Penalty imposed for failure to use agricultural land for agricultural activities

On Thursday, April 21, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Latvian Code of Administrative Offences in the third final reading, providing for penalties for persons who, after purchasing agricultural land, fail to begin using this land for agricultural production within a specified period.

The amendments provide that natural and legal persons, who have acquired agricultural land specified in the Law "On the Privatization of Land in Rural Areas" after November 1, 2014:

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• For failure to use agricultural land for agricultural activities, violating the deadline for written confirmation specified in the regulatory enactments on land privatization, if the land area is from 1 to 20 hectares – will issue a warning or impose a fine of up to 60 EUR for a natural person, and up to 150 EUR for a legal entity.

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• For failure to use agricultural land for agricultural activities, violating the deadline for written confirmation specified in the regulatory enactments on land privatization, if the land area is from 21 to 50 hectares – will issue a warning or impose a fine on a natural person – from 60 EUR to 350 EUR, but on a legal entity from 150 EUR to 650 EUR.

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• For failure to use agricultural land for agricultural activities, violating the deadline for written confirmation specified in the regulatory enactments on land privatization, if the land area is from 51 to 100 hectares – will issue a warning or impose a fine on a natural person – from 350 EUR to 500 EUR, and on a legal entity – from 650 EUR to 1500 EUR.

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• For failure to use agricultural land for agricultural activities, in violation of the deadline for written confirmation specified in the regulatory enactments on land privatization, if the land area exceeds 100 hectares – will issue a warning or impose a fine on a natural person – from 500 EUR to 700 EUR, and on a legal entity – from 1500 EUR to 5000 EUR.