Medicines Act 1968

62 Prohibition of sale or supply, or importation, of medicinal products of specified description, or of animal feeding stuffs incorporating such products. U.K.

(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, the appropriate Ministers, where it appears to them to be necessary to do so in the interests of safety, may by order—

(a) prohibit the sale or supply, or the importation, of medicinal products of any description, or falling within any class, specified in the order, or (in such manner as may appear to them to be sufficient to identify the products in question) designate particular medicinal products and prohibit the sale or supply, or the importation, of those particular products;

(b) prohibit the sale or supply, or the importation, of animal feeding stuffs in which medicinal products of any description, or falling within any class, specified in the order have been incorporated, or (in such manner as may appear to them to be sufficient to identify the feeding stuffs in question) designate particular animal feeding stuffs in which medicinal products have been incorporated and prohibit the sale or supply, or the importation, of those particular feeding stuffs.

(2) A prohibition imposed by order under this section may be a total prohibition or may be imposed subject to such exceptions as may be specified in the order.

(3) Before making an order under this section the appropriate Ministers, unless in their opinion it is essential to make the order with immediate effect to avoid serious danger to health, whether of human beings or of animals, shall consult the appropriate committee, or if for the time being there is no such committee, shall consult the Commission.

(4) Where an order is made under this section without prior consultation with the appropriate committee or the Commission in accordance with subsection (3) of this section, the prohibition imposed by the order shall not have effect after the end of such period, not exceeding three months from the date on which it comes into operation, as may be specified in the order, but without prejudice to the making of any further order in accordance with the provisions of this section (including this subsection).

(5) If any organisation consulted in pursuance of section 129(6) of this Act with respect to a proposal to make an order under this section have given notice to the appropriate Ministers of their desire to be heard under this subsection, or have made representations in writing to those Ministers with respect to that proposal, then before making the order—

(a) if the organisation have given notice of their desire to be heard, the appropriate Ministers shall arrange for them to have an opportunity of appearing before, and being heard by, the Commission, or

(b) if they have made representations in writing, the appropriate Ministers shall refer those representations to the Commission,

and, where the organisation have availed themselves of the opportunity of being heard, or after considering the representations, as the case may be, the Commission shall report their findings and conclusions to the appropriate Ministers and those Ministers shall take that report into account in determining whether to make the order.

(6) Subsection (5) of this section shall not have effect where in the opinion of the appropriate Ministers it is essential to make the order with immediate effect as mentioned in subsection (3) of this section.

(7) If an order is made under this section in circumstances where either—

(a) neither the appropriate committee (if any) nor the Commission have considered the proposal to make the order (whether on being consulted under subsection (3) of this section or, in the case of the Commission, in pursuance of subsection (5) of this section), or

(b) the order is made contrary to the advice of the Commission or, in a case where the Commission have not, but the appropriate committee have, considered the proposal to make the order, is made contrary to the advice of that committee,

the order shall include a statement of the fact that it has been so made.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 62 extended by S.I. 1984/187, art. 2

C2 S. 62 extended with modifications by S.I. 1985/1403, art. 3(1)

S. 62 applied (1.1.1995) by S.I. 1994/3142, reg. 18(2)

C3 S. 62 (1)(a), (2)–(7) extended by S.I.s 1982/425, art. 3, 1984/187, art. 2 and extended with modifications by S.I. 1985/1403, art. 3(1)