Appeals against charges paid to the National Assembly for Wales or the Agency
58.—(1) Any person who has paid a charge for veterinary checks to the National Assembly for Wales or the Agency, and any organisation representing such persons, may, within twenty-one days of the charge being made, give notice in writing of his wish to appeal to an independent person appointed by the National Assembly for Wales, or where the charge was paid to the Agency, to an independent person appointed by the Agency on the ground that the amount of the charge is unreasonable.
(2) Where the charge was paid to the Agency, the functions of the National Assembly for Wales in paragraphs (3) to (4) shall be performed by the Agency.
(3) Where an appellant gives notice of his or her wish to appear before and be heard by an independent person appointed for the purpose——
(a)the National Assembly for Wales shall appoint an independent person to hear representations and specify a time limit within which representations to that independent person must be made;
(b)the person so appointed shall not, except with the consent of the appellant, be an officer or servant of the National Assembly for Wales;
(c)if the appellant so requests, the hearing shall be in public;
(d)the independent person shall report to the National Assembly for Wales and
(e)if the appellant so requests, the National Assembly for Wales shall provide him or her with a copy of the independent person’s report.
(4) If the independent person is satisfied that the amount of the charge is unreasonable, the National Assembly for Wales shall recalculate the charge in accordance with any directions given by the independent person and repay to the person who has paid the charge the difference between the original charge and the recalculated charge.