The Hops Certification Regulations 1979

• Citation: S.I. 1979/1095
• Sections: 14

Section 1 Citation, commencement and interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Hops Certification Regulations 1979 and shall come into operation on 1st October 1979.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,—

“ the appropriate authority ” means—

in relation to England, the Secretary of State;

in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

but the appropriate authority is the Secretary of State—

in relation to Scotland, if consent is given by the Scottish Ministers;

“ certification ” means certification under the relevant provisions , and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

“ certification centre ” means a place for the time being designated by the appropriate authority for the purposes of certification;

“ certifying officer ” means a person for the time being authorised by the appropriate authority to certify hops and hop products;

“ the Commissioners ” means the Commissioners of Customs and Excise;

“the relevant provisions ” means—

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products (“Regulation EU No 1308/2013”);

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 laying down detailed rules for the certification of hops and hop products (“ Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 ”);

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1295/2008 on the importation of hops from third countries (“Regulation (EC) 1295/2008 ”);

“ hop products ” means those products prepared or derived from hops which are mentioned in Articles 1 and 3(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 ;

“ prescribed ” means prescribed by the relevant provisions ; and other expressions have the same meaning as in the relevant provisions .

Section 2 Certification

Where, under the relevant provisions , hops or hop products are required to be certified in Great Britain , the certification shall be carried out in accordance with those provisions by a certifying officer, and no document purporting to be a certificate shall be valid unless it is issued by a certifying officer.

Section 3 Sale, etc. contrary to relevant provisions

(1) No person shall—

(a) sell any harvested hops required by the relevant provisions to be certified before being marketed, or any hop products so required, unless they have been certified;

(b) sell, or expose for sale, any certified hops or certified hop products otherwise than in packages which are marked and sealed in accordance with the relevant provisions ;

(c) sell any hop cones imported from a third country and falling within combined nomenclature code 1210 10 unless there has been issued in respect of those hop cones either—

(i) an attestation of equivalence, or

(ii) in respect of hop cones imported from the European Union before 1 February 2027 , provided that the Secretary of State has not published a statement under Article 77(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in relation to such hop cones, an EU certificate ;

(d) sell any hop products imported from a third country unless there has been issued in respect thereof either—

(i) an attestation of equivalence, or

(ii) in respect of hop products imported from the European Union before 1 February 2027 , provided that the Secretary of State has not published a statement under Article 77(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in relation to such hop products, an EU certificate;

(e) except as provided for in Article 1(3)(a) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 (which relates to hops harvested on land owned by a brewer and used by him in the natural or processed state), use for the manufacture of hop products any hops imported from a third country unless there has been issued in respect thereof either—

(i) an attestation of equivalence, or

(ii) in respect of hops imported from the European Union before 1 February 2027 , provided that the Secretary of State has not published a statement under Article 77(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in relation to such hops, an EU certificate.

(f) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(1A) Paragraph (1)(c) does not apply insofar as Article 10 of Regulation (EC) 1295/2008 provides otherwise.

(2) A person who without reasonable excuse contravenes any provision of paragraph (1) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction or, in Scotland, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale .

Section 4 Restrictions on movement of unattested third country hop cones

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Section 5 Inspectors

(1) The appropriate authority may appoint, as inspectors to assist it in the official surveillance of certification for hops and hop products produced within Great Britain and in the verification of the minimum marketing requirements for hops and hop products imported from a third country required by the relevant provisions , such number of its officers appearing to him to be qualified for the purpose as it considers appropriate from time to time.

(2) An inspector appointed in pursuance of paragraph (1) above may, at all reasonable times and on producing written evidence of his authority if required to do so,—

(a) enter and inspect any certification centre, or any premises or place used for the production, grading, processing, packing, storage or sale of any hops or hop products, inspect any machinery or equipment, and any hops or hop products, found there and take samples of such hops or hop products;

(b) require any person having control of any such centre, premises or place, and any certifying officer, to give the inspector such assistance and afford him such facilities as the inspector may reasonably ask for in connection with his powers under this regulation;

(c) require any person to produce and permit the inspector to inspect any documents in that person's possession or control, being documents which any person is required by any provision of the relevant provisions or of these regulations to prepare or maintain.

(3) An inspector acting in exercise of a power conferred by paragraph (2)(a) above may take with him such other persons as he considers necessary.

Section 6 Obstruction, etc

Any person who—

(a) intentionally obstructs an inspector appointed in pursuance of regulation 5 above in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by any provision of that regulation or a person accompanying him and acting under his instructions in pursuance of the power conferred by regulation 5(3) above ; or

(b) without reasonable excuse fails to provide facilities or assistance or to produce or permit the inspection of any document which he is required to provide or produce in pursuance of any provision of that regulation,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction or, in Scotland, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale .

Section 6A Obstruction, etc

If any person—

(a) fails to provide to an inspector or a certifying officer the information specified in Article 12(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 Article 9(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/601 , or

(b) intentionally obstructs an inspector or a certifying officer when seeking such information,

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Section 7 Brewers' and processors' declarations

(1) A brewer required by Article 20(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 to send to the competent certification authority referred to in Article 21 of that Regulation , a declaration giving the particulars of hops harvested on his land and used by him which are mentioned in Article 20(1) shall forward the declaration, not later than 31st October in each year, to the appropriate authority or to such other person as that authority shall by notice to the brewer from time to time direct.

(2) A processor required to send to the competent certification authority referred to in Article 21 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1850/2006 a declaration of the quantities of isomerized hop extracts produced and marketed by him shall forward the declaration, not later than 31st December in each year, to the appropriate authority or to such other person as that authority shall by notice to the processor from time to time direct.

(3) Any person who without reasonable excuse contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction or, in Scotland, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale .

Section 8 Records

(1) The appropriate authority may, by notice given to any person engaged, whether as principal or agent, in the production, grading, processing, packing or sale of any hops or hop products (not being hops or hop products exempt from certification) require that person to keep such records of any of those activities as may be specified in the notice: and that person shall comply with the requirement.

(2) Every person so required to keep records shall retain them for three years from the end of the calendar year to which they relate, and produce them on demand to any authorised officer of the appropriate authority who presents his credentials.

(3) A person who without reasonable excuse contravenes any of the foregoing provisions of this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction or, in Scotland, on conviction before a court of summary jurisdiction, to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale .

Section 9 Removal, falsification, etc. of marks or certificates; false entries

(1) If any person—

(a) without due authority and with intent to deceive, removes, alters, conceals or defaces any certificate, or any prescribed seal or mark, lawfully applied to, accompanying or relating to any hops or hop products;

(b) without due authority and with intent to deceive applies to any hops or hop products, any certificate or any prescribed seal or mark;

(c) with intent to deceive applies to any hops or hop products any document, seal or mark so closely resembling a certificate or a prescribed seal or mark as to be likely to deceive;

(d) knowingly makes a false entry in any declaration, certificate, book, account or record which is required by the EU provisions relevant provisions or these regulations to be made, issued, kept or produced, or, with intent to deceive, makes use of any such entry knowing the entry to be false;

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or both.

(2) In this regulation “certificate” includes an attestation of equivalence provided for in Article 190 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 .

Section 10 Defence available to person charged with an offence

In any proceedings for an offence under these regulations, it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence; and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, if that person proves that he took all the precautions and exercised all the diligence required by the EU provisions relevant provisions he shall be deemed to have established that defence.

Section 11 Supplementary

(1) Where an offence under these regulations which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members the provisions of paragraph (1) above shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body corporate.

Section 12 Notices

(1) Any notice required or authorised by these regulations to be given to or served on any person shall be in writing and shall be sufficiently given or served if it is delivered to him personally or left at his last known place of abode or business or sent to him by post in a letter addressed to him at that place of abode or business.

(2) Any notice required or authorised by these regulations to be given to or served on an incorporated company or body shall be sufficiently given or served if given to or served on the secretary or clerk of the company or body. For the purposes of these regulations and of section 7 of the Interpretation Act 1978, the proper address of such secretary or clerk shall be that of the registered or principal office of the company or body.

Section 13 Repeals and revocation

(1) The Hop Trade Act 1814 and the Hop (Prevention of Frauds) Act 1866 are hereby repealed.

(2) The Hops (Import Regulation) Order 1961 is hereby revoked.