S.I. No. 266/1992 - European Communities (General Authorisations For Exports of Agricultural Products) Regulations, 1992.

S.I. No. 266 of 1992.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (GENERAL AUTHORISATIONS FOR EXPORTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS) REGULATIONS, 1992.

I, JOE WALSH, Minister for Agriculture and Food, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and having regard to the provisions of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and in particular Articles 34 and 36 thereof, and for the purpose of giving effect to Articles 19 and 22 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 804/68,⁽¹⁾ Articles 20 and 22 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68,⁽²⁾ Article 17 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2759/75,⁽³⁾ Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2771/75,⁽⁴⁾ Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2777/75,⁽⁵⁾ Article 19 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3013/89,⁽⁶⁾ Articles 1 and 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2603/69,⁽⁷⁾ Council Directive No. 89/662/EEC ⁽⁸⁾ and Council Directive No. 90/425/EEC⁽⁹⁾ hereby make the following Regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (General Authorisations for Exports of Agricultural Products) Regulations, 1992.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1992.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"the 1947 Act" means the Agricultural and Fishery Products (Regulation of Export) Act, 1947 (No. 18 of 1947);

"the 1966 Act" means the Diseases of Animals Act, 1966 (No. 6 of 1966);

⁽¹⁾ O.J. No. L148 of 28.6.1968, p. 13.

⁽²⁾ O.J No. L148 of 28.6.1968, p. 24.

⁽³⁾ O.J No. L282 of 1.11.1975, p. 1.

⁽⁴⁾ O.J No. L282 of 1.11.1975, p. 49.

⁽⁵⁾ O.J No. L282 of 1.11.1975, p. 77.

⁽⁶⁾ O.J No. L289 of 7.10.1989, p. 1.

⁽⁷⁾ O.J No. L324 of 27.12.1989, p. 25.

⁽⁸⁾ O.J No. L395 of 30.12.1989, p. 13.

⁽⁹⁾ O.J No. L224 of 18.8.1990, p. 29.

"authorised person" means—

(i) a person who stands for the time being appointed under Regulation 8 (1) of these Regulations,

(ii) an inspector within the meaning of the 1966 Act;

"General Authorisation" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 3 of these Regulations;

"goods" means animals or poultry or other agricultural product;

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

"portal supervisor" means a person who stands for the time being appointed under Regulation 8 (2) of these Regulations.

(2) Except where the context otherwise requires, a word or expression, other than a word or expression to which a particular meaning is assigned by paragraph (1) of this Regulation, that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the 1947 or 1966 Acts has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the 1947 or 1966 Acts.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to an Order made under the 1966 Act includes a reference to an Order continued in force by section 10 of that Act.

3. (1) Where there is for the time being in force any Order made under the 1947 or 1966 Acts which prohibits, except under licence, the exportation of goods, the Minister may issue an authorisation under this Regulation (which authorisation is referred to elsewhere in these Regulations as a "General Authorisation") applying to the goods to which the Order relates.

(2) The Minister may attach conditions to any General Authorisation issued by him, vary such conditions or revoke the authorisation.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (2) of this Regulation, a condition attached to a General Authorisation may—

( a ) require that certificates or declarations (including statutory declarations) specified in the condition shall be presented in the manner described in Regulation 6 (2) (e) of these Regulations on the exportation of goods to which the Authorisation applies;

( b ) require that any certificate or declaration specified in the conditions shall be in a form so specified;

( c ) require that any certificate or declaration shall contain particulars so specified;

( d ) specify the country or countries, territory or territories or part or parts of any such country or countries, territory or territories to which such goods to which the authorisation applies may, and may only, be exported.

4. (1) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after a General Authorisation is issued, varied or revoked, cause to be published in Iris Oifigiúil notice of such issue, variation or revocation, together with a statement indicating where copies of the Authorisation, variation or revocation may be obtained.

(2) A General Authorisation (or a variation or revocation thereof), shall not come into effect until the date of publication of the issue of Iris Oifigiúil in which the relevant notice is published.

(3) A General Authorisation shall specify the Order or Orders under the 1947 or 1966 Acts to which it relates together with the goods to which it applies.

(4) The Minister shall assign to each General Authorisation issued by him and to each variation thereof a number as of the year in which it is so issued or varied.

(5) Where the Minister revokes a General Authorisation by reason of an outbreak of disease (being a disease specified in Part III of the First Schedule to the 1966 Act or any other disease) within the State, paragraph (2) of this Regulation shall not apply in relation to such revocation.

(6) In any proceedings a document, purporting to be a copy of a General Authorisation or a variation or revocation thereof, and purporting to have been issued by the Department of Agriculture and Food shall, when produced in evidence by an officer of the Minister for Agriculture and Food, be prima facie evidence of the issue, variation or revocation of the Authorisation (as the case may be) and of the terms thereof and, in the case of such issue or variation, that the Authorisation (as varied, where appropriate) is still in force.

5. A General Authorisation may—

( a ) relate to more than one of the Orders under the 1947 or 1966 Acts being Orders each of which is of the class described in Regulation 3 of these Regulations,

( b ) apply either to all goods to which the Order or Orders under the 1947 or 1966 Acts relate or to any particular class or description of such goods,

( c ) designate the ports and aerodromes or other places through, at or from and only through, at or from, which goods to which the authorisation applies may be exported,

( d ) require advance notice of any such export to be given, in a form and within a period so specified, to persons and at places so specified.

6. (1) Where goods to which a General Authorisation applies are exported and, as regards such export, each of the requirements specified in paragraph (2) of this Regulation is complied with, the following provisions shall apply:

( a ) the export shall be deemed to have been effected pursuant to and in accordance with a licence granted in that behalf under the 1947 or 1966 Acts, as the case may be, and

( b ) any Order under the 1947 or 1966 Acts to which the authorisation relates which, but for this Regulation, would prohibit or regulate such export shall be construed as neither so prohibiting nor so regulating.

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation are the following:

( a ) the requirements of the relevant General Authorisation;

( b ) where such General Authorisation designates, pursuant to Regulation 5 (c) of these Regulations, a port, aerodrome or other place, the goods have been exported from, through or at such port, aerodrome or other place;

( c ) where such General Authorisation requires advance notice pursuant to Regulation 5 (d) of these Regulations, that notice has been given;

( d ) the person who, at the time they are exported, is in charge of such goods shall show, if so requested, to the satisfaction of the portal supervisor or the Revenue Commissioners that such goods comply with such of the foregoing requirements of this paragraph as apply to them, and such person shall, if requested by an officer of Customs and Excise or an authorised person, complete such forms or other documents as that officer or authorised person shall specify, being forms or other documents which are for the time being forms or other documents to which a direction given by the Minister under Regulation 7 of these Regulations for the time being applies;

( e ) in case there is attached to such General Authorisation a condition referred to in Regulation 3 (3) (a) of these Regulations, such person shall, if so requested, present to the portal supervisor or to the proper officer of Customs and Excise, the certificate or declaration, as may be appropriate, specified in the condition.

(3) A person shall not, for or in connection with the exportation of goods, falsely hold out the goods or any of them as being goods to which a General Authorisation applies.

(4) In any proceedings for an offence under the 1947 Act or the Diseases of Animals Acts, 1966 and 1979, or under the Customs Acts in which it is alleged that in exporting goods from the State there was a contravention of any of the aforesaid Acts or of any Order under those Acts, it shall not be necessary for the prosecution to negative the application of subparagraph (a) or (b) of Regulation 6 (1) of these Regulations to the relevant exportation, but in any such proceedings in which it is alleged that the defendant contravened any provision of the aforesaid Acts or any Orders under those Acts in relation to such exportation, it shall be a good defence for the defendant to show that subparagraphs (a) and (b) of the said Regulation 6 (1) apply.

(5) A person who contravenes paragraph (3) of this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

7. (1) The Minister may direct that, where goods to which a General Authorisation applies are being exported, a form or other document, or each of the forms or other documents, specified in the direction shall, before the goods are exported, be completed by the person who, at the time they are exported, is in charge of the goods.

(2) A form or other document referred to in paragraph (1) of this Regulation may contain such questions as the Minister considers necessary for the protection of animal health (whether within the State or otherwise) or for the prevention of unnecessary suffering by animals.

8. (1) The Minister may appoint in writing such and so many of his officers or other persons as he thinks fit to be authorised persons for the purposes of these Regulations.

(2) The Minister may appoint in writing such and so many of his inspectors as he thinks fit to be portal supervisors for the purposes of these Regulations.

(3) A person appointed under this Regulation shall be furnished with a warrant of his appointment as an authorised person or portal supervisor, as may be appropriate, and when exercising any power conferred on an authorised person or a portal supervisor by these Regulations shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

9. Where in a certificate or declaration referred to in Regulation 3 (3) (a) of these Regulations, or in a form or other document referred to in Regulation 6 (2) (d) of these Regulations a person gives information which is false in any material particular he shall be guilty of an offence, unless he shows to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know of that falsity and that he could not with reasonable diligence have obtained knowledge thereof, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of September, 1992.

JOE WALSH,

Minister for Agriculture and Food.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

The Regulations make provision for the issue of general authorisations for the exportation of animals, poultry or other agricultural product.