Horticulture Act (Northern Ireland) 1966

24 F1 Power to enter premises, etc., and examine horticultural produce. N.I.

(1) Any person authorised by the Ministry in writing to exercise functions under this Act (in this Act referred to as an “authorised officer” ) shall for the purposes of this Act have power (on production, if demanded, of his authority to act as such officer)—

(a) to enter, at any reasonable time, any premises (other than a building used only as a private dwelling-house) or any place which he has reasonable cause to believe to be premises or, as the case may be, a place where horticultural produce is grown for sale, graded, processed or packed, or on which horticultural produce intended for sale is to be found;

(b) to enter, at any reasonable time, the premises of, or used by, any person engaged in the business of carrying goods for reward, any pier, quay, wharf, jetty, dock, dock premises or aerodrome and any ship, boat, aircraft, railway wagon, motor lorry, cart or other vessel or vehicle used for the conveyance of goods, and to open, for the purpose of inspection, any package of horticultural produce which may be found in or upon any premises, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft which he is entitled to enter under this paragraph;

(c) to inspect and, without payment, take reasonable samples of any horticultural produce found in or upon any such premises, place, vessel, aircraft or vehicle and to seize and detain any label, package or container used in connection with such produce.

(2) An authorised officer entering any premises, place, vessel, aircraft or vehicle by virtue of this section may take with him such other persons and such equipment as may appear to him necessary.

(3) If any authorised offiicer or other person who enters any premises by virtue of this section discloses to any person any information obtained by him in the premises with regard to any manufacturing process or trade secret, he shall, unless the disclosure was made in the performance of his duty, be guilty of an offence.

F1 SI 1972/971