23 1988

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Number 23 of 1988


CÓRAS BEOSTOIC AGUS FEOLA (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1988


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

1.

Principal Act.

2.

Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act.

3.

Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act.

4.

Amendment of section 28 of Principal Act.

5.

Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act.

6.

Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act.

7.

Powers of authorised officers.

8.

Offences by directors etc. of bodies corporate.

9.

Estimation of amount of levy payable in certain cases.

10.

Evidence in proceedings for recovery of levy.

11.

Regulations.

12.

Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement.


Acts Referred to

Córas Beostoic agus Feola Act, 1979

1979, No. 25

Companies Act, 1963

1963, No. 33

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Number 23 of 1988


CÓRAS BEOSTOIC AGUS FEOLA (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1988


AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE CÓRAS BEOSTOIC AGUS FEOLA ACT, 1979 . [11th July, 1988]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Principal Act.

1. —In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Córas Beostoic agus Feola Act, 1979 .

Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act.

2. —Section 1 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “livestock”:

“‘livestock’ means bovine animals, sheep and pigs and such other species of animals as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations;”

and

(b) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “meat”:

“‘meat’ means the meat, offal and by-products (excluding wool) in the slaughter of bovine animals, sheep and pigs and such other species of animals and such products as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations;”.

Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act.

3. —Section 6 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution in subsection (1) of “eleven ordinary members or such greater number of ordinary members as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations.” for “nine ordinary members.”,

(b) the substitution in paragraph (b) or subsection (3) of “four persons of such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations” for “three persons” and “livestock” for “bovine animals and sheep”,

(c) the substitution in paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of “three persons or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations” for “two persons”,

(d) the substitution in paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of “one person or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations” for “one person”, and

(e) the substitution in paragraph (e) of subsection (3) of “one person or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations” for “one person” and “livestock” for “live bovine animal and sheep”,

and the said subsection (1) and the said paragraphs, as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(1) The Board shall consist of the following members, that is to say, a chairman and eleven ordinary members or such greater number of ordinary members as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations.

(b) four persons or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations who shall represent the producers of livestock who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of such producers,

(c) three persons or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations who shall represent the meat export trade who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of such export trade,

(d) one person or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations who shall represent meat traders who sell meat by wholesale or retail for consumption in the State who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of such traders,

(e) one person or such greater number of persons as may be specified from time to time by the Minister by regulations who shall represent the livestock export trade who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of such export trade.

Amendment of section 28 of Principal Act.

4. —Section 28 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) The amount of levy payable under this section shall be—

(a) in relation to bovine animals, £1.50 per animal,

(b) in relation to sheep, 20p per animal,

(c) in relation to pigs, 20p per animal,

(d) in relation to any other species of animal in relation to which levy is payable, such amount per animal as may be specified by the Minister by order.”,

(b) by the insertion in subsection (3), after “subsection (2) of this section” of “or specified by order under paragraph (d) of that subsection” and

(c) by the deletion in subsection (4) of “varying the rate of levy payable”,

and the said subsections (3) and (4), as so amended, are set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, the Minister may, by order vary the rate of levy prescribed by subsection (2) of this section or specified by order under paragraph (d) of that subsection.

(4) Whenever the Minister proposes to make an order under this section, a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

Amendment of section 29 of Principal Act.

5. —Section 29 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (3):

“(3) A person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to—

(i) a fine not exceeding £1,000, and

(ii) a fine not exceeding £50 per day for each day on which the failure to furnish the return referred to in the said subsection (2) continues after the expiration of the period of fourteen days referred to in that subsection or, as the case may be, levy, the subject of the offence, remains unpaid after the expiration of that period,

provided, however, that the fines shall not exceed £1,000 in total, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 together with a fine not exceeding £500 per day for each day on which the failure to furnish the return referred to in the said subsection (2) continues after the expiration of the period of fourteen days referred to in that subsection or, as the case may be, levy, the subject of the offence, remains unpaid after the expiration of the period aforesaid.

(3A) A summary offence under this section may be brought and prosecuted by the Board.”.

Amendment of section 31 of Principal Act.

6. —Section 31 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following subsections:

“(2) A record kept by a person pursuant to subsection (1) of this section that is in his power or control and, in the case of any such record that has been given by the person to another person, any copy thereof that is in the power or control of the first-mentioned person shall be retained in his power or control for a period of 4 years from the date of the latest transaction to which the record relates:

Provided that this section shall not apply to records of a company that have been disposed of in accordance with section 305 (1) of the Companies Act, 1963 .

(3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.”.

Powers of authorised officers.

7. —The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section after section 31:

“31A.—(1) In this section ‘authorised officer’ means a person authorised in writing by the Board to exercise, for the purposes of this Act, the powers conferred by this section.

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of obtaining any information that is necessary or expedient for the purposes of the charging and levying by, and the payment to, the Board of levy or of ascertaining whether the provisions of sections 29 and 31 of this Act are being complied with, on production of the officer's authorisation, if so required—

(a) at all reasonable times enter premises where he reasonably believes that a person liable to pay levy carries on the business of the export of meat or livestock or the slaughter of livestock or keeps records relating to such a business,

(b) inspect the premises, search for any records relating to levy or the business of the slaughter or export of meat or livestock,

(c) require any person found on the premises to produce to him any such records that are in his power or control and take copies of or extracts from or remove and retain any such records, for such period as may be reasonable for their examination or for the purposes of any proceedings in relation to an offence, or the recovery of levy payable, under this Act, and

(d) require any such person to give to him such information as he may reasonably require in relation to any business carried on on the premises and any such records as aforesaid that are in his power or possession.

(3) A person who obstructs or impedes an authorised officer in the exercise of a power or, without reasonable excuse, does not comply with a requirement under this section, or who in purported compliance with such a requirement gives information to an authorised officer that he knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both.”.

Offences by directors etc. of bodies corporate.

8. —The Principal Act is hereby further amended by the insertion of the following section after section 31A (inserted by this Act):

“31B.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of that body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) of this section shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director or manager of the body corporate.”.

Estimation of amount of levy payable in certain cases.

9. —(1) Where, in the opinion of the Board, levy is payable by a person for a levy period falling before, after or partly before and partly after the passing of this Act and the person fails to furnish to the Board within the period specified in section 29 (2) of the Principal Act a return of the amount of levy so payable—

(a) the Board may estimate the amount so payable and serve on the person a notice specifying the amount so estimated,

(b) the amount so specified shall be deemed to be the amount of levy payable by the person for the levy period and shall be payable by him to the Board upon the expiration of the period of 14 days from the date of the service of the notice on the person unless, within that period, he shows, to the satisfaction of the Board, either that no levy, or an amount of levy other than the amount so specified, is payable for the levy period,

(c) where the person shows that an amount of levy other than the amount specified in the notice under paragraph (a) of this subsection is payable for the levy period, the amount so shown shall be payable by the person forthwith to the Board and any amount of levy in excess of the amount so shown that the person has paid to the Board under this section shall be repaid by the Board to the person, and

(d) where, at any time after the sending to the person of the notice referred to in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the Board becomes satisfied that an amount of levy other than the amount specified in the notice is payable by the person, it may send to the person a notice specifying the first-mentioned amount and the notice under this paragraph shall be deemed to be in substitution for the notice referred to in the said paragraph (a), and paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection shall apply and have effect accordingly in relation to it, and any amount paid to the Board on foot of the notice referred to in the said paragraph (a) shall be deemed to have been paid on foot of the notice under this paragraph.

(2) A notice authorised by this section to be served on a person by the Board may be served—

(a) if the person is an individual—

(i) by delivering it to him, or

(ii) by sending it to him by post addressed to him at his usual or last known place of residence or business, or

(iii) by leaving it for him at that place,

(b) if the person is a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons, by sending it to the body by post to, or addressing it to and leaving it at, in the case of a company, its registered office (within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 ) and, in any other case, its principal place of business.

Evidence in proceedings for recovery of levy.

10. —In any proceedings, a certificate purporting to have been signed by an officer of the Board and stating that a specified amount in respect of levy is due and payable by a specified person to the Board or that a return under section 29 of the Principal Act in relation to a specified levy period was not furnished to the Board by a specified person or was not so furnished within the period specified in that section shall be evidence, unless the contrary is shown, of the facts specified in the certificate and the certificate shall be deemed to have been signed by an officer of the Board unless the contrary is shown.

Regulations.

11. —Where it is proposed to make regulations under the Principal Act (other than section 29), a draft of the regulations shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft shall have been passed by each such House.

Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement.

12. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Córas Beostoic agus Feola (Amendment) Act, 1988.

(2) The Principal Act and this Act may be cited together as the Córas Beostoic agus Feola Acts, 1979 and 1988.

(3) The Principal Act and this Act shall be construed together as one.

(4) This Act shall come into operation on the 1st day of August, 1988.