About the Paying Agency

 

 

It started its operation on 1 July 2003 as the general legal successor of the SAPARD Office and the Agricultural Intervention Center as the Office for Agriculture and Rural Development (ARDA). In accordance with Government Decree No. 328/2016 (X. 28.) on the dissolution of the ARDA and the amendment of certain related government decrees, the Agricultural and Rural Development Office was dissolved by a merger separation on 31 December 2016 and its general legal successor is the Hungarian State Treasury (hereinafter referred to as "Treasury") as of 1 January 2017. In accordance with this, the Government Decree 311/2006 (XII. 23.) on the Hungarian State Treasury was amended, in which the Treasury was designated as: (instead of 311/2006: Government Decree 310/2017 (X. 31.) on the Hungarian State Treasury)

 

a) as a CAP paying agency

b) as an agricultural and rural development support body

c) an agricultural injury compensation body

d) acting as coordinator of ISAMM in the Member States

e) as a crisis insurance body

 

At the same time, the county branches of ARDA were merged into the county government offices and by amending government decree 66/2015. (III. 30.) on the government offices of the capital and counties and the district (capital district) offices, the county government offices were appointed to perform the following tasks (previously performed by ARDA county offices):

 

(a) as a delegated task, in relation to the tasks of the paying agency, the tasks of territorial application management, on-the-spot control and county customer service related to agricultural and rural development support, and

(b) the tasks delegated to the county government office in the Government Decree designating certain organizations to carry out tasks related to the implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy in the Member States.

 

The Hungarian State Treasury, as the Paying Agency, is responsible for the reception, control and assessment of all kinds of agricultural and rural development support schemes provided for in the EU Common Agricultural Policy (EAGF, EAFRD) and irrespective of their financial resource (EU, national or co-financed, the payment of aids, the submission of reports to the EU.

 

As such, its duties include the management of CAP agricultural aid schemes, the processing of support applications, the performance of necessary administrative and physical controls, and the allocation of funds to the Beneficiaries. 

The Paying Agency fulfills the duties related to:

  • the development as well as the implementation of the measures of the paying agency in respect of supports and measures financed from the EAFRD and EAGF, as well as in respect of other measures;
  • the supports allocated from the European Fisheries Fund (EFF), based on the instructions of the managing authority of the EFF;
  • the maintenance and financial closure of the rural development measures participating in the implementation of ARDOP as intermediary organization;
  • maintenance related to the operation of the SAPARD supporting system;
  • the utilization and implementation of certain national supports.

 The Paying Agency operates:

  • the customer recording system,
  • the recording and checking systems aimed at managing the measures,
  • the Land Parcel Identification System,
  • the intervention store register,
  • the records system of low amount (de minimis) agricultural supports,
  • the monitoring data recording system,
  • the milk quota registration system,
  • the registration of agricultural property rights,
  • the agricultural risk management database

It operates an Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) to support the efficient performance of its tasks and the recording and processing of data on the use of financial resources.

In order to simplify the submission of applications and access to grants, it has been possible to submit applications electronically since 2008.