European Communities Act 1972

6 The common agricultural policy

(1) There shall be a Board in charge of a government department, which shall be appointed by and responsible to the Ministers, and shall be by the name of the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce a body corporate (but not subject as a statutory corporation to restrictions on its corporate capacity); and the Board (in addition to any other functions that may be entrusted to it) shall be charged, subject to the direction and control of the Ministers, with such functions as they may from time to time determine in connection with the carrying out of the obligations of the United Kingdom under the common agricultural policy of the Economic Community.

(2) Her Majesty may by Order in Council make further provision as to the constitution and membership of the Board, and the remuneration (including pensions) of members of the Board or any committee thereof, and for regulating or facilitating the discharge of the Board's functions, including provision for the Board to arrange for its functions to be performed by other bodies on its behalf and any such provision as was made by Schedule 1 to the [1964 c. 98.] Ministers of the Crown Act 1964 in relation to a Minister to whom that Schedule applied; and the Ministers—

(a) may, after consultation with any body created by a statutory provision and concerned with agriculture or agricultural produce, by regulations modify or add to the constitution or powers of the body so as to enable it to act for the Board, or by written directions given to the body require it to discontinue or modify any activity appearing to the Ministers to be prejudicial to the proper discharge of the Board's functions; and

(b) may by regulations provide for the charging of fees in connection with the discharge of any functions of the Board.

(3) Sections 5 and 7 of the [1957 c. 57.] Agriculture Act 1957 (which make provision for the support of arrangements under section 1 of that Act for providing guaranteed prices or assured markets) shall apply in relation to any Community arrangements for or related to the regulation of the market for any agricultural produce as if references, in whatever terms, to payments made by virtue of section 1 were references to payments made by virtue of the Community arrangements by or on behalf of the Board and as if in section 5(1)(d) the reference to the Minister included the Board.

(4) Agricultural levies of the Economic Community, so far as they are charged on goods exported from the United Kingdom or shipped as stores, shall be paid to and recoverable by the Board; and the power of the Ministers to make orders under section 5 of the Agriculture Act 1957, as extended by this section, shall include power to make such provision supplementary to any directly applicable Community provision as the Ministers consider necessary for securing the payment of any agricultural levies so charged, including provision for the making of declarations or the giving of other information in respect of goods exported, shipped as stores, warehoused or otherwise dealt with.

(5) Except as otherwise provided by or under any enactment, agricultural levies of the Economic Community, so far as they are charged on goods imported into the United Kingdom, shall be levied, collected and paid, and the proceeds shall be dealt with, as if they were Community customs duties, and in relation to those levies the following enactments shall apply as they would apply in relation to Community customs duties, that is to say:—

(a) the general provisions of the [1952 c. 44.] Customs and Excise Act 1952 (as for the time being amended, whether by this or any earlier or later Act) and any other statutory provisions for the time being in force and relating to customs generally, as well as section 88(4) of that Act as so amended; and

(b) sections 5, 6, 7, 10 and 13 of the [1958 c. 6.] Import Duties Act 1958, but so that in those sections (and in Schedule 3 to the Act), as amended by this Act, references to the Secretary of State shall include the Ministers;

and if, in connection with any such Community arrangements as aforesaid, the Commissioners of Customs and Excise are charged with the performance, on behalf of the Board or otherwise, of any duties in relation to the payment of refunds or allowances on goods exported or to be exported from the United Kingdom, then in relation to any such refund or allowance section 267 (except subsection (2)(a)) and section 294 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 shall apply as they apply in relation to a drawback of customs duties, and other provisions of that Act shall have effect accordingly.

(6) The enactments applied by subsection (5) (a) above shall apply subject to such exceptions and modifications, if any, as the Commissioners of Customs and Excise may by regulations prescribe, and shall be taken to include section 10 of the [1901 c. 7.] Finance Act 1901 (which relates to changes in customs import duties in their effect on contracts), but shall not include section 259 of the Customs and Excise Act 1952 (charge of duty on manufactured or composite articles).

(7) Where it appears to the Ministers, having regard to any such Community arrangements as aforesaid (and any obligations of the United Kingdom in relation thereto), that section 1 of the [1957 c. 57.] Agriculture Act 1957 should cease to apply to produce of any description mentioned in Schedule 1 to that Act, they may by order made by statutory instrument, which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, provide that as from such date as may be prescribed by the order (but subject to such savings and transitional provisions as may be so prescribed) the Act shall have effect as if produce of that description were omitted from Schedule 1.

(8) Expressions used in this section shall be construed as if contained in Part I of the Agriculture Act 1957; and in this section " agricultural levy " shall include any tax not being a customs duty, but of equivalent effect, that may be chargeable in accordance with any such Community arrangements as aforesaid, and " statutory provision " includes any provision having effect by virtue of any enactment and, in subsection (2), any enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland or provision having effect by virtue of such an enactment.