Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023
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Chapter 3 Enforcement and supplementary regulations | ||
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Enforcement and supplementary regulations, offences and penalties | ||
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80. (1) The Minister may by regulations make such provision as is necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act. | ||
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) and, in the case of paragraph (h), without prejudice also to the generality of section 3 of the Act of 1972, regulations under this section may make provision for— | ||
(a) the regulator’s enforcement functions, including additional functions that may be assigned to it, | ||
(b) the procedures for the making of complaints under this Act, including the format, timing, evidence, standing and other requirements for efficient and fair processing of complaints, | ||
(c) the regulator’s enforcement powers, including a power to hold hearings, | ||
(d) the means and methods of publication of decisions, offences, penalties and fines for non-compliance, | ||
(e) the efficient use and operation of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, | ||
(f) specifying additional agricultural and food products to which this Act applies (in accordance with section 6 (2)(c)), | ||
(g) the collection of price and market information to address issues of lack of transparency and information asymmetry in the agricultural and food supply chain (which may, in particular, include provision allowing the regulator to compel the provision of information referred to in section 12 (3)(d)), and | ||
(h) giving effect, or further effect, to an act (or a provision of an act) adopted by an institution of the European Union relating to— | ||
(i) unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food sector, or | ||
(ii) reporting of market prices in the agricultural and food sector. | ||
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (h) of subsection (2), regulations under that paragraph may— | ||
(a) contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary for the purposes of the regulations (including provisions repealing, amending or applying, with or without modification, other law, exclusive of this section, the Act of 1972 and the European Communities Act 2007 ), | ||
(b) apply either generally or to such class or classes of agricultural and food products, persons, places, practices or activities as may be specified in the regulations, and | ||
(c) prescribe persons to perform the functions of a national authority or competent authority for the purposes of the regulations and the act adopted by an institution of the European Union to which the regulations give effect or further effect, as the case may be. | ||
(4) Regulations under subsection (2)(h) shall specify in the preamble or recital to the regulations the act of the institution of the European Union to which the regulations give effect or further effect, as the case may be. | ||
(5) A person who contravenes or fails to comply with a provision of regulations made under this section that is specified in the regulations to be a penal provision— | ||
(a) to which this paragraph applies, commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction to a class A fine, or | ||
(b) to which this paragraph applies, commits an offence and is liable— | ||
(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both, or | ||
(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding the greater of €10,000,000 or 10 per cent of the aggregate turnover of the person in the financial year in which the offence was committed or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years, or to both. | ||
(6) In this section, “Act of 1972” means the European Communities Act 1972 . |