Seeds (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

Regulations controlling the marketing of cereal seeds, fodder plant seeds, beet seeds, oil and fibre plant seeds, and vegetable seeds (“seed regulations”) provide that, with certain exceptions, seeds of these categories may only be marketed if they are derived from crops which on inspection are found to meet certain standards and if upon subsequent testing samples of the seed also meet certain standards.

These Regulations which are made under the Seeds Act (Northern Ireland) 1965 prescribe fees for certain initial applications, crop inspection fees, seed lot fees, seed testing fees and fees in relation to licensed seed testing establishments. Fees are also prescribed in relation to the making of written representations by, and hearings involving, seed merchants, processors or packers.

The matters in respect of which the revised fees are prescribed are listed in Schedules 1 to 6, and the fees which were chargeable by virtue of the Seeds (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 are indicated in brackets. The tests on soya bean set out in Schedule 3 paragraph D and the seed lot re-entry fees in Schedules 1 to 5 are new and so no fee is set out in the column for fees payable before these Regulations come into operation.

The fee payable by a Licensed Seed Testing Station in respect of an official examination of seed has been increased from £4£65 to £8£75. A uniform increase of 5% has been applied to all other fees and has been rounded to the nearest five pence except in the case of the annual fee for Licensed Seed Testing Stations, which has been rounded to the nearest £1.

The Regulations revoke and replace the Seeds (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 (regulation 2).