Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

PART 1PRELIMINARY

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 31st March 2005.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations –

“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 595/2004 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No. 1788/2003 establishing a levy in the milk and milk products sector(1);

“Commission Regulation 1756/93” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1756/93 fixing the operative events for the agricultural conversion rate applicable to milk and milk products(2);

“the Community legislation” means the Council Regulation, the Commission Regulation and Commission Regulation 1756/93;

“competent authority” has the meaning given by regulation 2 of the General Provisions Regulations;

“consent or sole interest notice” means a notice, in relation to a holding, which states that –

“converted quota” means quota converted by the Department following an application made under regulation 21;

“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1788/2003 establishing a levy in the milk and milk products sector(3);

“cow” includes a heifer that has calved;

“dairy enterprise” means an area stated by the occupier of that area to be run as a self-contained dairy produce business;

“dairy produce” means produce, expressed in kilograms or litres (one kilogram being 0.971 litres), in respect of which levy is payable;

“delivery” has the same meaning as in Article 5(f) of the Council Regulation;

“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“direct sale” has the same meaning as in Article 5(g) of the Council Regulation;

“direct sales quota” means the quantity of dairy produce which may be sold or transferred free of charge by direct sale by a producer in a quota year without that producer being liable to pay levy;

“direct sales quota holder” means a person in whose name direct sales quota is registered pursuant to regulation 4;

“direct seller” means a producer who produces milk and treats that milk or processes it into milk products on his holding and subsequently sells or transfers free of charge that milk or those milk products without their having been further treated or processed by a different undertaking which treats or processes milk or milk products;

“electronic communication” has the same meaning as in section 4 of the Electronic Communications Act (Northern Ireland) 2001(4);

“the General Provisions Regulations” means the Dairy Produce Quotas (General Provisions) Regulations 2002(5);

“holding” has the same meaning as in Article 5(d) of the Council Regulation;

“interest” includes a licence to occupy land and the interest of a mortgagee and a trustee, but does not include the interest of a beneficiary under a trust or settlement;

“levy” means the levy payable under the Community legislation and these Regulations to the Department;

“milk” has the same meaning as in Article 5(a) of the Council Regulation;

“national reserve” has the meaning given it by regulation 2 of the General Provisions Regulations;

“occupier”, in relation to land, includes the person entitled to grant occupation of that land to another, and, during the currency of an interest mentioned in regulation 16(1), the person entitled to grant occupation when that interest terminates;

“producer” has the same meaning as in Article 5(c) of the Council Regulation;

“prospective apportionment”, in relation to quota in respect of a holding, means an apportionment of quota between the persons with an interest in the holding for the purposes of ascertaining the quota referable to a part of that holding in the event of a transfer of that part;

“purchaser” means a purchaser within the meaning of Article 5(e) of the Council Regulation and, other than in regulation 5(1) to (4) and regulation 31(7), approved by the Department pursuant to regulation 5 and Article 23 of the Commission Regulation;

“purchaser quota” means the quantity of milk which may be delivered to a purchaser during a quota year without any liability for levy arising;

“quota” means direct sales quota or wholesale quota, as the case may be;

“quota holder”, in relation to quota, means the person in whose name the quota is registered;

“quota year” means any of the periods of 12 months referred to in Article 1(1) of the Council Regulation (which concerns the introduction of the levy);

“registered wholesale quota” means wholesale quota registered pursuant to regulation 4(3) and (4);

“relevant competent authority” has the meaning given by regulation 3 of the General Provisions Regulations;

“relevant person” means a producer, a purchaser, any employee or agent of a producer or of a purchaser, any milk haulier, any person undertaking butterfat testing for purchasers in a laboratory, a processor of milk or milk products, or any other person involved in the buying, selling or supply of milk or milk products obtained directly from a producer or purchaser, but does not include a consumer of milk or milk products;

“Scottish Islands area” means either –

“transferee” means –

“transferor” means –

“unused quota” means quota remaining unused after any direct sales or deliveries have been taken into account, following such adjustment (if any) as is required by Article 10(1) of the Commission Regulation (which concerns the fat content of milk), and “used quota” shall be construed accordingly;

“wholesale producer” means a producer who delivers milk to a purchaser;

“wholesale quota” means the quantity of milk which may be delivered to a purchaser by a producer in a quota year without that producer being liable to pay levy;

“wholesale quota holder” means a person in whose name wholesale quota is registered pursuant to regulation 4; and

“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(6);

(2) In these Regulations any reference to anything done in writing or produced in written form shall include a reference to an electronic communication which has been recorded and is capable of being subsequently reproduced.

(3) Other expressions which are used –

(a)in these Regulations; and

(b)in the Community legislation,

shall have the same meaning as in the Community legislation.

(4) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(7) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Application

3.  Except as otherwise provided, these Regulations shall apply to relevant persons in respect of whom the Department is the relevant competent authority.