Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) Act, 1930

Fees on exporter's licences.

13.—(1) On every application for an exporter's licence there shall be paid to the Minister by the applicant a deposit of twelve pounds ten shillings, returnable to the applicant if his application is refused, and the payment of such deposit shall be a condition precedent to the grant of such licence, and upon the grant of such licence the said deposit shall be retained by the Minister and applied in accordance with this section.

(2) Every person who holds or has held an exporter's licence shall, for every half-year during which or any part of which he held one or more exporter's licences, pay to the Minister—

(a) where such person so held either one exporter's licence only or two or more such licences all granted in respect of the same registered slaughtering premises, a fee (in this Act referred to as an exporter's half-yearly fee) computed according to the rules in the Schedule to this Act, or

(b) where such person so held two or more exporter's licences and such licences were not all granted in respect of the same registered slaughtering premises, a fee (in this Act included in the expression “exporter's half-yearly fee”) computed as aforesaid for each registered slaughtering premises in respect of which any one or more of such licences was or were granted.

(3) Every deposit paid under sub-section (1) of this section by an applicant for an exporter's licence shall be allowed as a payment on account of the first exporter's half-yearly fee payable by such applicant after the grant of such licence in respect of the registered slaughtering premises in respect of which such licence is granted, and if such deposit or deposits is or are greater than such fee, the difference shall be allowed as a payment on account of the next exporter's half-yearly fee payable by such applicant in respect of the same registered slaughtering premises.

(4) As soon as may be after the expiration of every half-year the Minister shall ascertain, in respect of every person who during the whole or any part of such half-year held one or more exporter's licences, the amount of the exporter's half-yearly fee or of each of such fees payable by such person for such half-year.

(5) Where all the exporter's licences held by a person in respect of the same registered slaughtering premises are revoked by the Minister under this Act, the exporter's half-yearly fee payable by such person in respect of such premises for the half-year then current, shall, if the Minister so directs, be ascertained immediately upon such revocation and not under the foregoing sub-section.

(6) Where an exporter's licence is held by two or more persons in succession during a half-year, such licence shall, for the purposes of this section and the Schedule to this Act, be deemed to have been held during the whole of such half-year by the person who last holds the same during such half-year and not to have been held by any other person at any time during such half-year.

(7) When and so soon as the amount of any exporter's half-yearly fee has been ascertained under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Minister shall, unless the whole of such fee is discharged by a deposit or deposits required by this section to be allowed as a payment on account thereof, issue a certificate (in this section referred to as a certificate of indebtedness) in the prescribed form certifying the half-year for which such fee is payable, the person by whom and the registered slaughtering premises in respect of which such fee is payable, and the amount of such fee or (where the circumstances so require) the amount payable in respect of such fee after deducting from such fee such sum as is required by this section to be allowed as a payment on account thereof.

(8) Every certificate of indebtedness shall be conclusive evidence of all matters purported to be certified therein and any document purporting to be a certificate of indebtedness issued under this section shall, on production thereof in any proceedings to recover the amount thereby certified to be payable, be deemed until the contrary is proved to be a certificate of indebtedness duly issued under this section and shall be admitted in evidence accordingly.

(9) As soon as may be after the issue of a certificate of indebtedness, a copy thereof shall be served by post on the person thereby certified as liable to pay the fee the subject thereof and immediately upon such service the amount certified by such certificate as payable by such person shall become and be payable by such person to the Minister and shall, after the expiration of four weeks from such service, be recoverable by the Minister as a civil debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(10) If a person who is a licensed exporter fails or neglects to pay the amount certified by a certificate of indebtedness to be payable by him within four weeks after the service of a copy of such certificate on him, the Minister may revoke the exporter's licence or all the exporter's licences held by such person in respect of the registered slaughtering premises in relation to which such amount is, payable, but such revocation shall not relieve such person from liability to pay the said amount.

(11) Where an exporter's licence is revoked under the foregoing sub-section of this section and the holder of such licence is also the registered proprietor of the premises in respect of which such licence was granted, the registration of such premises in the register or all the registers in which such premises are registered under this Act shall, by virtue of this sub-section, be cancelled as from the expiration of the year current when the revocation of such licence took place, and such premises shall not be again registered in such register or any of such registers so long as the amount or any part of the amount the non-payment of which occasioned such revocation remains unpaid.