Sustaining Progress - Department of Taoiseach

■ Full stamp duty relief on land transfers to young trained farmers will be continued for a further
three years until 31 December 2005.
■ The existing 25% scheme of stock relief for farmers will be continued for a further two years until
31 December 2004.
■ The special rate of stock relief of 100% for young trained farmers will be continued for a further
two years, subject to a commencement order by the Minister for Finance.
■ Under EU VAT law, the VAT rate under the flat rate scheme for unregistered farmers is set on the
basis of macro-economic data for the previous three years. The Government will arrange for the
relevant Departments and Offices to meet with farming representatives to elaborate on the data
and methodology used in this calculation with a view to full transparency in its operation.
■ The Government shall introduce a Land Bill on the operation of Land Purchase Annuities and the
management of former Land Commission lands owned by the Minister for Agriculture and Food.
The initiative is intended to reduce significantly the burden of Land Purchase Annuities for a
substantial number of farmers.
■ The Government shall examine, in conjunction with the Commission, the possibility of extending
the Disadvantaged Areas Classification to the whole BMW Region. In this context, the question of
designating the remaining parts of Co. Monaghan as severely handicapped will also be examined.
4.8 Customer Service
It is recognised by all parties that great progress has been made in recent years in the delivery of
services, schemes and payments to farmers. The objective shall be to build on the progress already
made. Effective consultation arrangements with all customers will be maintained. In view of the
importance of direct payments to farmers’ incomes, such consultation is of particular importance
to the farming bodies. In this context, intense efforts shall be made through the consultative process
to ensure a full understanding by applicants of the necessary control measures required to be applied
under EU rules to the various schemes and thereby contribute to a reduction in penalties incurred.
The Department of Agriculture and Food’s Customer Service Action Plan (which includes the protocol
on payments) will be updated and revised delivery targets will be examined. This will be done in
association with the “Monitoring Committee on the Protocol on Direct Payments to Farmers”.
With the aim of significantly simplifying procedures and facilitating farmers in marketing their
product, the CMMS will be used to the greatest possible extent commencing with the 2003 scheme
for the calculation of stocking rates for the payment of extensification premia. The Department will
continue to seek to apply the benefits of Information Technology wherever possible in the interests
of quality customer service.
Chapter 4 Building, Maintaining and Sharing Economic Development and Prosperity
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