TITLE IIPRODUCER ORGANISATIONS

CHAPTER VGeneral provisions

Section 3Administrative penalties

Article 60Fraud

1

F2The appropriate authority shall suspend payments to and F1the Secretary of State shall suspend the recognition of a producer organisation or an association of producer organisations, which are under investigation by a F3public authority within the United Kingdom in connection with a charge of fraud in respect of aid covered by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, until the charge has been determined.

2

Where a producer organisation or an association of producer organisations has committed fraud in respect of aid covered by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, F4the responsible authority shall, without prejudice to any other penalties applicable F5in law :

a

withdraw the recognition of that organisation or association;

b

exclude the actions concerned from support under the operational programme concerned and recover any aid already paid with respect to those actions; and

c

exclude that organisation or association from recognition during the following year.

F6In this paragraph, the ‘responsible authority’ is the appropriate authority for the constituent nation in which the producer organisation has its head office in respect of actions under point (b), and the Secretary of State in respect of actions under points (a) and (c).