The Fisheries and Aquaculture Structures (Grants) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

“application” means an application for payment of financial assistance under regulation 3(1) and “applicant” shall be construed accordingly;

“approval” means an approval granted under regulation 5 and includes the terms and conditions subject to which such approval has been given and “approve” and “approved” shall be construed accordingly;

“approved operation” means a relevant operation which the Scottish Ministers have approved;

“authorised officer” means a person authorised in writing to be an officer–

(a)

for the purposes of these Regulations, by the Scottish Ministers; or

(b)

for the purposes of exercising any functions which the Authority is required under regulation 11 to exercise, by the Authority,

and includes any duly appointed official of the Commission who accompanies such person;

“the Authority” means the Sea Fish Industry Authority constituted under section 1 of the Fisheries Act 1981(1);

“beneficiaries” means applicants whose applications have been approved and a “beneficiary” shall be construed accordingly;

“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Communities;

“Community aid” means aid towards eligible expenditure available from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance and payable in accordance with the Community structural assistance legislation;

“Community fishing vessel” has the meaning given to it in article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3760/92 establishing a Community system for fisheries and aquaculture(2);

“the Community structural assistance legislation” means–

(a)

Council Regulation 1260/1999;

(b)

Council Regulation (EC) No. 1263/1999 on the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance(3);

(c)

Council Regulation 2792/1999;

(d)

Commission Decision (EC) No. 1999/501 of 1st July 1999 fixing an indicative allocation by Member States of the commitment appropriations for Objective 1 of the Structural Funds for the period 2000 to 2006(4);

(e)

Commission Decision (EC) No. 1999/502 of 1st July 1999 drawing up the list of regions covered by Objective 1 of the Structural Funds for the period 2000 to 2006(5);

(f)

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1685/2000 of 28th July 2000 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) 1260/1999 as regards eligibility of expenditure of operations co financed by the structural funds(6);

(g)

Commission Decision No. C(2000) 2348 of 8th August 2000 approving the Single Programming Document for Community structural assistance under Objective 1 in the region of Highlands and Islands in the United Kingdom;

(h)

Commission Decision No. C(2000) 4298 of 27th December 2000 approving the Single Programming Document for Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector in the United Kingdom in areas outside Objective 1;

(i)

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 438/2001 of 2nd March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) 1260/1999 regarding the management and control systems for assistance granted under the Structural Funds and regarding the form and content of the accounting information that the Member States must hold at the disposal of the Commission for the purposes of checking Structural Fund accounts (7);and

(j)

Commission Regulation (EC) No. 448/2001 of 2nd March 2001 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) 1260/1999 regarding the procedure for making financial corrections of assistance granted under the Structural Funds (8).

“Council Regulation 1260/1999” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1260/1999 of 21st June 1999 laying down general provisions on the structural funds(9);

“Council Regulation 2792/1999” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2792/1999 of 17th December 1999 laying down the detailed rules and arrangements regarding Community structural assistance in the fisheries sector(10);

“eligible expenditure” means expenditure which is incurred or to be incurred in connection with an approved operation and which the Scottish Ministers have approved for the purpose of receiving financial assistance under regulation 5;

“financial assistance” means any amount by way of grant or Community aid;

“grant” means a grant towards eligible expenditure payable under these Regulations in addition to any Community aid;

“LIBOR”, in relation to any particular day of the month, means the rate of interest per centum notified to the Scottish Ministers by the Bank of England on the first working day of that month, rounded if necessary to two decimal places;

“relevant conditions” means any conditions relating to the approval of an application or the making of a payment of any financial assistance which have been notified to a beneficiary under regulations 5(3)(b) or 7;

“relevant documents” means any invoice, account, drawing, plan, technical specification or other document relating to the approved operation;

“relevant equipment” means any plant, machinery or other equipment for which financial assistance has been claimed or paid;

“relevant operation” means an investment, project or action which is eligible for Community aid; and

“works” means any construction, harbour or other building works, whether completed or not, for which financial assistance has been claimed or paid.

(2) Expressions used in these Regulations which appear or are referred to in the Community structural assistance legislation and which are not defined in this regulation have, insofar as the context admits, the same meaning in these Regulations as in that legislation.

(3) Any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to the regulation so numbered in these Regulations.

(4) Any reference in these Regulations to anything done in writing or produced in written form includes a reference to an electronic communication, as defined in the Electronic Communications Act 2000(11), which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced.

(1)

1981 c. 29

(2)

O.J. No. L 389, 31.12.92. p.1.

(3)

O.J. No. L 161, 26.6.1999, p.54.

(4)

O.J. No. L 194, 27.7.1999, p.49.

(5)

O.J. No. L 194, 27.7.1999, p.53.

(6)

O.J. No. L 193, 29.7.2000, p.39.

(7)

O.J. No. L 63, 3.3.2001, p.21.

(8)

O.J. No. L 64, 6.3.2001, p.13.

(9)

O.J. No. L 161, 26.6.1999, p.1.

(10)

O.J. No. L 337, 30.12.1999, p.10.

(11)

2000 c. 7.