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22 1994

AN BORD BIA ACT, 1994

PART III

Levies on Livestock and Agricultural Products

Levy on slaughtered or exported livestock.

37. —(1) There shall be charged and levied by and paid to the Board a levy in relation to—

(a) all livestock slaughtered in premises to which this section applies, and

(b) all livestock exported live from the State.

(2) The amount of levy payable under this section shall be—

(a) in relation to bovine animals, £1.50 per animal,

(b) in relation to sheep, 20p per animal,

(c) in relation to pigs, 20p per animal, and

(d) in relation to any other species of animal in relation to which levy is payable, such amount per animal as may be specified by the Minister by order.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Minister may by order vary the rate of levy prescribed by subsection (2) of this section or specified by order under paragraph (d) of that subsection.

(4) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under this section, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(5) This section applies to the following premises, namely—

(a) any slaughtering premises registered under the Agricultural Produce (Fresh Meat) Act, 1930 (“the Act of 1930”); and

(b) any abattoir licensed under the Abattoirs Act, 1988 , including premises operating as an abattoir under permit of the Minister granted under section 17 of that Act.

Levy due and payable.

38. —(1) Levy in respect of livestock, other than livestock which are exported live from the State, shall be due when the livestock are slaughtered.

(2) Within the period of fourteen days commencing immediately after the expiration of a levy period, every person who is liable to pay levy shall furnish to the Board a true and correct return of the amount of levy, if any, which became due during the levy period and shall at the same time remit to the Board the amount of levy, if any, payable in respect of such levy period.

(3) A person who fails to comply with subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000.

(4) Where after conviction for failure to comply with subsection (2) the person continues to contravene the subsection, that person shall be guilty of an offence on every day during which the failure to furnish the return referred to in that subsection continues or the levy the subject of the original offence remains unpaid, and shall, for each such offence, be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50 or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £500.

(5) A summary offence under subsection (3) or (4) may be brought and prosecuted by the Board.

(6) Levy in respect of livestock which are slaughtered shall be paid to the Board—

(a) in the case of livestock slaughtered at any slaughtering premises registered under the Act of 1930—by the registered proprietor of the premises or, if the livestock were slaughtered at such premises by or on behalf of the holder of an exporter's licence or an exporter's permit in respect of such premises, by that person,

(b) in the case of livestock slaughtered at an abattoir to which section 37 applies, by the person who, at the time the livestock are slaughtered, is the holder of the abattoir licence for such abattoir.

(7) Where the holder of a licence or permit specified in subsection (6) slaughters livestock and thereby becomes liable for the payment of a levy to the Board he shall be entitled to recover the full amount of the levy or, if an order under subsection (8) is in force, such portion of the levy as is prescribed by that order, as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction—

(a) where he has purchased the livestock or has agreed to purchase all or part of the carcase after slaughter from the person from whom he has purchased the livestock or with whom he has made the agreement, as the case may be,

(b) in any other case, where he slaughters livestock on the instructions of any other person—from that person.

(8) (a) The Minister may by order provide that a specified portion only of the levy shall be recoverable under subsection (7).

(b) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under this subsection, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

(9) Levy in relation to livestock exported live from the State shall be paid to the Board in the manner specified in subsection (10) by the person by or on whose behalf the livestock are being exported.

(10) Levy in relation to livestock exported live from the State shall be paid by means of adhesive stamps which shall be purchased from the Board and shall be—

(a) of the type and denominations specified in the Schedule to this Act,

(b) affixed to the documentation specified in the Schedule to this Act, and

(c) cancelled or perforated by an officer of the Minister authorised by the Minister to act for the purposes of this section at a District Veterinary Office or at an export assembly point prior to exportation of the livestock.

(11) The Minister may by regulations alter any specification referred to in subsection (10) and the Schedule to this Act shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

(12) It shall be an offence for any person to export or attempt to export live from the State livestock in respect of which levy is payable unless the provisions of subsection (10) have been complied with.

(13) A person who contravenes subsection (12) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both or, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

(14) A summary offence under subsection (12) may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.

(15) Every regulation made under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and if either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, passes a resolution annulling the regulation, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

Recovery of levy.

39. —Every sum payable by a person for or on account of levy shall be recoverable by the Board from that person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Duty to keep records.

40. —(1) Every person who is liable to pay levy shall, in accordance with such direction (if any) as may be given by the Board, keep full and true records of all transactions which affect that liability.

(2) A record kept by a person pursuant to subsection (1) and, in the case of any such record that has been given by the person to another person, any copy thereof that is in the power or control of the first-mentioned person shall be retained by that person for a period of 4 years from the date of the last transaction to which the record relates:

Provided that this section shall not apply to records of a company that have been disposed of in accordance with section 305 (1) of the Companies Act, 1963 .

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.

(4) An offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Board.

Powers of authorised officers.

41. —(1) In this section “authorised officer” means a person authorised in writing by the Board or, pursuant to subsection (6), by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred by this section.

(2) A person authorised by the Board or the Minister under this section shall be issued with a warrant of appointment by the Board or the Minister as the case may be and when exercising any function conferred on the person as an authorised officer such person shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant to that person.

(3) A warrant of appointment issued by the Board shall contain a full-face photograph or any other full-face image of the person concerned which is in the nature of a photograph, whether produced electronically or otherwise, and shall indicate that it is also an identity document.

(4) The provisions of section 17 of the Animal Remedies Act, 1993 , shall apply in relation to the production of a warrant of appointment or identity document by a person authorised by the Minister under this section.

(5) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of obtaining any information that is necessary or expedient for the purposes of the charging and levying by, and the payment to, the Board of levy or of ascertaining whether the provisions of this Act are being complied with, on production of the officer's authorization, if so required—

(a) at all reasonable times enter premises where the officer reasonably believes that a person liable to pay levy carries on the business of the export of meat or livestock or the slaughter of livestock or keeps records relating to such a business,

(b) inspect the premises, search for any records relating to levy or the business of the slaughter or export of meat or livestock,

(c) enter and inspect any vehicle used for the transport of livestock,

(d) require any person found on the premises or in charge of the vehicle to produce to the officer any records and, in the case of such records in a non-legible form (including records in a computer) to produce it in a legible form and take copies of or extracts from or remove and retain any such records, for such period as may be reasonable for their examination or for the purposes of any proceedings in relation to an offence, or the recovery of levy payable, under this Act, and

(e) require any such person to give to the officer such information as the officer may reasonably require in relation to any business carried on on the premises or in relation to the vehicle and any such records as aforesaid.

(6) The powers of entering and inspecting vehicles and of exercising functions in relation to vehicles shall only be exercised by an officer authorised by the Minister.

(7) A person who obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of a power or who, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a requirement under this section, or who in purported compliance with such a requirement gives information to an authorised officer which that person knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(8) An offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister or the Board.

Offences by directors and others.

42. —(1) Where an offence under this Part has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member of the body corporate exercising a function of management as if the member were a director or manager of that body.

Estimation of amount of levy payable in certain cases.

43. —(1) Where, in the opinion of the Board, levy is payable by a person for a levy period falling before, after or partly before and partly after the passing of this Act and the person fails to furnish to the Board within the period specified in section 38 a return of the amount of levy so payable—

(a) the Board may estimate the amount so payable and serve on the person a notice specifying the amount so estimated,

(b) the amount so specified shall be deemed to be the amount of levy payable by the person for the levy period and shall be payable to the Board upon the expiration of the period of 14 days from the date of the service of the notice on the person unless, within that period, it is shown, to the satisfaction of the Board, either that no levy, or an amount of levy other than the amount so specified, is payable for the levy period,

(c) where the person shows that an amount of levy other than the amount specified in the notice under paragraph (a) of this subsection is payable for the levy period the amount so shown shall be payable by the person forthwith to the Board and any amount of levy in excess of the amount so shown that the person has paid to the Board under this section shall be repaid by the Board to the person, and

(d) where, at any time after the sending to the person of the notice referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Board becomes satisfied that an amount of levy other than the amount specified in the notice is payable by the person, it may send to the person a notice specifying the first-mentioned amount and the notice under this paragraph shall be deemed to be in substitution for the notice referred to in the said paragraph (a), and paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection shall apply and have effect accordingly in relation to it, and any amount paid to the Board on foot of the notice referred to in the said paragraph (a) shall be deemed to have been paid on foot of the notice under this paragraph.

(2) A notice authorised by this section to be served on a person by the Board may be served—

(a) if the person is an individual—

(i) by delivering it to that person, or

(ii) by sending it by post addressed to that person at the person's usual or last known place of residence or business, or

(iii) by leaving it for that person at that place,

(b) if the person is a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons, by sending it to the body by post to, or addressing it to and leaving it at, in the case of a company, its registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 ) and, in any other case, its principal place of business.

Evidence in proceedings for recovery of levy.

44. —In any proceedings, a certificate purporting to have been signed by an officer of the Board and stating that a specified amount in respect of levy is due and payable by a specified person to the Board or that a return under section 38 in relation to a specified levy period was not furnished to the Board by a specified person or was not so furnished within the period specified in that section shall be evidence, unless the contrary is shown, of the facts specified in the certificate and the certificate shall be deemed to have been signed by an officer of the Board unless the contrary is shown.

Levy on agricultural products.

45. —(1) Beginning with such year as the Minister may, by order, prescribe, there shall be charged and levied by the Board in each year a levy on agricultural products.

(2) An order made under this section—

(a) shall specify the rate at which levy is to be charged, the products on which, and the persons by whom, it is to be paid, and the manner in which and the time, or times, at which it is to be paid,

(b) may provide that different rates of levy may be charged in respect of different classes of persons and different products,

(c) may provide for excepting from the obligation to pay levy any specified class or classes of persons, defined in such manner and by reference to such matters as the Minister considers appropriate, for the keeping of records and the making of returns by persons liable to pay levy, for the appointment and powers of authorised officers, for the collection and recovery of levy, for the enforcement of the order, and for such other matters as the Minister considers expedient or necessary.

(3) A person who fails to comply with any of the provisions of an order made by the Minister under this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(4) Where, after conviction for failure to comply with any provision referred to in subsection (3), the person continues to contravene that provision, that person shall be guilty of an offence on every day on which the contravention continues and shall, for each such offence, be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50.

(5) An offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Board.

(6) Before making an order under this section the Minister shall consult with such persons as the Minister considers appropriate who are engaged in or are representative of those engaged in the production, processing or sale of agricultural products.

(7) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under this section, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.