The Bovine Products (Production and Despatch) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Powers of inspectors

8.—(1) An inspector shall, on producing, if required to do so, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, have the right at all reasonable hours to enter premises for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is or has been on the premises any contravention of these Regulations.

(2) An inspector shall, on producing, if required to do so, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, have the right at all reasonable hours to enter—

(a) any establishment registered by it under regulation 3(2) or (3) or approved by it under regulation 6(2) in order to ascertain whether the relevant requirements of those regulations are satisfied in that establishment; and

(b) any premises from which material derived from bovine animals is consigned to an establishment registered by it under regulation 3(2) or (3) or approved by it under regulation 6(2), for the purpose of ensuring that the use of such material for the manufacture of specified bovine by-products at that establishment is permitted under these Regulations.

(3) An inspector shall have power to carry out all checks and examinations necessary for the enforcement of these Regulations, and in particular he may—

(a) carry out inspections of any process specified in the Annex to Commission Decision 96/239/EC and anything used for the marking and identification of products and materials;

(b) take samples (and, if necessary, send the samples for laboratory testing) from any product or material;

(c) examine documentary or data processing material relevant to the checks carried out under these Regulations;

(d) take with him any person he deems necessary to carry out the necessary checks and examinations;

(e) take with him a representative of the European Commission acting for the purposes of Commission Decision 96/239/EC; and

(f) require any person who is or appears to be in control of relevant goods or controlled bovine by-products to arrange, at his own expense, for those goods or products to be removed from any store, vehicle, container, packing or wrapping.

(4) Where an inspector has a reasonable suspicion that a consignment of any controlled bovine by-products, or of any relevant goods, or of the material to which regulation 4 relates, is illegal, he may require the person in control of any health certificate or commercial documentation accompanying the consignment to deliver it and any copies of it to him on demand and may, in respect of the consignment or any part of it—

(a) give notice that, until the notice is withdrawn, it may not be removed or may not be removed except to some place specified in the notice;

(b) give notice that it must be removed at the expense of the person who is or appears to be in control of the consignment to some place specified in the notice; or

(c) seize it and remove it in order to have it dealt with by a justice of the peace.

(5) Where an inspector exercises the power conferred by paragraph (4), he shall as soon as is reasonably practicable, and in any event within 21 days, determine whether he is satisfied that the consignment is not illegal and—

(a) if he is so satisfied, he shall return any health certificate or commercial documentation which has been delivered to him, withdraw any notice given pursuant to paragraph (4)(a) relating to the consignment and return anything which he has seized; or

(b) if he is not so satisfied, he shall inform the person in charge of the consignment of his intention to have it dealt with by a justice of the peace.

(6) Any person who may be liable for prosecution under these Regulations in respect of a consignment which is intended to be dealt with by a justice of the peace shall, be entitled to attend before the justice of the peace by whom the matter falls to be dealt with, be entitled to be heard and to call witnesses.

(7) If it appears to a justice of the peace, on the basis of such evidence as he considers to be appropriate in the circumstances, that a consignment is illegal, he shall, subject to paragraph (8), order that the consignment be destroyed and any expenses reasonably incurred in connection with such destruction and (where the consignment was seized pursuant to paragraph (4)(c)) in connection with storage prior to destruction, be defrayed by the owner of the consignment.

(8) If it appears to a justice of the peace on the basis of such evidence as he considers appropriate in the circumstances that if any consignment is returned to the owner,—

(a) (in the case of a consignment of controlled bovine by-products) the owner will consign it for use otherwise than as a controlled bovine by-product;

(b) (in the case of material consigned under regulation 4) the owner will not consign it to any establishment registered for the purposes of regulation 3; or

(c) (in the case of a consignment of relevant goods) the owner will not despatch it to another member State,

he may, instead of making an order under paragraph (7), order that the consignment be returned to its owner.

(9) If a notice under paragraph (4)(a) is withdrawn or anything seized is returned under paragraph (5)(a), or if a justice of the peace acting under paragraph (6) does not find a consignment to be illegal, the Department shall compensate the owner of the consignment for any depreciation in its value resulting from the action taken by the inspector.

(10) Any disputed question as to the right to or the amount of any compensation payable under paragraph (7) shall be determined by arbitration.

(11) A consignment is “illegal” for the purposes of this regulation if—

(a) it is falsely described on its packaging, wrapping, label or any container in which it is placed, or in any health certificate or commercial documentation accompanying it;

(b) (in the case of a consignment of controlled bovine by-products) it was produced in contravention of regulation 3(1) of these Regulations or of the Great Britain Regulations; or

(c) (in the case of a consignment of relevant goods) it was despatched in contravention of regulation 6(1) of these Regulations or of the Great Britain Regulations.