The Milk Marketing Board (Residuary Functions) Regulations 1994

PART VI. PRINCIPAL POWERS OF THE BOARD

MISCELLANEOUS POWERS

59A.—(1) For the purpose of complying with paragraph 8A, the Board may if it thinks fit and with the approval of the Minister–

(a) set up a company to carry out commercial activities or to form a subsidiary to carry out commercial activities;

(b) transfer to that company such assets or liabilities as are necessary;

(c) make available to or for that company or that subsidiary on prevailing market terms loans, guarantees or other financial benefits;

(d) on prevailing market terms grant security over their assets in support of borrowings undertaken by that company or that subsidiary.

(2) For so long as and to the extent that any commercial activities of the Board are, under paragraph 59A, carried out by a company or subsidiary of the company–

(a) they shall be the activities of that company or that subsidiary;

(b) reference to their commercial activities in paragraphs 52A and 53 shall be construed accordingly; and

(c) reference to the Board’s accounts and records in paragraph 53(4) of this Scheme shall be construed as including a reference to that company’s accounts and records and, if applicable, that subsidiary’s accounts and records.

59B.  The Board shall ensure that moneys received in payment for milk supplied by them are not used in their commercial activities, except as permitted in paragraph 59A(1)(c) and (d).

ASSESSMENTS OF SALES

71.—(2) (a) If the Board are unable to obtain from any relevant producer a sufficient return showing the number of litres of milk sold by him during any accounting period he shall if the Board think fit be treated as having sold on each day during that period such number of litres of milk as the Board may think proper in respect of every cow which he had in his possession the first day of that period.

(b) If the Board are unable to obtain from any relevant producer a sufficient return showing the number of cows in his possession on the said date, he shall if the Board think fit be treated as having in his possession on that date such number of milch cows as was shown in any return or written statement previously made by him to the Board as having been in his possession on any previous date.

(5) In this paragraph the expression “accounting period” means such periods as the Board may from time to time determine.

INFORMATION AND INSPECTION

75.  The Board may, whenever they consider it necessary for the discharge of their functions so to do, serve on any relevant producer a demand in writing requiring him to furnish to them such returns and other information relating to milk produced by him at any time prior to Vesting Day as may be specified in the demand.

CONTRAVENTIONS

77.—(1) (a) If any relevant producer–

(i) has before Vesting Day contravened any prescription of the Board under paragraph 60 or 61, or

(ii) has before Vesting Day sold milk in contravention of a direction of the Board given under paragraph 63,

the Board may recover from him such financial contribution (not exceeding £1,000 plus half the price for which the milk to which the contravention relates was sold) as they may determine.

(b) If any relevant producer has before Vesting Day sold milk by retail or by semi–retail in contravention of any prescription of the Board under paragraph 69, the Board may recover from him such financial contribution (not exceeding £1,000) as they may determine.

(c) If any relevant producer fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any demand made by the Board under paragraph 75, or knowingly makes any false statement in reply thereto, then the Board may recover from him such financial contribution (not exceeding £200) as they may determine.

(ca) If any relevant producer who has before Vesting Day withheld milk for the purposes of paragraph 56A(1)(iv) (for sale to an exempt producer(1)) has before Vesting Day failed without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement of paragraph 56A(4)(b) or in purported compliance with any such requirement has before Vesting Day knowingly made any false return or has before Vesting Day knowingly given any false information, then the Board may recover from him such financial contribution (not exceeding £200) as they may determine.

(d) No such contribution may be recovered in respect of such a contravention as aforesaid which would constitute an offence under any Act other than the 1958 Act.

(3) As soon as may be after the Board have made any determination under sub–paragraph (1) above, written notice of their decision shall be sent to the relevant producer in question and he may, on or before the fourteenth day after the date on which the notice was sent to him, give notice to the Board requiring the Board to refer the matter to arbitration under the provisions of this Scheme, and if that notice is given to the Board and is not withdrawn, no proceedings shall be taken by the Board otherwise than for the purposes of arbitration or to enforce the award of the arbitrator; and the arbitrator may award payment by the producer of such contribution or other sums as he thinks just but not exceeding the maximum contribution which could have been required by the Board.

(4) The Board shall have the power to reconsider any determination under sub–paragraph (1) above in relation to the case of any producer if, upon considering any written application in that behalf by the relevant producer in question made within three months after the date of the determination, the Board is satisfied that–

(a) there may be facts relevant to the case other than the facts which were before the Board at the time of the determination,

(b) if such other facts had been previously known to the Board, their decision would have been influenced thereby, and

(c) the matter has not been referred to arbitration pursuant to sub–paragraph (3) above.

(5) (a) If the Board determine pursuant to sub–paragraph (4) above to reconsider any case, and if, as a result, that it is proper to vary their first determination in that case, they shall vary that determination.

(b) The provisions of sub–paragraph (3) above shall apply to every such varied determination in like manner as it applies to an initial determination of the Board.

(6) Subject as aforesaid, every contribution required to be paid by a decision of the Board shall be a debt due to the Board and recoverable accordingly.

(7) A person whose name appeared upon the register of relevant producers at the date when he contravened any provision of this Scheme or of the old marketing scheme shall, notwithstanding that his name has since been removed from the Board’s register, be deemed to remain a relevant producer for the purpose of this paragraph.

(1)

Paragraph 56 of the old marketing scheme made provision for the exemption of producers from the operation of certain provisions of Part VI of that scheme.