Interruption of the payment deadline

1.   The Commission may interrupt the payment deadline, except for pre-financing, for a maximum period of 6 months where any of the following conditions is met:
(a)
there is evidence to suggest a serious deficiency for which corrective measures have not been taken;
(b)
the Commission has to carry out additional verifications following receipt of information that expenditure in a payment application may be linked to an irregularity.
2.   The Member State may agree to extend the interruption period by 3 months.
3.   The Commission shall limit the interruption to the part of the expenditure affected by the elements referred to in paragraph 1, unless it is not possible to identify the part of the expenditure affected. The Commission shall inform the Member State and the managing authority in writing of the reason for interruption and shall request them to remedy the situation. The Commission shall end the interruption as soon as the measures remedying the elements referred to in paragraph 1 have been taken.
4.   The Fund-specific rules for the EMFAF may lay down specific bases for interruption of payments linked to non-compliance with rules applicable under the Common Fisheries Policy.