L 98/30 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 3. 98 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 709/98 of 30 March 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1686/72 on certain detailed rules for aid for seed as regards checking procedures and laying down rules for application of the stabiliser mechanism for rice seed production THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 of 26 October 1971 on the common organisation of the market in seeds ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 192/98 (3, and in particular Articles 3(5) and 11 thereof, Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1674/72 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3795/85 (%), lays down general rules for granting and financing aid for seed; Whereas Article 3(4a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 establishes a stabiliser mechanism for rice seed produc- tion; whereas this involves setting a maximum quantity on which the Community seed aid may be granted that is consistent with potential seed sales given the existence of the base area set in Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 3072/95 of 22 December 1995 on the common orga- nisation of the market in rice (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 192/98; Whereas for determining agronomic yields for rice seed production in the various Member States it is appropriate to use the same period as that considered representative for the purposes of Regulation (EC) No 3072/95; whereas, accordingly, the three-year average that is obtained when for the period 1990/91 to 1994/95 the year with the highest and the year with the lowest yield are eliminated has been used; Whereas the seed harvested in one marketing year is normally used to sow paddy rice and rice seed production areas in the next marketing year; whereas in the period considered as representative the quantity of seed used in the Community to sow one hectare was 0,2 tonnes, i.e. to sow the base area of 433 123 hectares set in Article 6 of () () () () 0) 5 OJ L 246, 5. 11. 1971, p. 1. OJ L 20, 27. 1. 1998, p. 16. OJ L 177, 4. 8. 1972, p. 1. OJ L 367, 31. 12. 1985, p. 21. OJ L 329, 30. 12. 1995, p. 18. Regulation (EC) No 3072/95, 86 624,600 tonnes of seed were needed; Whereas the maximum quantity on which rice seed aid can be granted in the Community must be split up by producer Member State on the basis of production in the Member States in the same representative period; whereas, in order to allow for annual variation in yield, provision should be made for adjustment of the maximum aidable quantity in individual Member States provided that the overall quantity for the Community is not exceeded; Whereas operation of the stabiliser mechanism will require that a time limit be set for lodging of aid applica- tions for rice seed and for notification by the Member States to the Commission of the quantities covered by these so that any percentage reduction applicable in the Member State can be calculated; Whereas payment of the aid for rice seed must be subse- quent to determination by the Commission of any percentage reduction applicable; Whereas compliance with the provisions governing Community aids must be adequately checked; whereas to this end detailed criteria and technical rules covering administrative and on-the-spot checks are required; whereas as regards the latter previous experience indicates that it is desirable, in addition to specifying minimum volumes of checks to be carried out, to require the use of risk analysis and to specify the criteria to be used in it; Whereas experience also indicates the need to adopt suitably graded provisions, that also allow for cases of force majeure, to prevent and punish irregularity and fraud; whereas graded penalties in line with the gravity of the irregularity should be set that extend to total exclu- sion from aid for the year in question and the following year; Whereas arrangements are required to guarantee that only legitimate aid payments are made and to reduce the aid when applications are lodged late; whereas these should be modelled on the integrated administration and control system specified in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 of 27 November 1992 establishing an integrated