultural producers in the cereals sector.
According to a recent press release from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), the legal basis is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/739 of 4 April 2023 providing for an emergency support measure for the cereals and oilseeds sector in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania, published in the Official Journal of the European Union, Series L No 96 of 05.04.2023.
The objective of this support measure is to grant a subsidy to agricultural producers affected by the increase in imports of cereals from Ukraine and represents the amount to be granted to compensate for the costs incurred by agricultural producers in the cereals sector for the storage in storage facilities for their own agricultural products or storage in the custody of third parties of the quantities of wheat obtained from their own production for the year 2022 and registered in these facilities on 1 February 2023.
The amount of the aid scheme is 99.234 million lei and represents the equivalent of 20.1 million euro set at the exchange rate of 4.9370 lei for 1 euro in accordance with Article 1 paragraph (5) of the Regulation, which is ensured as follows:
- 616 million lei, equivalent to the amount of 10.05 million euro, non-reimbursable EAGF external financing made available to the Romanian State in accordance with Article 2, paragraph (1) of the Regulation;
- 616 million lei, equivalent to the amount of 10.05 million euro, to be provided from the state budget, through the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for 2023.
The unit amount of the grant is expressed in lei/tonne and is calculated by the Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture, by relating the amounts provided to the total quantities stored established and communicated as eligible for payment after verification of applications.
Please note that the scheme applies throughout Romania on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory criteria, and the payments of the grant are made until 30 September 2023.
The grant represents the amount granted to compensate the expenses incurred by agricultural producers in the cereals sector for the storage in their own premises or storage in custody with third parties of the quantities of wheat obtained from their own production for the year 2022 and registered in these premises on 1 February 2023.
The beneficiaries of this scheme are agricultural producers who are registered in the agricultural register, the single identification register, who use areas of arable land, individually or in associations, for the purpose of producing cereals respectively:
a) agricultural producers natural persons;
b) agricultural producers who are authorized natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises established according to the provisions of the Emergency Ordinance (OUG) no.44/2008 on the conduct of economic activities by authorized natural persons, individual enterprises and family enterprises, approved with amendments and additions by Law no.182/2016, with subsequent amendments and additions;
c) agricultural producers who are legal entities, irrespective of their legal status or their method of organisation, agricultural companies organised in accordance with Law no.36/1991 on agricultural companies and other forms of association in agriculture, as subsequently amended and supplemented, companies regulated by Companies Law no.31/1990, republished, as subsequently amended and supplemented, producer groups and organisations recognised in accordance with Government Ordinance no.37 /2005 on the recognition and functioning of producer groups and organisations for the marketing of agricultural and forestry products, approved with amendments and additions by Law No 338/2005, as subsequently amended and supplemented, agricultural cooperatives organised in accordance with the Agricultural Cooperatives Act No 566/2004, as subsequently amended and supplemented.
In order to access this form of support, beneficiaries must meet the following eligibility conditions:
- are registered in the records of the Agency for Payments and Intervention for Agriculture with the single application for payment 2022;
- have stored their own wheat production of 2022 in storage facilities for their own agricultural products or in storage facilities belonging to third parties on 1 February 2023.
Beneficiaries may not apply for the grant to be awarded under this scheme for quantities of wheat stored on 1 February 2023 in their own storage facilities for agricultural products, which originate from purchases from third parties and not from their own production.
For the quantities of wheat from their own harvest stored with third parties and existing in warehouses on 1 February 2023, beneficiaries may apply for the grant on the basis of the temporary storage and service contract concluded with the storer before that date.
Beneficiaries who meet the eligibility conditions mentioned above shall submit/transmit to the local/judetene centres of APIA, respectively the APIA centre in Bucharest, where they submitted the single application for payment 2022, an application for granting an emergency support measure, according to the model provided in Annex no. 1, accompanied by the following documents:
a) in the case of storage with third parties, a copy of the temporary storage and service contract concluded between the agricultural producer depositor and the depositary;
b) a copy of the bank details document, if these are different from those entered in the single application for payment 2022; copies of the identification documents existing in the single application for payment submitted to APIA for the application year 2022, if they are not amended, remain valid for the granting of aid provided for in this Decision;
c) declaration on own responsibility in the case of agricultural producers who are natural persons, drawn up according to the model provided in Annex no. 2, supporting the situation regarding the wheat stock as of February 1, 2023.
The grant represents the amount granted to compensate the expenses incurred by agricultural producers in the cereals sector for the storage in their own premises or storage in custody with third parties of the quantities of wheat obtained from their own production for the year 2022 and registered in these premises on 1 February 2023.
The application for aid and the documents required shall be submitted within 15 working days from the date of entry into force of this decision, i.e. from 20 April.
The aid application, accompanied by the documents mentioned above, can be sent to the local/judetene centres of APIA, respectively the APIA centre in Bucharest and by fax or post or in electronic format by e-mail, in which case a confirmation of receipt and registration is required.
The documents submitted/transmitted in copy by the beneficiary will bear the phrase “conform with the original”, will be dated and signed by the beneficiary.
We mention that all documents submitted in order to apply for the aid granted according to this decision are kept at the county centres of APIA, respectively the APIA centre in Bucharest for a period of 10 fiscal years from the date on which the state aid was granted.
All documents attesting the granting of the aid shall be kept by the beneficiaries of the aid for a period of 10 fiscal years from the date of receipt of the amount representing the emergency support granted under this decision.
Legal basis:
Government Decision (HG) 352/2023 on granting an emergency support measure for agricultural producers in the cereals sector.