S.I. No. 173/1973 - European Communities (Vegetable Seeds) Regulations, 1973.

S.I. No. 173 of 1973.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (VEGETABLE SEEDS) REGULATIONS, 1973.

I, MARK CLINTON, Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), hereby make the following regulations :

1 Short title and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Vegetable Seeds) Regulations, 1973, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of July, 1973.

2 Interpretation

2. In these Regulations—

"authorised officer" means an officer of the Minister authorised in writing by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries;

"National Catalogue" has the meaning specified in Regulation 3(1);

"the Directive" means the Council directive No. 70/458/EEC¹ as amended by the Council directives No. 71/162/EEC², No. 72/274/ EEC³ and 72/418/EEC⁴;

¹ OJ No. L225, 12 October 1970, p.7.

² OJ No. L87, 17 April, 1971, p.24.

³ O.J No. L171, 29 July, 1972, p.37.

⁴OJ No. L287, 26 December, 1972, p.22.

any expression which has a particular meaning for the purposes of the Directive has that meaning for the purposes of these Regulations.

3 National Catalogue

3. (1) The Minister shall maintain the national catalogue for the State required by the Directive (in these Regulations referred to as the National Catalogue).

(2) The first entries in the National Catalogue shall be the varieties included in the national list of vegetable varieties which, on the 31st day of December, 1972, stood prepared at the instance of the Minister and subsequent entries shall be effected in accordance with the Directive.

(3) There shall be included in the National Catalogue such particulars with regard to the varieties as the Minister considers proper, including, in relation to each variety, any particulars necessary for compliance with the Directive.

(4) Where a variety is included in the National Catalogue, any person shown in the Catalogue as responsible for the maintenance for conservation of the variety shall—

(a) allow an authorised officer to examine the production of the variety for conservation and all records relating to such production (including records relating to production of generations prior to basic seed),

(b) supply to an authorised officer, or allow an authorised officer to take, samples of the variety.

(5) Revocation of acceptance of a variety for inclusion in the National Catalogue and deletion of such variety from the Catalogue shall be effected by the Minister in accordance with the Directive.

4 Certification and Checking

4. (1) The Minister shall be the official authority for the State for the certification of seed as basic and certified seed and the checking of seed as standard seed for the purposes of the Directive.

(2) Such certification and checking shall be restricted to seed of vegetables of which the variety has been accepted for inclusion in—

(a) the National Catalogue,

(b) the catalogue of another Member State corresponding to the National Catalogue, or

(c) the common catalogue.

5 Marketing

5. (1) Vegetable seed shall not be marketed unless—

(a) in the case of seed produced in any of the Member States, it has been certified as basic seed or certified seed or checked as standard seed by the official authority of that State,

(b) in the case of seed imported from a third country, it is of a kind accepted by the Minister or the Council of the European Economic Community as being equivalent to basic seed, certified seed or standard seed produced in the Community,

(c) the variety of the seed has been accepted for inclusion in—

(i) the National Catalogue,

(ii) the catalogue of another Member State corresponding to the National Catalogue, or

(iii) the common catalogue,

(d) it is marketed in homogeneous lots in accordance with the Directive,

(e) it is marketed in packages which are sealed, marked and labelled in accordance with the requirements indicated in the Directive and which contain inside, where required by the Directive, the notice, in the same colour as the label, specified in the Directive and giving the information so specified.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

6 Labels

6. (1) Persons responsible for affixing labels relating to standard seeds intended for marketing shall comply with the requirements specified in Article 37 of the Directive and shall permit an authorised officer to carry out the checks so specified.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

7 Records, etc.

7. (1) A person who carries on the business of marketing vegetable seed shall—

(a) keep records of his transactions in such seeds,

(b) produce at the request of an authorised officer any such records or any books, documents or other records relating to the business which are in the possession of such person, permit the officer to inspect and take extracts from such books, documents or records and give to the officer any information which he may reasonably require in relation to any entries therein,

(c) afford to an authorised officer reasonable facilities for the inspection, sampling and taking stock of any such seed on any premises on which such person carries on the business,

(d) give to an authorised officer any information which he may reasonably require in relation to such transactions, including information regarding seed imported from other Member States or from third countries.

(2) A person who contravenes this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

8 Powers of authorised officers

8. (1) An authorised officer may at any reasonable time enter and inspect any premises in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that the business of marketing, or of importing or exporting, vegetable seed is carried on and may take samples of any vegetable seed which he finds in the course of his inspection.

(2) A person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer when the officer is exercising a power conferred on him by these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

(3) The Minister shall furnish an authorised officer with a certificate of his appointment and, when exercising any powers conferred by these Regulations, the officer shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.

9 Prosecution of Offences

9. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

10 Fees

10. (1) There shall be charged such fees in respect of services performed by the Minister or an officer of the Minister in connection with matters to which these Regulations relate as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may determine.

(2) Fees under these Regulations shall be collected and taken in such manner as the Minister for Finance directs and shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of that Minister.

(3) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879 (1879, c. 58) shall not apply in respect of fees under these Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 27th day of June 1973.

MARK CLINTON,

Minister for Agriculture

and Fisheries.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations provide for the implementation of certain provisions of EEC Directives on the marketing of vegetable seeds including

(1) provision for the maintenance by the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries of a National Catalogue of varieties of vegetable seeds which may be certified, checked as standard seed and marketed;

(2) provision that vegetable seeds may not be marketed unless they are certified or checked as standard seed and are packed in containers which are sealed, marked and labelled in accordance with the requirements of the directives.