Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Sheep Annual Premium (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 1st December 2003.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(3).

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Amendments

3.—(1) The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) For regulation 3(2) (application for premium) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(2) A producer who applies for a premium in respect of a given marketing year shall submit his application to the competent authority –

(a)on or after 1st December in the preceding calendar year; and

(b)not later than 6th January in that marketing year or if 6th January is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the next following working day.”.

(3) Regulation 4 shall be revoked.

(4) In regulation 9(1) after sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph –

“(aa)fails to comply with a requirement under regulation 5(5)(a) or (c); or”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) to provide for the period in which to apply for sheep annual premium in respect of any marketing year. A producer shall submit his application on or after 1st December in the preceding calendar year and not later than 6th January in the marketing year. Previously the producer was required to submit his application in the period from 3rd December 2002 to 3rd January 2003.

The Regulations also create an offence of failing to comply with a requirement of an authorised officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to produce records and copies thereof. They also revoke regulation 4 of the 1992 Regulations which was superceded by amendments made in 2001.

The 1992 Regulations continue to supplement the rules on the payment of sheep annual premium in Council Regulation (EC) No. 2529/2001 on the common organisation of the market in sheepmeat and goatmeat (O.J. No. L341, 12.12.2001, p. 3), Commission Regulation (EC) 2550/2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2529/2001 on the common organisation of the market in sheepmeat and goatmeat as regards premium schemes (O.J. No. L341, 22.12.2001, p. 105) and Commission Regulation (EC) 2419/2001 laying down detailed rules for applying the integrated administration and control system for certain Community aid schemes established by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3508/92 (O.J. No. L327, 12.12.2001, p. 11).