Agri-news: Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) closes 10 July
There will of course be penalties where a late application is submitted or amendments are made:
• Payments will be reduced by 1% for each working day an application is late after the 15 June 2015 deadline.
• Where amendments increase the value of a BPS claim, the 1% penalty will also apply, but will only affect the part of the claim that was changed.
If amendments are required then they must be made in writing and they must be signed. If the application or amendment is received after midnight on 10 July 2015 it will be rejected.
The Rural Payments Agency has received 87,315 applications – 478 of them in the penalty period.
The Agency has already emailed online customers who had not claimed by the 15 June deadline to make sure that they were aware there was still time to claim. And from this week, any customers who are not online and have still not made a claim will be sent a final reminder. Farmers who do not apply in the first year of BPS will lose their entitlements.
How to apply
Those planning to post their forms are recommended to use a signed-for service and to ensure they include all the necessary documents in the envelope and use enough postage to cover the weight and size of the package.
The alternative is to search ‘find help to claim rural payments’ at www.gov.uk to find out about RPA drop-in centres, where hand-delivered forms will be accepted until 5pm on Friday 10 July.
The Rural Payments helpline is open for those who need support in making a claim - call 03000 200 301 (Monday to Friday, 08:30am to 5pm).
Find out more
Farmers can download forms and find more information atwww.gov.uk/rpa/bps.
More information about entitlements can be found in The Basic Payment Scheme in England 2015 guidance.