ADDENDUM TO THE SECTORAL AGREEMENTBETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION SETTING OUT PROVISIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF UNION FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO SERBIA UNDER THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME OF THE INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE (IPARD III)("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 5/2026) |
ARTICLE 14
EX-POST VERIFICATIONS ON INVESTMENT OPERATIONS
(3) The ex-post verifications shall be carried out within five years of the date of final payment to the recipient, with the exception of commitments under the agri-environment-climate measure which are verified only during the 5-year period when the commitments are carried out. All investments shall be checked at least once during the five-year period.
ARTICLE 35
(3) The following expenditure shall not be eligible under the IPARD III programme:
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(i) the purchase of agricultural production rights, animals, except for animals for rearingendangered breeds supported under the agri-environment-climate commitments, annual plantsand their planting;
(...)
(I) the purchase of combine harvesters and vehicles, except for specialised vehicles directly relevant for the objectives of a supported investment as provided in the IPARD III programme;
(m) investment in the tobacco sector;
(n) investment in the hemp sector when products are not complying with the import conditions laid down in Article 189 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;
(o) support to production of alcoholic beverages, except for production of wine up to 15% of the alcoholic strength.
ARTICLE 41
CALCULATION OF THE AMOUNT TO BE PAID
(2) The amounts of the Union contribution recovered from recipients under the IPARD III programme during each reference period and the debts that have not been collected within two years of their registration in the debtors’ ledger as referred to in Article 49(6) of this Agreement shall be deducted by the Commission from the amount to be paid in respect of the payment request for that period in accordance with Article 50 of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 49
FORM AND CONTENT OF THE ACCOUNTING INFORMATION
(6) Serbia shall set up, in respect of the IPARD III programme, a system for the recognition of all amounts due and for the recording in a debtors’ ledger of all such debts, including irregularities prior to their receipt. Without prejudice to Article 43(5) or any national provisions concerning recovery of debts, any financial contribution charged to the Union with respect to these sums, including irregularities, shall be written off at the end of the second year following its registration in the debtors’ ledger. These sums shall be reported as written off in the annual accounts of the period concerned and will be deducted by the Commission as provided for in Article 41(2).
The IPARD Agency and the Accounting Body shall ensure that any amounts recovered are credited to the IPARD euro account within five working days of the date of recovery.
ARTICLE 54
IPARD III MONITORING COMMITTEE
(6) Notwithstanding Article 8 of this Agreement(4), in combination with Clause 6a(5) of Annex A to the FFPA, the IPARD III monitoring committee may, following consultation with the IPARD Managing Authority and the IPARD Agency, propose to the IPARD Managing Authority for submission to the Commission, with a copy to the NIPAC and the NAO, amendments or reviews of the IPARD III programme to ensure the achievements of the programme’s objectives and enhance the efficiency of the assistance provided.
(7) ...
(8) The IPARD III monitoring committee shall examine the evaluations of the IPARD III programme referred to in Article 59.
(9) The IPARD III monitoring committee shall consider and approve the plan of visibility and communication activities referred to in Article 32 as well as any subsequent updates of the plan.
(10) …
ARTICLE 56
PRINCIPLES FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE IPARD III PROGRAMME
(1) For the purposes of Article 54 of the FFPA, evaluations shall aim to improve the quality, effectiveness and consistency of the assistance from Union funds and the strategy and implementation of the IPARD III programme.
(2) …
(3) The evaluations shall assess the implementation of the IPARD III programme towards the achievement of objectives set out in Article 16(7) of the FFPA.
(4) …
ARTICLE 57
EX-ANTE EVALUATION OF THE IPARD III PROGRAMME
(1) Ex-ante evaluation shall form part of drawing up of the IPARD III programme and aim to optimise the allocation of budgetary resources and improve programming quality. It shall identify and appraise medium and long-term needs, the goals to be achieved, the results expected, the quantified targets, the Union value-added, the extent to which the objectives, have been taken into account in accordance with Article 16(7) of the FFPA, the lessons learned and the quality of the procedures for implementation, programme monitoring, evaluation and financial management.
ARTICLE 61
ANNUAL AND FINAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORTS
The annual implementation reports shall cover the previous calendar year and shall include data related to the calendar year before and the cumulative financial and monitoring data for the whole period of implementation of the IPARD III programme as well as aggregated monitoring tables. For the final year of implementation no annual implementation report is requested, it is considered to be covered in the final implementation report. The final reports on implementation of the IPARD III programme shall cover the whole period of implementation.
MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM
The structures, authorities and bodies of the internal control system as defined in Articles 10(1)(c) and 10(2) of the FFPA shall have an organisational structure allowing them to execute the following main functions in respect of IPARD expenditure:
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Managing functions
(a) Selection of the measures: the objective of this function is that according to Article 10(9)(a) of the FFPA the IPARD Managing Authority is responsible for the selection of measures and their publicity, including the selection of measures under each call in accordance with Article 8 of this Agreement, in combination with Clause 6a(3)(c) of Annex A to the FFPA.
INTERNAL CONTROL FRAMEWORK
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3. Control activities
D. Procedures for advances and guarantees (if applicable)
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In agreement with the Commission payments of advances, for the measure 5 ‘implementation of local development strategies - LEADER approach’ qualify as eligible expenditure up to 50% of the public aid and shall be subject to the establishment of a bank guarantee or an equivalent guarantee, except for advance payments of 50% of each annual running costs of the local action group (LAG). They shall not be subject to the establishment of a bank guarantee or an equivalent guarantee.
Payments of advances, for the measure 9 ‘technical assistance’ qualify as eligible expenditure up to 90% of the public aid related to the operation and shall not be subject to the establishment of a bank guarantee or an equivalent guarantee.
RULES FOR PROGRAMMING
Aid intensities, rates of Union contribution and eligibility for IPA Rural Development programmes 2021-2027
5. Eligibility
For the different measures the following will be applicable:
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Measure 13 - Promotion of cooperation for innovation and knowledge transfer
Recipients
The Innovation Partnership (IP) Operational Groups comprising at least three actors from different groups, for example, farmers, advisors, researchers, NGOs, forest owners and agri-businesses and operating in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture or food processing.
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