The Sheep Annual Premium (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2001 No. 411

AGRICULTURE

The Sheep Annual Premium (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Made

23rd November 2001

Coming into operation

4th December 2001

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development being a Department designated(1) for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972(2) in relation to the common agricultural policy of the European Community, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by the said section 2(2) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Sheep Annual Premium (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation on 4th December 2001.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992(3).

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(4) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Norhern Ireland Assembly.

Amendments

3.—(1) The principal Regulations shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) For paragraph (2) of regulation 3 (Application for premium) there shall be substituted—

“(2) A producer who applies for a premium in respect of a given marketing year shall deliver his application to the competent authority—

(a) on or after 4th December in the preceeding calendar year; and

(b) not later than 4th January in that marketing year (both dates inclusive) or if 4th January is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday the next following working day.”.

(3) In paragraph (1)(a) of regulation 5 (Powers of authorised officers), for the existing text substitute “carrying out any check which a member state is required to carry out by Article 6 of the Commission Regulation”.

(4) In paragraph (5)(a) of regulation 5, after “record” insert “the producer is required to keep by article 4 of the Animal (Records) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997(5)”.

(5) In paragraph (2) of regulation 9 (Offence and penalties)—

(a) substitute “; or” for the comma at the end of sub-paragraph (b); and

(b) insert the following sub-paragraph after that sub-paragraph—

“(c) fails to notify the competent authority in writing of a change in a material particular within 10 working days of that change,”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 23rd November 2001.

L.S.

R. Jordan

Senior Officer of the

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Sheep Annual Premium Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (“the 1992 Regulations”) to provide for a shorter period in which to apply for sheep annual premium in respect of any marketing year as defined by Article 3(3) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2467/98 (O.J. No. L312, 10.11.98, p. 1). A producer shall deliver his application on or after 4th December in the preceeding calendar year and not later than 4th January in the marketing year. Previously the producer was requested to deliver his application in the period from 27th November 2000 to 29th December 2000.

Paragraph (1)(a) of regulation 5 is amended to reflect the control measures applicable to the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme which are set out in Article 6 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3887/92 laying down rules for applying the Integrated Administration and Control System for certain Community aid schemes (O.J. No. L391, 31.12.92, p. 36).

Paragraph (5)(a) of regulation 5 is amended to reflect the records a producer is required to keep by virtue of Article 4 of S.R. 1997 No. 172, the Animal (Records) Order (Northern Ireland) 1997.

Paragraph (2) of regulation 9 is amended to require producers to notify the Department of material changes in respect of an application for Sheep Annual Premium.

The 1992 Regulations continue to implement, as respects Northern Ireland, the Council Regulations set out in the Explanatory Note to those Regulations.

(1)

S.I. 2000/2812

(2)

1972 c. 68; section 2 is subject to Schedule 2 to that Act and is to be read with S.I. 1984/703 (N.I. 3), S.R. 1984 No. 253 and S.I. 1994/2795 (N.I. 15)

(3)

S.R. 1992 No. 476 as previously amended by S.R. 1994 No. 404, S.R. 1995 No. 403 and S.R. 1996 No. 497, S.R. 1997 No. 485, S.R. 1998 No. 440, S.R. 1999 No. 457 and S.R. 2000 No. 301

(4)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(5)

S.R. 1997 No. 172 as previously amended by S.R. 2000 No. 344