Dairy Produce Quotas (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Amendment of the principal Regulations

16.  For regulation 33 (confiscation and restoration of quota) there shall be substituted the following regulation –

“Confiscation and restoration of quota

33.— (1) On or before 14th May following the end of each quota year, each purchaser shall supply to the Department a list of those wholesale quota holders registered with that purchaser (whether for the whole or part of the quota year) who have not made deliveries to that purchaser during that year.

(2) Pursuant to Article 15 of the Council Regulation (which concerns the confiscation and restoration of quota), the Department shall notify –

(a) any wholesale quota holder or direct sales quota holder who, from information available to the Department, appears to have made neither deliveries nor direct sales during the previous quota year, or

(b) any direct sales quota holder who, in contravention of Article 6 of the Commission Regulation, has failed to submit to the Department a declaration within 30 days of service of a notice by the Department in accordance with Article 6(4) of that Regulation,

that his quota has been taken into the national reserve.

(3) Any quota withdrawn pursuant to Article 15 of the Council Regulation shall be placed in the national reserve with effect from the beginning of the quota year following –

(a) the quota year for which the list referred to in paragraph (1) was supplied,

(b) the quota year to which the declaration indicating no direct sales were made relates, or

(c) the quota year for which no declaration was submitted,

as the case may be.

(4) A wholesale quota holder or direct sales quota holder who receives a notification of confiscation under paragraph (2) shall within 28 days of receipt of that notification notify any person with an interest in the land comprised in the holding of the content of that notification.

(5) Subject to the second sub-paragraph of Article 15(1) of the Council Regulation (which specifies the time limit for quota restoration) and to paragraphs (6) and (7), a person whose quota has, pursuant to Article 15(1), been taken into the national reserve may request the Department to restore to him the quota in respect of the holding from which it was confiscated or in respect of part of that holding provided that –

(a) he is a producer;

(b) the Department receives the request by the end of the quota year to which the request relates; and

(c) in the case of confiscation of quota notified by virtue of paragraph (2)(b), the Department has received the required declaration from him by the end of the quota year preceding the quota year in which the quota is to be restored.

(6) Where there is a change of occupation of all or part of the holding to which the quota relates, the new occupier may, in accordance with paragraph (5), request the Department to restore to him the quota relating to that holding or part holding, provided that the request is received by the Department before expiry of the time limit for quota restoration specified by the second sub-paragraph of Article 15(1) of the Council Regulation.

(7) A request for restoration of quota to part of a holding made under paragraph (5) or, following a change of occupation of part of a holding, under paragraph (6) shall include –

(a) a statement of the agreed apportionment of quota taking account of the areas used for milk production, signed by every person with an interest in the land comprised in the holding; or

(b) a statement requesting apportionment of the quota in accordance with an arbitration under paragraphs 1, 2, 3(5), 5(2), 6 and 8 to 19 of Schedule 1.

(8) Where quota is restored to part of a holding in accordance with a request made under paragraph (5), or following a change of occupation of part of a holding pursuant to paragraph (6), the amount of quota to be restored to that part shall be determined in accordance with the apportionment referred to in paragraph (7)(a) or (b).

(9) In this regulation –

(a) “direct sales quota holder” means a person in whose name direct sales quota is registered;

(b) “wholesale quota holder” means a person in whose name wholesale quota is registered.”.