- 1
- Where
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- a)a benefit under this Agreement is claimed from, or is being paid by, one of the Parties; and
- b)there are reasonable grounds for believing that the claimant may also be entitled, whether by virtue of this Agreement or otherwise, to a benefit from the other Party and that, if paid, would affect the amount of that first-mentioned benefit;
- that first-mentioned benefit shall not be paid or continue to be paid if a claim is not duly lodged for payment of the second-mentioned benefit or if that claim is not actively pursued.
- 2
- Where:
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- a)a benefit under this Agreement or otherwise is claimed from one of the Parties and, as a result of that claim, a benefit is payable by a Party to a person in respect of a past period and that past period occurred after the entry into force of this Agreement;
- b)for all or part of that period, the other Party has paid to that person a benefit under its legislation; and
- c)the amount of the benefit paid by that other Party would have been reduced had the benefit referred to in subparagraph (a) been paid during that past period,
- then the amount that would not have been paid by the other Party had the benefit described in subparagraph (a) been paid on a periodical basis throughout the past period shall, for the purposes of this Article, be referred to as an “overpayment”.
- 3
- A Competent Institution which has made an overpayment of a benefit to a beneficiary may request the other Competent Institution which is required to pay a corresponding benefit to that beneficiary to deduct the amount of the overpayment from any arrears of that corresponding benefit which the latter Competent Institution pays to that beneficiary. The latter Competent Institution shall if so requested deduct the amount of the overpayment from those arrears and transfer it to the former Competent Institution. Where the whole or part of any overpayment cannot be deducted from any arrears the provisions of paragraph 4 shall apply.
- 4
- Where a Competent Institution of a Party is unable to recover pursuant to paragraph 3 all the amount of an overpayment it has made, it may, within the conditions and limits laid down by the legislation which it applies, request the Competent Institution of the other Party to deduct the unrecovered amount of the overpayment from any pension, benefit or allowance which the latter Competent Institution pays to the beneficiary. The latter Competent Institution shall make the deductions under the conditions and within the limits set out in the legislation which it applies as if it had made the overpayment and shall transfer the amounts deducted to the former Competent Institution.
- 5
- The amount of any overpayment shall be a debt due by the person who received it to the Party that paid it.
- 6
- A Party may determine that the amount, or any part, of the debt owing to it under paragraph 4 may be deducted from future payments of any pension, benefit or allowance payable at any time by that Party to the person owing the debt.
- 7
- The Competent Institution receiving a request under paragraph 3 shall take the action agreed upon between the liaison agencies to recoup the amount of the overpayment and to transfer it to the other Competent Institution.
