The Seeds (National Lists of Varieties) Regulations 2001

Maintenance of accepted plant varieties

12.—(1) The maintainer of a plant variety on a National List, other than a B List vegetable variety widely known on 1 January 1973, shall maintain the variety according to accepted practices for maintaining the variety.

(2) The maintainer of a plant variety shall not maintain that variety except—

(a) in the United Kingdom or another Member State; or

(b) in a third country referred to in Council Decision 97/788/EC(1) on the equivalence of checks on practices for the maintenance of varieties carried out in third countries.

(3) The maintainer of a plant variety shall keep records of all the generations of the variety he maintains and shall on demand produce at his own expense such records for inspection by or on behalf of the National Authorities and shall also, if so required at any time, at his own expense deliver to the National Authorities samples of seed of that variety.

(4) The maintainer of a plant variety shall at all reasonable times give to an authorised officer such facilities for the inspection or examination of any—

(a) plants, whether growing or harvested;

(b) plant materials; and

(c) records,

as may in the opinion of the officer be necessary or desirable for the purposes of checking compliance with any of the provisions of this regulation.

(5) If, for the purposes of checking compliance with any of the provisions of this regulation, an authorised officer considers it is necessary or desirable to take a sample of any seed of a variety requiring to be maintained under these Regulations the officer may, at any premises, take a sample of the seed.

(1)

OJ No. L322, 25.11.97, p. 39.