PART 4General
Charging for information9.
The Secretary of State may make a reasonable charge for providing information that is stored in the database required by Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000 and provided in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 3 of that Regulation.
Powers of inspectors10.
(1)
An inspector may, on producing a duly authenticated document showing his authority, if required, at all reasonable hours enter any land or premises for the purposes of ascertaining whether there is or has been any contravention of—
(a)
these Regulations;
(b)
Title I of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000;
(d)
(e)
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 911/2004; and
(f)
Commission Regulation (EC) No. 644/2005,
and in this regulation “premises” includes any place, installation, vehicle, ship, vessel, boat, craft, hovercraft or aircraft.
(2)
The power to enter premises—
F2(a)
only includes a power to enter domestic premises if they are being used in connection with the provisions in paragraph (1)F3; and
(b)
includes a power to enter premises by reasonable force if need be
(3)
An inspector may carry out F4any actions necessary for the enforcement of the provisions in paragraph (1), and in particular may—
(a)
collect, pen and inspect any cattle, and may require the keeper to arrange for the collection, penning and securing of cattle;
(b)
take samples;
(c)
examine any records in whatever form, and take copies of those records;
(d)
remove and retain any records or documents (including passports) relating to these Regulations;
(e)
have access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and any associated apparatus or material that is or has been used in connection with records, and may require any person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material to afford him such assistance as he may reasonably require;
(f)
where records are kept by means of a computer, require the records to be produced in a form in which they may be taken away;
(g)
require production of any unused ear tags and record their numbers; and
(h)
take with him F5any person he considers necessary.
Powers to restrict movements11.
In accordance with F6Article 22(2) of Regulation (EC) No. 1760/2000, an officer of the Secretary of State may serve a notice on a keeper of animals on a holding restricting the movement of cattle to or from the holding if he is satisfied that this is necessary for the proper enforcement of that Regulation, these Regulations, Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98, No. 509/1999, No. 911/2004 or No. 644/2005, and any person who fails to comply with that notice is guilty of an offence.
Slaughter of unmarked animals12.
The Secretary of State is F7... the competent authority for the purposes of Article 1(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 494/98 F8and Article 22(2)(d) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000.
Obstruction etc.13.
(1)
A person who—
(a)
obstructs any person acting in the execution of these Regulations;
(b)
without reasonable cause, fails to give to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any assistance or information that that person may reasonably require of him for the purposes of his functions;
(c)
furnishes to any person acting in the execution of these Regulations any information that he knows to be false or misleading; or
(d)
fails to produce a passport, document or record when required to do so to any person acting under these Regulations,
is guilty of an offence.
(2)
Any person who provides false information in any notification made under these Regulations is guilty of an offence.
Offences by bodies corporate14.
(1)
Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under these Regulations, and that offence is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of—
(a)
any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate; or
(b)
any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity,
he, as well as the body corporate, is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2)
In this regulation “director” in relation to a body corporate whose affairs are managed by its members, means a member of the body corporate.
Penalties15.
A person guilty of an offence under these Regulations is liable—
(a)
on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding three months or to both;
(b)
on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.
Enforcement16.
(1)
These Regulations are enforced by the local authority.
(2)
The Secretary of State may direct in any particular case or class of case that he will enforce them instead.
F9(3)
Where the Secretary of State makes a direction under paragraph (2), the Secretary of State may delegate to the Director of Public Prosecutions functions in relation to the prosecution of an offence under these Regulations.
Revocations17.
The following are revoked in England—
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
F10Review18.
(1)
The Secretary of State must from time to time—
(a)
carry out a review of these Regulations;
(b)
set out the conclusions of the review in a report; and
(c)
publish the report.
(2)
In carrying out the review the Secretary of State must, so far as is reasonable, have regard to how Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 is implemented in other member States.
(3)
The report must in particular—
(a)
set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory system established by these Regulations;
(b)
assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved; and
(c)
assess whether those objectives remain appropriate and, if so, the extent to which they could be achieved with a system that imposes less regulation.
(4)
The first report under this regulation must be published before the end of the period of five years beginning with 6th April 2013.
(5)
Reports under this regulation are afterwards to be published at intervals not exceeding five years.