F1F27Official testing stations and certificates of test.N.I.
(1)For the purposes of this Act, the Ministry shall maintain an official seed testing station and any such station may be established or maintained in conjunction with any other authority, body or person.
(2)The Ministry may, subject to the approval of the Ministry of Finance, authorise the charging of fees for the services given at an official seed testing station referred to in subsection (1).
(3)A certificate of the result of a test at an official seed testing station of a sample taken for the purposes of this Act by an authorised officer shall be in the form prescribed by seeds regulations.
(4)A certificate of the result of a test at an official seed testing station of a sample taken for the purposes of this Act, and purporting to be issued by an officer of that station,—
(a)if the sample was taken by an authorised officer, shall, if a copy of the certificate has been served on the accused with the summons or complaint, be sufficient evidence of the facts stated in the certificate in any proceedings for an offence under this Act, and
(b)if the sample was taken by a person other than an authorised officer in order to obtain the test for the purposes of section 4(3) of this Act, shall be sufficient evidence of the facts stated in the certificate in any such legal proceedings as are mentioned in that subsection,
unless, in either case, either party to the proceedings requires that the person under whose direction the test was made be called as a witness.
(5)In any proceedings for an offence under this Act in which a copy of a certificate of the result of a test has been served with the summons or complaint in pursuance of subsection (4)( a) the accused, unless the court otherwise directs, shall not be entitled to require that the person under whose direction the test was made be called as a witness unless he has, at least three clear days before the day on which the summons is returnable, given notice to the prosecutor that he intends to do so.
F1Mod. by SR 1981/243
F2Mod. by SR 2001/188
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 7 modified (1.11.2010) by Seed Potatoes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (S.R. 2010/350), reg. 25(a) (with reg. 3)
C2S. 7 excluded (14.4.2016) by The Seed Potatoes Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/190), regs. 1(1), 23(a)