16.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the maximum moisture content of the seed shall not exceed 17 per cent by weight.
(2) A licensed seed testing station to which a regulation 11 application for the testing of an official sample of seed has been made (or the Department in a case where regulation 11(3) or (4) applies), may decide not to carry out a moisture test to determine whether the condition in paragraph (1) has been complied with if—
(a)the official sample of the seed to be tested has already been subjected to a moisture test carried out by the licensed seed sampler who drew the official sample, and
(b)the results of that test indicate that the maximum moisture content of the seed does not exceed 17 per cent by weight.