First Previous (PART I. CONDITIONS OF CLEANLINESS AND ORDER.) Next (PART III. REGISTRATION OF PREMISES.)

58 1924

DAIRY PRODUCE ACT, 1924

PART II.

EXPORT OF BUTTER.

Export of butter.

9. —(1) Subject to the exceptions mentioned in this section, all butter exported from Saorstát Eireann shall be exported only from premises registered in the register of creameries, or the register of manufacturing exporters, or the register of butter factories, or the register of non-manufacturing exporters and shall comply with the following conditions, that is to say:—

(a) the butter shall have been packed for export in accordance with the provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder, and

(b) the butter and also the package containing the butter and any wrapper in which the butter is packed shall be marked with the marks (if any) prescribed by regulations made under this Act, and

(c) if the national mark to be established under Part IV of this Act is applied to the butter or the package in which it is contained or any wrapper in which it is packed, the provisions of this Act and any regulations made thereunder in relation to such national mark shall be complied with, and

(d) if exported from premises registered in the register of creameries or the register of manufacturing exporters the butter—

(i) shall have been packed in those premises and shall not have been removed from the package and wrapper (if any) in which it was so packed, and

(ii) shall be clean and shall not contain water in excess of sixteen per cent, nor any noxious colouring matter nor any preservative other than salt of a prescribed description, and

(iii) shall be exported direct from the premises aforesaid by the registered proprietor of those premises, and

(e) if exported from premises registered in the register of butter factories the butter—

(i) shall not, prior to export, be removed from the package or any wrapper in which it was contained when it left the premises, and

(ii) shall be clean and shall not contain water in excess of sixteen per cent., and

(iii) shall be exported direct from the premises aforesaid by the registered proprietor of those premises, and

(f) if exported from premises registered in the register of non-manufacturing exporters, the butter—

(i) shall not, prior to export, be removed from the package or any wrapper in which it was contained when it left the premises, and

(ii) shall be clean and, if and when so prescribed, shall not contain water in excess of sixteen per cent., and

(iii) shall be exported direct from the premises aforesaid by the registered proprietor of those premises.

(2) Every person who shall export or attempt to export any butter which does not comply with all the conditions prescribed by the foregoing sub-section shall be guilty of an offence under this section.

(3) Every person who shall carry by land or sea for reward any butter which is being or is intended to be exported in contravention of this section shall, if such carrying is done in the course or for the purpose of the exportation of such butter, be guilty of an offence under this section unless such person proves that he did not know and could not reasonably have known that such butter was being exported in contravention of this section.

(4) Every person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and in the case of a second or any subsequent offence to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(5) This section shall not apply to any butter exported—

(a) by means of the parcel post, or

(b) in any consignment the total gross weight of which does not exceed the maximum weight for the time being allowed to be sent by the parcel post, or

(c) under and in accordance with an exportation licence granted under this Act, or

(d) in a package consigned and forwarded through Saorstát Eireann from any place outside Saorstát Eireann to any other such place but not otherwise dealt with in Saorstát Eireann.

Inspection, etc., of butter.

10. —(1) Any inspector shall be entitled (subject to the production by him if so required of his authority in writing as such inspector) at all reasonable times to enter upon and have free access to the interior of—

(a) any premises registered under this Act or under the Sale of Food and Drugs Acts, 1875 to 1907, or

(b) any premises in which butter is sold, or is exposed, kept, or stored for sale, or is stored for preservation by exposure to cold or otherwise, or

(c) the premises of any person engaged in the business of carrying goods for reward, or

(d) any warehouse or other premises of any person engaged in the business of warehousing goods intended for export or in process of being exported, or

(e) any pier, quay, wharf, jetty, dock, or dock premises, or

(f) any ship, boat, railway waggon, motor, lorry, cart, or other vessel or vehicle used for the conveyance of goods.

(2) Any inspector may inspect any butter, or any package found in any place upon or to which he is entitled under this section to enter or have access or -upon or in any public place, and may open any such package which he reasonably believes or suspects to contain butter, and may take and remove without payment—

(a) reasonable samples of any butter found in any such place, whether such butter is or is not contained in a package, and

(b) reasonable samples of any wrappers or packing materials in which any such butter is packed, and

(c) any one package forming part of a consignment of butter found in any such place.

(3) If any person—

(a) obstructs or impedes any inspector in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on him by this section, or

(b) knowing the name or other particulars of the consignor, consignee, or owner of any butter or of any package which an inspector is entitled to inspect under this section, refuses to give such name or other particulars to such inspector, or

(c) wilfully or recklessly gives to such inspector any false or misleading name or other particular of any such consignor, consignee, or owner,

such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof, in the case of a first offence to a penalty not exceeding five pounds, and in the case of a second or any subsequent offence to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds.

(4) Where any package is taken by an inspector under this section it shall be the duty of such inspector to notify the owner or the consignor and the consignee (if and so far as their names and addresses are known to or can reasonably be ascertained by him) of the taking of such package.

(5) If on the examination of any package taken under this section it appears to the Minister that there was a contravention or attempted contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made thereunder in relation to the consignment from which the package was taken, the package shall be forfeited to the Minister, and in any other case the package shall be disposed of in accordance with the directions of the owner or the consignor or, in default of such directions, shall be sold and the net proceeds of sale paid to the consignor.

(6) Neither the Minister, nor any inspector shall be liable for any loss or damage arising from the lawful exercise by an inspector of any of the powers conferred on him by this section, and no action shall lie against the consignor, or any other person, for or on account of any such loss or damage as aforesaid.

Order for examination of butter before export.

11. —(1) The Minister may, if and whenever he is satisfied that such order is necessary or expedient in the interests of the butter industry in Saorstát Eireann, by order (in this section referred to as an examination order) require that all or any particular class of butter proposed to be exported, or all or any butter proposed to be exported from any particular premises or class of premises, or any particular consignment of butter consigned for export, shall before the same is exported be submitted for examination by the prescribed officers with a view to determining whether such butter is suitable for export, and the Minister may by such order prohibit, either absolutely or on failure to comply with conditions, the export of any butter which on such examination is found to be unsuitable for exportation.

(2) The Minister may by any examination order or by any subsequent order make regulations in respect of all or any of the matters following, that is to say:—

(a) the method of submitting butter to which an examination order applies for examination, including the submission in suitable cases of representative parts only of the butter;

(b) the officers by whom the examination is to be made;

(c) the method of making the examination and the places in which the same is to be made;

(d) the conditions with which the butter must comply in order to be suitable for export;

(e) the conditions under which butter found unsuitable for unrestricted export may be exported.

(3) An examination order shall remain in force for such period as shall be stated in the order and for such further period as may be prescribed in any subsequent order, and where no such period is stated in the order the order shall remain in force until revoked by the Minister.

(4) Any person who shall export or attempt to export any butter in contravention of an examination order or of any regulation made under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall on summary conviction thereof be liable, in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, and in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

Licences to export butter.

12. —(1) The Minister may, upon the application of any person in the prescribed form and manner and upon payment by that person of the fees specified in the Third Schedule to this Act, grant to such person a licence to export the consignment of butter specified in the licence to such consignee (if any), by such route (if any), and subject to such conditions as are stated in the licence.

(2) A licence granted under this section shall operate to authorise the person to whom the same is granted to export in accordance with the terms of the licence, the consignment of butter specified therein.

(3) The Minister may at any time before a consignment of butter specified in a licence is actually exported, revoke the licence relating to such consignment.

(4) If any person to whom a licence has been granted under this section contravenes any of the terms or conditions contained in such licence, or if any person falsely represents, by means of a mark on the consignment or otherwise, that any consignment of butter is being exported pursuant to any such licence, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

(5) There shall be paid to the Minister by every person to whom a licence is granted, the fees specified in the Third Schedule to this Act.

Powers of officers of customs and excise.

13. —Officers of customs and excise shall have the like powers in relation to any butter and packages, the export of which is prohibited or restricted by this Act as such officers respectively have by law in relation to other articles the export of which is prohibited or restricted by law.