– Mr. Zbigniew's case shows that it is not worth uncritically agreeing with all the Agency's decisions. Even if a farmer is refused aid, it is worth considering a complaint to the Provincial Administrative Court. As you can see, it may end in success, says Kamila Warczachowska, Agraves expert on subsidies for agricultural farms.
He submitted an application for the construction of a fence and the purchase of a washer
According to Agraves, in February 2023, Mr. Zbigniew submitted an application to the Wielkopolska branch of ARiMR for funding for investments preventing the destruction of agricultural production potential. The man wanted to build a fence and buy a disinfection washer.
Shortly thereafter, the Agency sent him comments on the application and asked him to correct the deficiencies. What exactly was that about?
– The agency called on our client to present documents confirming his ownership of the plots on which the investment was to be located – says Kamila Warczachowska.
Disputed plot
The farmer corrected the application and submitted the missing documents within the prescribed deadline. Additionally, he explained that he had submitted a request to the district starosta to provide data regarding the owner of one of the plots that he has been using for many years in order to obtain his written consent to install a fence in this area.
– In response to the request, I received an excerpt from the land register, which shows that the authority does not know the owner of the property, is unable to determine it, and that the land and mortgage register has not been established for the property. According to the information obtained at the office, this legal status has been in place for several dozen years, Mr. Zbigniew said.
Despite this, in June 2023, ARiMR again called on him to fill in the gaps and present documents confirming his right to one of the plots.
“It is not possible to build a fence on a plot that is not in the sole or dependent possession of the applicant, because it threatens the maintenance of the investment goal in the period until the expiry of 5 years from the date of payment of the final payment, as it may turn out that the possible owner of the plot on which it is located ditch and on which the beneficiary has erected part of the fence, will demand, for example, its removal," argued the Agency's representatives in their letter.
Rejection of the application and complaint to the court
Mr. Zbigniew revised the application again and presented the documents in July 2023. For several months he had no information about what was happening with his application, and in February 2024, the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture refused to grant him aid. ARiMR justified its decision by failing to provide the required documents.
Mr. Zbigniew did not agree with this decision and filed a complaint prepared by the Agraves legal team to the Provincial Administrative Court in Warsaw against the Agency's decision.
– The complainant submitted a current extract from the land register. It showed that Mr. Zbigniew was in possession of the property "on the principles of spontaneous possession". Therefore, an extract from the land register is the document the Agency needed. The essence of the dispute was the proper interpretation of the concept of "possession" – explains Mikołaj Baum, Agraves' lawyer.
Moreover, he adds: – The fence design, prepared by Mr. Zbigniew, passes only in a small part through the disputed plot. This was the only way to arrange the fence rationally in terms of organizational costs.
ARiMR restores the application
Ultimately, no proceedings took place in the Provincial Administrative Court. The agency agreed with us and reinstated Mr. Zbigniew's application for consideration. As a result, she applied to the court to discontinue the proceedings.
– We are pleased that the president of ARiMR accepted our arguments and resumed the proceedings against Mr. Zbigniew's application. We hope that it will end positively with the granting of a subsidy, says Kamila Warczachowska.
