Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Act 2023
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Chapter 2 Agricultural Unfair Trading Regulations | ||
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Power to make regulations | ||
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57. (1) The Minister may make regulations about business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain (which may, in particular, include provision prohibiting specified practices). | ||
(2) In this Act— | ||
(a) regulations under subsection (1) are referred to as “the Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations”, and | ||
(b) a practice prohibited by the Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations is referred to as an “unfair trading practice”. | ||
(3) The Minister may prohibit a practice in the Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations only if satisfied that the practice— | ||
(a) deviates from good commercial conduct, by reason of being contrary to good faith and fair dealing or by reason of being unilaterally imposed by one trading partner on another, | ||
(b) imposes an unjustified and disproportionate transfer of economic risk from one trading partner to another, or | ||
(c) imposes a significant imbalance of rights and obligations on one trading partner. | ||
(4) The Minister may make provision in Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations only if satisfied that it is appropriate having regard to— | ||
(a) the desirability of the promotion of competitive trade in business-to-business relationships in the agricultural and food supply chain, | ||
(b) the interests of users and consumers of agricultural and food products, in particular in relation to quality, value for money and access to choice, | ||
(c) the importance of trading partners in the agricultural and food supply chain conducting their trading relationships in good faith and in a fair, open and transparent manner, | ||
(d) the importance of maintaining freedom of contract between trading partners in the agricultural and food supply chain, | ||
(e) the importance of providing trading partners in the agricultural and food supply chain with reasonable certainty in respect of the risks and costs of trading, | ||
(f) the economic importance to the State of the production, manufacture, processing, supply, distribution, wholesale, retail and food service sectors in respect of agricultural and food products, | ||
(g) the impact on the development and maintenance of strong, innovative, efficient and competitive production, manufacturing, processing and supply bases in the agricultural and food sector, | ||
(h) the impact on the development and maintenance of competitive retail and food service sectors in respect of agricultural and food products, | ||
(i) the desirability of addressing the imbalance where the larger or more powerful trading partner seeks to introduce certain practices or contractual arrangements which are to that party’s advantage, | ||
(j) the potential for the distortion of competition in trade in the agricultural and food sector including ancillary services, and | ||
(k) the importance of limiting the impact on the use of fair and efficiency-creating agreements agreed between parties. | ||
(5) Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations may (without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)) make provision of a kind specified in sections 58 to 65 . | ||
(6) In making Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations, the Minister shall have regard, in particular, to Article 3 of the Directive (prohibition of unfair trading practices). | ||
(7) Before making Agri-Food Unfair Trading Regulations the Minister shall consult the Commission of the European Union. |