Section 12 — Certain registered producers must join licensed scheme

(1)A registered producer of a regulated product must not supply any regulated consumer product in any compliance year if the registered producer —

(a)has, on average for each year in the relevant period immediately preceding the compliance year, supplied more than the threshold prescribed for that regulated consumer product; and

(b)is not a member of a licensed scheme for the regulated consumer product.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1), the Minister may prescribe —

(a)any regulated product as a regulated consumer product; and

(b)a threshold that applies to —

(i)one class or type of regulated consumer product; or

(ii)2 or more classes or types of regulated consumer products collectively.

(3)A registered producer of a regulated product who, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.

(4)In this section —“compliance year” means the period starting 1 July in any year and ending 30 June in the following year (both dates inclusive); “relevant period” means —

(a)in relation to the compliance year from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 (both dates inclusive) — the year 2020;

(b)in relation to the compliance year from 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 (both dates inclusive) — the years 2020 and 2021; and

(c)in relation to any compliance year after 30 June 2023 — 3 calendar years.