Registrar not liable in respect of official acts
Open ↗47.—(1) The Registrar and any officer of the Registry are not to be taken to warrant the correctness or validity of a grant of protection or the registration of a denomination under this Act or under any international agreement or convention to which Singapore is a party.
(2) The Registrar, any officer of the Registry and any Examiner mentioned in section 17(1) and officer thereof (if the Examiner is not an individual), do not incur any liability by reason only of, or in connection with, any examination required or authorised by this Act, or any such international agreement or convention, or any report or other proceedings consequent on such examination.[16/2014]
Right of appeal
Open ↗48.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) or by rules made under this Act, there is no appeal to the Court from a decision of the Registrar for any matter under this Act.
(2) The following are subject to appeal to the Court:(a)
a decision of the Registrar to decline to make a grant of protection;
(b)
a decision of the Registrar to make a grant of protection;
(c)
a decision of the Registrar approving or disapproving a proposed denomination.
(3) An appeal does not lie to the appellate court from a decision of the Court on appeal from a decision of the Registrar for any matter under this Act unless permission to appeal is given by the appellate court.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
[23/2019; 40/2019]
(4) In this section, “appellate court” means the court to which an appeal under subsection (3) is to be made under section 29C of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969.[40/2019]
Forms and directions of Registrar
Open ↗49. The Minister may make rules for the publication by the Registrar of —(a)
the forms to be used for any purpose relating to a grant of protection or any other proceedings before the Registrar under this Act; and
(b)
the practice directions issued by the Registrar.
Amendment of documents
Open ↗49A. Subject to the rules mentioned in section 54(2)(ea), the Registrar may, at the written request of a person who has made any application under this Act (including an application for a grant of protection for a plant variety), or filed a notice or other document for the purposes of this Act, or at the written request of the person’s agent, amend the application, notice or document —(a)
to correct a clerical error or an obvious mistake; or
(b)
if the Registrar is of the opinion that it is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances of the case to do so.[16/2012]
[Act 7 of 2022 wef 26/05/2022]
Fees
Open ↗50.—(1) There must be paid in respect of applications, grants, registrations and other matters under this Act such fees as may be prescribed.[16/2012]
(2) The Minister may make rules as to the remission of fees under prescribed circumstances.
(3) All fees collected must be paid into the funds of the Office.[16/2012]
Hours of business and excluded days
Open ↗51.—(1) The Registrar may issue practice directions to specify —(a)
the hours of business of the Registry; and
(b)
the days which are to be treated as excluded days.
(2) The Minister may prescribe the effect of doing any business under this Act —(a)
on any day after the hours of business of the Registry; or
(b)
on any day which is an excluded day.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) —(a)
different hours of business may be specified for different classes of business;
(b)
different excluded days may be specified for different classes of business; and
(c)
different effects of doing business —(i)
outside the hours of business of the Registry; or
(ii)
on an excluded day,
may be prescribed for different classes of business.
Composition of offences
Open ↗52.—(1) The Registrar or any person authorised in writing by the Registrar may compound any offence under this Act that is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding the lower of the following:(a)
one half of the amount of the maximum fine that is prescribed for the offence;
(b)
$5,000.[Act 23 of 2019 wef 10/06/2022]
(2) The Office may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.[2/2007]
(2A) On payment of the sum of money, no further proceedings are to be taken against such person in respect of the offence.[2/2007]
(3) All sums collected under this section must be paid into the Consolidated Fund.[Act 23 of 2019 wef 10/06/2022]
Jurisdiction of court
Open ↗53. Despite any provision to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code 2010, a District Court has jurisdiction to try any offence under this Act and has power to impose the full penalty or punishment in respect of the offence.
Rules
Open ↗54.—(1) The Minister may make rules —(a)
for prescribing anything authorised or required by this Act to be prescribed; and
(b)
generally for regulating practice and procedure under this Act.
(2) Without limiting subsection (1), rules made under this section may make provision —(a)
as to the manner of making applications and filing other documents and in respect of anything that is to accompany or to be furnished together with any application;
(b)
as to the procedure to be followed in connection with any application or request to the Registrar or in connection with any proceedings or other matter before the Registrar, and the rectification of irregularities of procedure;
(c)
providing for the testing and treatment of plant varieties to which applications relate;
(d)
requiring and regulating the translation of documents and the filing and authentication of any translation;
(e)
as to the service of documents;
(ea)
to enable the Registrar to publish —(i)
an application to rectify an error or omission in the register; and
(ii)
a request to amend an application (including one for a grant of protection for a plant variety), a notice or other document filed for the purpose of this Act,
and to provide for the making of objections to the rectification or amendment by a person claiming to be affected by it;
[Act 7 of 2022 wef 26/05/2022]
(f)
prescribing time limits for anything required to be done under this Act;
(g)
providing for the extension of any time limit prescribed or specified by the Registrar, whether or not it has already expired;
(h)
providing for the forfeiture of any priority given in respect of an application;
(i)
authorising the preparation, publication, sale and exchange of copies of diagrams, photographs and documents filed with the Registry, and indexes and abridgments to them;
(j)
prescribing the mode of publishing any matters required by this Act to be published;
(k)
prescribing the requirements to be met in selecting the denomination of plant varieties, and providing for the approval or rejection by the Registrar of any denomination or the amendment to any denomination; and
(l)
prescribing fees and charges for the purposes of this Act.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
