The Dairy Produce Quotas Regulations 1991

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations consolidate with amendments the Dairy Produce Quotas Regula tions 1989 as amended. The Regulations implement in the United Kingdom—

(a) article 5c of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 804/68,

(b) Council Regulation (EEC) No. 857/84, and

(c) Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 1546/88,

which are referred to as “the Community legislation” in the Regulations (regulation 2 and Schedules 1, 2 and 3). Under the Community legislation, a levy is chargeable on dairy produce sold by direct sale by a producer or delivered by him wholesale to a dairy business, unless the sales or deliveries are within a reference quantity described in that legislation. The Community legislation establishes the system of what are commonly called “milk quotas” and in these Regulations the term “quota” is used to refer to the reference quantities described in the Community legislation.

The principal change introduced by these Regulations is provision for the award of quota to producers making sales of dairy produce other than milk, butter, cream or cheese (for example, yogurt and ice cream), for which quota has not previously been established (regulation 24 and Schedule 9). This provision gives effect to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 306/91 (OJ No. L37, 9.2.91, p. 4) amending the definition of “other milk products” in Article 12 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 857/84. Applications from producers for awards of quota were invited before the coming into force of these Regulations and the provision establishes 11th November 1991 as the date by which applications must be made. Criteria for entitlement to quota are set out in Schedule 9. Awards will be made of “primary quota” and “secondary quota”; the former will be granted to established producers and the latter to producers who can show that by 1st March 1991 they were committed to developing their production. Secondary quota awards will be based on determinations made by the Dairy Produce Quota Tribunals.

Apart from minor and drafting amendments, the following changes have also been made by these Regulations:

(a) provisions concerning inter alia recent awards of quota, which are now spent, have been omitted;

(b) more detailed provision has been made concerning the adjustment of purchaser quotas following changes in deliveries made by producers (regulation 7) and consequential amendments have been made to the requirements for registering wholesale quota (regulation 28);

(c) the date for notifying temporary transfers of quota has been omitted (regulation 17);

(d) interest is made payable on amounts of levy not paid to the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce on the due date (regulation 23);

(e) the level of fine applicable under the Regulations is linked to the standard scale (regulation 34);

(f) provision is made for the terms of awards, where the apportionment of quota is determined by arbitration, to be notified to the Minister (Schedules 4, 5 and 6);

(g) the provisions concerning the conversion of direct sales quota into wholesale quota and vice versa are simplied (Schedule 7);

(h) the provisions concerning the calculation of liability for levy are amended so as to preclude direct sellers who do not submit their sales declarations by the due date from benefiting from unused quota of other producers (Schedule 8);

(i) provision is made for the appointment of a Deputy Chairman of the Dairy Produce Quota Tribunals for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland (Schedule 10).