Scottish Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 421
The Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Scotland) Regulations
2001
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SCOTTISH STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2001 No. 421
PLANT HEALTH
The Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Scotland) Regulations
2001
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Made |
12th November 2001 |
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Laid before the Scottish Parliament |
12th November 2001 |
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Coming into force |
3rd December 2001 |
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The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by section
2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972[1] and of all
other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:
Citation, commencement and extent
1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as
the Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Scotland) Regulations 2001 and shall
come into force on 3rd December 2001.
(2) These Regulations extend to Scotland only.
Interpretation
2. - (1) In these Regulations-
"the Decision" means Commission Decision 96/301/EC authorising member
States temporarily to take additional measures against the dissemination
of Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith as regards Egypt[2],
as amended by the instruments listed in the Schedule to these Regulations;
"inspector" means any person authorised by the Scottish Ministers
to be an inspector for the purposes of the Order;
"the Order" means the Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993[3];
"originating in Egypt" means grown in Egypt and "originated in Egypt"
shall be construed accordingly;
"phytosanitary certificate" means a certificate duly completed either
in the form set out in Schedule 14 to the Order or the equivalent written
in a language other than English;
"potato" means any tuber or true seed of or any other plant of Solanum
tuberosum L. or other tuber forming species or hybrid of the genus
Solanum L.
(2) Unless the context otherwise requires, a reference
in these Regulations to anything done in writing, including the service
of a notice by virtue of regulation 5 below in exercise of a power conferred
by article 22(1) or (2) of the Order, includes a reference to an electronic
communication, as defined in the Electronic Communications Act 2000[4]
which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.
(3) In these Regulations, references to provisions
in the Order shall be interpreted in accordance with article 2(1) of that
Order.
Imports of potatoes originating in Egypt
3. - (1) No person shall import into Scotland
any potatoes which that person knows or has reasonable cause to suspect
originated in Egypt, unless those potatoes are accompanied by a phytosanitary
certificate issued in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 1 of
the Annex to the Decision.
(2) The requirement imposed by point 25.8 of section
1 of Part A of Schedule 4 to the Order (an official statement that potatoes
originate in areas where Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi
et al. is not known to occur) shall not apply to imports of potatoes originating
in Egypt.
Approval of plants which process potatoes originating in Egypt
4. - (1) No person shall process any potatoes
originating in Egypt other than in a plant which has been approved by the
Scottish Ministers for that purpose.
(2) The Scottish Ministers shall approve processing
plants in writing and may suspend or revoke the approval in writing.
(3) In this regulation-
"excluded establishment" means a shop, restaurant, canteen, club,
public house, school, hospital or similar establishment (including a vehicle
or a fixed or mobile stall) where food is packed or prepared for delivery
to the final consumer;
"plant" means any premises other than an excluded establishment;
and
"process" means the carrying out, in the course of business, of
any treatment, including washing.
Powers of an inspector
5. - (1) The provisions of this regulation
are without prejudice to the circumstances in which an inspector may by
virtue of the Order exercise the powers conferred by that Order.
(2) On having reasonable grounds for suspecting
a contravention or likely contravention of regulation 3(1) above, an inspector
may, for the purpose of these Regulations, exercise-
(a) the powers conferred by article 22(1) of the Order as read with
article 24(1) to (3) of the Order, as if a potato originating in Egypt
was a plant landed or likely to be landed in contravention of the Order;
and
(b) the powers conferred by article 22(2) of the Order as read with
article 24(1) and (3) of the Order, as if a potato originating in Egypt
was a plant kept or moved in contravention of the Order.
(3) On having reasonable grounds for suspecting a
contravention or likely contravention of regulation 4(1) above, an inspector
may, for the purpose of these Regulations, exercise the powers conferred
by article 22(2) of the Order as read with article 24(1) and (3) of the
Order, as if a potato originating in Egypt was a plant kept or moved in
contravention of the Order.
(4) Any notice served by virtue of this regulation
in exercise of a power conferred by article 22(1) or (2) of the Order shall
have effect as if served under article 22(1) or (2) of the Order, and articles
24(4) to (6), 26 to 28, 32 and 33(1), (2) and (6) of the Order shall apply
accordingly.
(5) An inspector may, for the purposes of checking
compliance with these Regulations, exercise the powers conferred by article
25 of the Order, as if checking compliance with the Order.
(6) Any power conferred by article 25 of the Order
which is exercised by virtue of this regulation shall be treated as if
that power had been exercised under the Order, and articles 28 and 33(1)(a)
and (c), (2) and (6) of the Order shall apply accordingly.
Charges in respect of the sampling of imports of potatoes
6. - (1) Where the power to take samples conferred
by article 25(1)(a) of the Order is exercised by an inspector in respect
of potatoes originating in Egypt in order to ascertain whether, for the
purpose of paragraph 3 of the Annex to the Decision, those potatoes are
infected with Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al., there
shall be payable to the Scottish Ministers by the importer a fee of £37.50,
unless that power has previously been exercised for that purpose in respect
of other potatoes from the same village, in the case of the delta region,
or basin, in the case of the desert regions, during the same growing year.
(2) In this regulation-
"delta region", "village", "basin" and "desert regions" have the
same meanings as they have in paragraph 1(a) of the Annex to the Decision;
and
"growing year" means the period beginning on 1st September in one
year and ending on 31st August in the following year.
Offences
7. - (1) A person shall be guilty of an offence
if, without reasonable excuse, proof of which shall lie on that person,
they contravene or fail to comply with regulation 3(1) or 4(1) above.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph
(1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
level 5 on the standard scale.
Revocation
8. The following Regulations are hereby revoked-
(a) the Potatoes Originating in Egypt Regulations 1998[5];
(b) the Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Amendment) Regulations 1998[6];
(c) the Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations
2000[7]; and
(d) the Potatoes Originating in Egypt (Amendment) (No. 2) (Scotland)
Regulations 2000[8].
ROSS FINNIE
A member of the Scottish Executive
Pentland House, Edinburgh
12th November 2001
SCHEDULE
Regulation 2
INSTRUMENTS AMENDING COMMISSION DECISION 96/301/EC
| Instrument |
Reference |
| Commission Decision 1998/105/EC |
O.J. No. L 25, 31.01.98, p.101 |
| Commission Decision 1998/503/EC |
O.J. No. L 225, 12.08.98, p.34 |
| Commission Decision 1999/842/EC |
O.J. No. L 326, 18.12.99, p.68 |
| Commission Decision 2000/568/EC |
O.J. No. L 238, 22.09.00, p.59 |
| Commission Decision 2001/664/EC |
O.J. No. L 233, 31.08.01, p.49 |
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations, which extend to Scotland only, consolidate with
amendments the Potatoes Originating in Egypt Regulations 1998 ("the 1998
Regulations"). The Regulations implement Commission Decision 96/301/EC
(as amended) authorising member States temporarily to take additional measures
against the dissemination of Pseudomonas solanacearum (Smith) Smith
(now referred to as Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al.)
as regards Egypt.
The Regulations-
- add Commission Decision 2001/664/EC to
the list of instruments amending Commission Decision 96/301/EC (regulation
2(1) and the Schedule);
- prohibit the import into Scotland of potatoes
which the person importing knows or has reasonable cause to suspect originated
in Egypt, unless those potatoes are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate
issued in accordance with the requirements of paragraph 1 of the Annex
to the Commission Decision 96/301/EEC (regulation 3);
- require potatoes originating in Egypt
to be processed only in plants approved by the Scottish Ministers for that
purpose (regulation 4);
- amend the 1998 Regulations to provide
that an inspector, who has reasonable grounds for suspecting that regulation
3(1) or 4(1) of the Regulations has been or is likely to be contravened,
may exercise certain enforcement powers conferred by article 22 of the
Plant Health (Great Britain) Order 1993 ("the Order") (regulation 5);
- provide that any notice served or power
exercised under regulation 5 of the Regulations, where the power to do
so is conferred by the Order, has the same effect as if served or exercised
under the relevant article of the Order (regulation 5(4) and (6)). Accordingly,
once a notice is served or other power is exercised under regulation 5
of the Regulations, the relevant consequential provisions of the Order,
including provisions as to offences, take effect;
- permit an inspector to check that the
provisions of the Regulations have been complied with by exercising certain
powers conferred by article 25 of the Order (regulation 5(5));
- set a fee of £37.50, increased in
line with inflation from the previous fee of £35.00, where a sample
of potatoes is taken for the purpose of ascertaining whether the potatoes
are infected with Ralstonia solancearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. (regulation
6); and
- provide that a person who contravenes
or fails to comply with regulation 3(1) (imports of potatoes originating
in Egypt) or 4(1) (processing other than in an approved plant) of the Regulations
is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000 (regulation
7).
The Regulations also revoke the Potatoes Originating in Egypt Regulations
1998, together with specified amending instruments, in consequence of their
consolidation in these Regulations (regulation 8).
Notes:
[1] 1972 c.68; section 2(2) was amended by the
Scotland Act 1998 (c.46), schedule 8, paragraph 15(3). The function conferred
upon the Minister of the Crown under section 2(2) of the European Communities
Act 1972, insofar as within devolved competence, was transferred to the
Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998.back
[2] O.J. No. L 115, 09.05.96, p.47.back
[3] S.I. 1993/1320; relevant amending instruments
are S.I. 1995/1358, 1998/2245 and S.S.I. 1999/22.back
[4] 2000 c.7.back
[5] S.I. 1998/201, amended by S.I. 1998/3167
and S.S.I. 2000/8 and 393.back
[6] S.I. 1998/3167.back
[7] S.S.I. 2000/8.back
[8] S.S.I. 2000/393.back
ISBN 0 11059909 8
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