The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013

Regulation 7

SCHEDULE 1 N.I. Exemptions

1.—(1) The kinds of [F1 carrier bags] to which regulation 6 does not apply are— N.I.

(a) bags used solely to contain one or more items of the following kinds—

(i) unpackaged food for human or animal consumption;

(ii) unpackaged loose seeds, bulbs, corms or rhizomes;

(iii) any unpackaged axe, knife, knife blade or razor blade;

(iv) unpackaged goods contaminated by soil;

(v) items from the categories specified in sub-paragraph (2);

(b) bags used solely to contain packaged—

(i) uncooked fish or fish products;

(ii) uncooked meat or meat products;

(iii) uncooked poultry or poultry products,

and in respect of which the maximum dimensions are 205 millimetres (“mm”) (width) x 125 mm (gusset width) x 458 mm (height inclusive of handles);

(c) bags used to contain hot foods or hot drinks intended for consumption away from the premises on which they are sold;

(d) bags used to contain purchases made on board ships, trains, aircraft, coaches or buses;

(e) bags used to contain purchases made in an area designated by the Secretary of State as a security restricted area under section 11A of the Aviation Security Act 1982 M1 ;

(f) mail order dispatch and courier bags;

(g) bags which—

(i) are made wholly from paper;

(ii) have maximum dimensions of 175 mm (width) x 260 mm (height);

(iii) do not have a gusset; and do

(iv) not have a handle;

(h) bags which—

(i) are made wholly or mainly from plastic;

(ii) have maximum dimensions of 125 mm (width) x 125 mm (height);

(iii) do not have a gusset; and

(iv) do not have a handle;

(i) bags which—

(i) are made wholly from paper;

(ii) have maximum dimensions of 80 mm (width) x 50 mm (gusset width) x 155 mm (height); and

(iii) do not have a handle;

(j) gusseted liners used to line or cover boxes, crates or other containers of a similar nature;

(k) bags used solely to contain live aquatic creatures in water;

[F2 (l) bags which are sold to customers for a price of not less than 20 pence each;

(m) multiple reuse plastic bags that are issued as free replacements for a corresponding number of worn out multiple reuse plastic bags.]

(2) The specified categories are—

(a) medicinal products or listed appliances sold in accordance with a prescription issued by a registered medical practitioner, a dentist, a supplementary prescriber, a nurse independent prescriber, an independent nurse prescriber, an optometrist independent prescriber, a pharmacist independent prescriber or an EEA health professional;

(b) where sold otherwise than in accordance with paragraph (a), pharmacy medicine.

(3) In this paragraph—

“dentist” means a person registered in the dentists register kept under section 14 of the Dentists Act 1984 M2 ;

“EEA health professional” has the meaning given in [F3 regulation 213(1) of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012] ;

“independent nurse prescriber” has the meaning given in the Pharmaceutical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 M3 ;

“listed appliances” means listed appliances within the meaning of article 63 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 M4 ;

“medicinal product” has the meaning given in section 130 of the Medicines Act 1968 M5 ;

[F4 “multiple reuse plastic bags” means bags which—

(a)

are made wholly or mainly from plastic;

(b)

have either maximum dimensions of 404 mm (both width and height) or a maximum dimension of 439 mm (either width or height);

(c)

are manufactured from material which is greater than 49 microns in thickness;

(d)

are purchased by the customer; and

(e)

when worn out are returnable to the seller from whom they were purchased to be replaced free of charge;]

“pharmacy medicine” means a medicinal product which is not a prescription only medicine and which—

(a)

in accordance with section 52 M6 of the Medicines Act 1968, can only be sold or supplied under the conditions specified in sub-section (1)(a) to (c) of that section; or

(b)

but for the fact that it is sold or supplied in accordance with section 55 M7 of that Act, could only lawfully be sold or supplied under those conditions;

“prescription only medicine” means a medicinal product—

(a)

of a description or falling within a class specified in an order made under section 58 M8 of the Medicines Act 1968;

(b)

to which section 58 of that Act applies by virtue of an order made under section 104 M9 of that Act;

“supplementary prescriber”, “nurse independent prescriber”, “optometrist independent prescriber” and “pharmacist independent prescriber” each have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in article 1(2) of the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 M10 ;

“unpackaged” means wholly or partly unwrapped.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Regulations (excl. regs. 1(1), 3) substituted (19.1.2015) by Carrier Bags Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 7), s. 9(3)(b) (6) (with s. 9(7))

F2 Sch. 1 para. 1(1)(l)(m) added (19.1.2015) by Carrier Bags Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 7), s. 9(5)(a)(6) (with s. 9(7))

F3 Words in Sch. 1 para. 1(3) substituted (24.12.2018) by The Environment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 (S.R. 2018/200), reg. 1(1), Sch. 1 para. 30

F4 Words in Sch. 1 para. 1(3) inserted (19.1.2015) by Carrier Bags Act (Northern Ireland) 2014 (c. 7), s. 9(5)(b)(6) (with s. 9(7))

Marginal Citations

M1 1982 c. 36; section 11A was inserted by the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 (c. 31), Schedule 1, paragraph 3; and amended by S.I. 2010/902, regulations 3 and 9(b).

M2 1984 c. 24; section 14 was substituted by S.I. 2005/2011, articles 2(1) and 6; and amended by S.I. 2007/3101, regulations 109 and 111.

M3 S.I. 1997/381 as amended by 2003/447

M4 S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14), amended by 1978/1907 (N.I. 26); there are other amendments but none is relevant.

M5 1968 c. 67; section 130 was amended by S.I. 1994/3119, regulation 2(b); and S.I. 2005/50, regulation 25(1)(c) and (d); there are other amendments but none is relevant.

M6 Section 52 was amended by the Health Act 2006 (c. 28) ; there are other amendments but none is relevant.

M7 Section 55 was amended by S.I. 2004/1771, article 3 and paragraph 10(b) of the Schedule; by S.I. 2006/2407, paragraphs 1 and 26 of Schedule 8.

M8 There are amendments to section 58 which are not relevant to these Regulations.

M9 Section 104 was amended by S.I. 2004/1031, regulation 54 and paragraph 17 of Schedule 10; and by S.I. 2006/2407, paragraphs 1 and 54 of Schedule 8.

M10 S.I. 1997/1830; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 2003/696, S.I. 2004/1771, S.I. 2005/765, S.I. 2006/915, S.I. 2010/1621.