Seeds Act (Northern Ireland) 1965

2 Supplementary provisions as to seeds regulations. N.I.

(1) Seeds regulations may include provisions as to the packets, bags, trays or other containers in which seeds may be sold or delivered to purchasers, and requirements as to the marking of such containers.

(2) Seeds regulations may in particular—

(a) require information to be given in the prescribed manner (which may include the giving of it on any label, container or package) as regards seeds which are sold or offered or exposed for sale and, in particular, require the seller of any seeds to deliver a statement containing the prescribed particulars to the purchaser within the time limited by the regulations,

(b) require any of the particulars contained in a statement to be delivered to a purchaser or other person under seeds regulations to be particulars ascertained on a test of the seeds,

(c) prohibit the selling, or the offering or exposing for sale, of seeds which contain more than a prescribed proportion of weed seeds, or of weed seeds of a prescribed kind,

F1 [(cc) prohibit or restrict the importation or removal into Northern Ireland, or the selling or the offering or exposing for sale, of seeds which contain any seeds of weeds of a kind specified in the regulations as being capable of causing injury to agriculture in Northern Ireland,]

(d) prohibit persons from using, in relation to seeds which are sold, or are offered or exposed for sale, a prescribed name or designation or description except where the seeds have been grown or selected under the prescribed conditions,

(e) require persons who deal in seeds to supply the Ministry with information as to, and to keep records of,—

(i) transactions in seeds,

(ii) statutory statements given or received by them, and other statements or invoices given or received by them in connection with the sale of seeds,

(iii) processes or treatments applied to seeds, and

(iv) the results of tests of seeds,

and authorise officers of the Ministry to call for production of the records,

(f) where persons who deal in seeds also grow seeds, require those persons to supply the Ministry with information as to, and to keep records of—

(i) [F2 areas] sown, and

(ii) the yields of the crops,

and authorise officers of the Ministry to call for production of the records,

(g) regulate the procedure to be observed at, and the conduct of, an official testing station referred to in section 7(1) and other establishments licensed pursuant to regulations made under paragraph ( i),

(h) regulate the manner in which any tests are to be made for the purposes of this Act,

(i) provide for the licensing by the Ministry of establishments for the testing of seeds, other than an official testing station, and authorise the Ministry to charge a fee of such amount as may be approved by the Ministry of Finance for, and to attach conditions to, any such licence, and to make the conditions enforceable by withdrawal of the licence or by making a breach of any of the conditions an offence against seeds regulations.

(3) In prescribing the manner in which samples are to be taken for the purposes of any provision in this Act or for the purposes of seeds regulations, the regulations—

(a) may impose conditions as to the persons authorised to take samples and the places where they may be taken,

(b) may require the person taking a sample to give part of it to the owner of the seeds or to some other person, may prescribe the manner in which the sample is to be divided into parts and may impose duties as respects the marking or labelling and the preservation of the parts of the sample, and

(c) may provide for the identification, by the labelling or marking of their container or by some other method, of seeds from which a sample has been taken.

(4) Seeds regulations—

(a) may exempt, or authorise the Ministry to exempt, any person or class of persons, or persons generally, from compliance with any of the provisions of the regulations, and may provide that the exemptions are to be, or may be made, subject to conditions, and

(b) may contain transitional provisions consequent on the repeal of the Seeds Act 1920 [1920 c.54] by this Act.

F1 1970 c. 20 (NI)

F2 SR 1977/295