Agricultural, Fishery and Aquaculture Products (Improvement Grant) Regulations 1991

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which come into force on 21st March 1991 andapply throughout Great Britain, supplement Council Regulation (EEC) No866/90 (OJ No L91, 6.4.90, p.1), Council Regulation (EEC) No 4042/89 (OJNo L388, 30.12.89, p.1) and provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No4028/86 (OJ No L376, 31.12.86, p.7) (“the Council Regulations”) which respectively contain measures for improving—

(a) the processing and marketing conditions of agricultural products;

(b) the processing and marketing conditions of fishery and aquacultureproducts; and

(c) the facilities by which fisheries products are produced, landed andoffered for sale at fishing ports.

The Council Regulations empower the Commission to grant aid from theGuidance Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and GuaranteeFund (“the Guidance Fund”) towards investments or projects which fufil those objectives andtowards which the Member States on the territory of which theinvestments or projects are to be located make a financial contribution.

The Regulations—

(a) empower Ministers to make grants towards expenditure in respect ofinvestments or projects approved for the payment of aid from theGuidance Fund of amounts sufficient to enable those investments orprojects to qualify for that aid (regulation 3);

(b) lay down procedures for approval of expenditure for the purposes ofCommunity aid and of a grant under the Regulations, and for the paymentof such Community aid or grant (regulation 4),

(c) confer on applicants a duty to keep, retain and produce records ofexpenditure (regulation 5),

(d) confer on authorised officers of the appropriate Minister powers toenter upon land and to require the production of documents (regulation6),

(e) create an offence in respect of false statements made to obtainCommunity aid or grant (regulation 7), and

(f) specify circumstances in which approval of expenditure may berevoked and Community aid or grant may be recovered (regulation 8).