These Regulations make provision for the enforcement of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (OJ No L 39, 13.2.2008, p 16) of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition, description, presentation, labelling and the protection of geographical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89, and give enforcement authorities new powers in relation to the enforcement of EC requirements relating to spirit drinks, including the power to give improvement notices and to impose monetary penalties by penalty notice.

These Regulations revoke the Spirit Drinks Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/1179), the Spirit Drinks (Scotland) Regulations 1990 (S.I. 1990/1196 (S. 136)), the Spirit Drinks Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1990 (S.R. (NI) 1990 No 219), the Spirit Drinks (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/484 (S. 33)), the Spirit Drinks (Amendment) Regulations 1995 (S.I. 1995/732) and the Spirit Drinks (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (S.R. (NI) 1995 No 105) (regulation 2 and Schedule 1). The 1990 Regulations, as amended, made provision for the enforcement of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (OJ No L 160, 12.6.1989, p 1) laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1014/90 (OJ No L 105, 25.4.1990, p 9) laying down detailed implementing rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks. Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 supersedes those EC Regulations.

These Regulations include provisions making the failure to comply with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 mentioned in Schedule 2 an offence and create an additional offence to protect geographical indications registered in Annex III to that Regulation (regulation 4 and Schedule 2).

They designate the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as the verification authority for the purpose of Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (regulation 5). They designate food authorities and port health authorities as the competent authorities for the purpose of Article 24(1) of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (regulation 6) and for the enforcement of the Regulations (regulation 7). They provide for the appointment of officers (regulation 8). They impose a duty on competent authorities and enforcement authorities to give assistance and information to each other and empower the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to disclose information to an enforcement authority for the purposes of these Regulations (regulation 9). They confer powers of entry (regulation 10) and other powers (regulation 11), including seizure powers, including the seizure of products liable to destruction. They require certain procedures to be followed in the event of any exercise of the seizure powers (regulation 12). They provide for the issue of improvement notices (regulation 13) and provide for appeals against improvement notices (regulations 14 and 15). They provide for the destruction of seized products and the giving of improvement notices to be publicised (regulation 16).

They make obstruction an offence (regulation 17) and provide for the punishment of criminal offences (regulation 18). They also contain provisions relating to offences committed by a body corporate, unincorporated body or partnership (regulation 19), the commission of an offence due to the act or default of a third person (regulation 20) and defences (regulation 21).

These Regulations also create a scheme for the issuing and payment of penalty notices for certain offences. They include provisions relating to the giving of a penalty notice (regulation 22 and Schedule 3), the content of such a notice (regulation 23), the amount of a penalty payable under a penalty notice (regulation 24 and Schedule 4), the period in which a penalty must be paid and the effect of paying a penalty (regulation 25), the method of paying a penalty (regulation 26), the issue of a certificate relating to the payment or non-payment of a penalty (regulation 27), the payment of penalties into the Consolidated Fund (regulation 28), and the withdrawal of a penalty notice (regulation 29).

They also contain provisions relating to the giving of notices (regulation 30).

A full impact assessment of the effect that these Regulations will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available at www.defra.gov.uk or from Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR. It is also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum for these Regulations, which is available, alongside these Regulations, on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk ).