The Apple Orchard Grubbing Up Regulations 1991

Title, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Apple Orchard Grubbing Up Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 5th February 1991.

(2) These Regulations shall apply to Great Britain.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“apple tree” means any plant actually or potentially capable of producing a normal and full crop of apples other than cider apples;

“applicant” means a person who makes an application;

“application” means an application for a premium;

“the appropriate Minister” means—

(a)

in relation to England, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

(b)

in relation to Scotland or Wales, the Secretary of State;

“authorised officer” means an officer authorised by the appropriate Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

“the Commission Regulation” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2640/90 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1200/90 on the improvement of the Community Production of apples and amending Regulation (EEC) No 3322/89 determining the operative events applicable in the fruit and vegetables sector(1);

“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EEC) No 1200/90 on the improvement of the Community production of apples(2);

“former orchard” means land formerly an apple orchard in respect of which a premium has been paid;

“holding” means land including an apple orchard in respect of which an application is made, occupied as a unit for agricultural purposes by the applicant at the time of making the application;

“occupier” means a person, other than the applicant, who occupies a former orchard or part of a former orchard at any time during the restriction period;

“premium” means the grubbing up premium provided for in Article 1 of the Council Regulation;

“the restriction period” means, in relation to a holding, the period of fifteen years commencing with the day on which qrubbing up is completed on that holding.

(2) Expressions in these Regulations other than those defined in paragraph (1) of this regulation, which also appear in the Council Regulation or the Commission Regulation, have the meanings they bear therein.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation so numbered in these Regulations.

Applications for premium

3.  Application shall be made to the appropriate Minister.

Calculation of areas

4.  For the purpose of calculating the area of parcels under apple trees which make up an apple orchard in respect of which an application is made, reasonable working headlands shall be included.

Powers of entry and inspection

5.—(1) From the date an application is made until the expiry of the restriction period which relates to the applicant’s holding, an authorised officer may, at all reasonable times and on production of his authority on demand, enter upon the holding and inspect any land or apple tree, whether planted or grubbed up, in order to—

(a) verify the accuracy of any particulars given in the application;

(b) determine whether grubbing up has been carried out in accordance with the Council Regulation and the Commission Regulation; or

(c) determine whether any apple tree has been planted on the holding during the restriction period.

(2) When exercising the powers conferred upon him by paragraph (1), an authorised officer may be accompanied by such other persons acting under his instructions as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose.

Inspection of documents

6.  An authorised officer may, in order to—

(a) verify the accuracy of any particulars given in an application; or

(b) determine whether the applicant has planted an apple tree or has had an apple tree planted on the holding, or whether an occupier has planted an apple tree or has had an apple tree planted on the former orchard on the applicant’s holding,

require the applicant of the occupier to produce for the inspection any bill, account, record or other document in his possession or under his control relating to the holding or any part of it, or the apple orchard or any apple tree on the holding, and may make copies of or take extracts from any document so produced.

Retention of grubbed up apple trees

7.  Where an application has been made in respect of an apple orchard and apple trees grubbed up in that apple orchard have been removed from the holding before they have been in inspected by an authorised officer, the appropriate Minister may withold the whole or any part of the premium applied for.

Notification on change of occupation

8.  Where, during the restriction period—

(a) an applicant or an occupier ceases to occupy the whole or any part of a former orchard; or

(b) an applicant or an occupier has died while in occupation of the whole or any part of a former orchard,

the applicant or occupier or, if he has died, his personal representatives, shall at or before the time the first or next occupier, as the case may be, takes occupation, notify him in writing that the former orchard or part is subject to the provisions of these Regulations and that the planting of apple trees on it may render him liable to pay a penalty.

Recovery of premiums

9.—(1) Where any person for the purpose of obtaining the payment of a premium to himself or any other person—

(a) makes any statement which is false or misleading in a material respect; or

(b) furnishes to the appropriate Minister any inaccurate information,

the appropriate Minister may recover the whole or any part of the premium paid to him or to such other person.

(2) Where an applicant—

(a) intentionally obstructs an authorised officer in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by regulation 5(1) or 6, or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions; or

(b) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement under regulation 6,

the appropriate Minister may recover the whole or any part of the premium paid to him.

(3) Where an occupier—

(a) intentionally obstructs an authorised office in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by regulation 5(1) or 6, or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions; or

(b) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement under regulation 6,

he shall be liable to pay to the appropriate Minister on demand an amount equal to the whole or any part of the premium paid in relation to the apple orchard on the holding concerned.

(4) Where during the restriction period—

(a) an applicant plants an apple tree or has an apple tree planted on his holding; or

(b) an occupier plants an apple tree or has an apple tree planted on the former orchard on the applicant’s holding,

the appropriate Minister may recover from the applicant the premium paid to him and may in addition require from the applicant payment of interest on the sum recovered for the period commencing on the date of payment of the premium and expiring on the date of recovery at a rate of one percentage point above the sterling three month London interbank offered rate for the time being in force during that period.

Fixed penalty for planting apple trees

10.—(1) Where during the restriction period an applicant plants an apple tree or has an apple tree planted on his holding, he shall be liable, in addition to repaying the premium paid to him and paying interest, to pay to the appropriate Minister on demand an amount equal to the premium.

(2) Where during the restriction period an occupier plants an apple tree or has an apple tree planted on a former orchard, he shall be liable to pay to the appropriate Minister on demand an amount equal to the premium paid to the applicant whose holding contained the former orchard.

False statements

11.  Any person who, for the purpose of obtaining the payment of a premium to himself or to any other person, knowingly or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Obstruction of authorised officers

12.  Any person who—

(a) intentially obstructs an authorised officer in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by regulation 5(1) or 6, or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions; or

(b) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement under regulation 6,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Failure to notify

13.—(1) Any person who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the provisions of regulation 8 shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2) Any information relating to the offence reffered to in paragraph (1) of this regulation which is trable by a magistrates' court in England and Wales may be so tried if it is laid at any time within six years after the commission of the offence and within six months after the relevant date.

(3) Summary proceedings for such an offence may be commenced in Scotland at any time within six years after the commission of the offence and within six months after the relevant date; and for the purposes of this paragraph proceedings shall be deemed to be commenced on the date on which a warrant to apprehend or to cite the accused is granted, if such a warrant is executed without undue delay.

(4) In this regulation “relevant date” means the date on which evidence sufficient in the opinion of the prosecuter to justify proceedings comes to his knowledge.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4) of this regulation, a certificate of the prosecuter as to the date on which such evidence as is there mentioned came to his knowledge shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.

Offences by bodies corporate

14.  Where an offence under these Regulations which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer, of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

In witness whereof the official Seal of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Fisheries and Food is hereunto affixed on 7th January 1991.

L.S.

John Selwyn Gummer

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

Strathclyde

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Scottish Office

8th January 1991