Food Citation, commencement and extent 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Meat (Official Controls Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and come into force on 28th September 2009. 2 These Regulations extend to Scotland only. Interpretation 2 1 In these Regulations— “ accounting period ” means a period of less than a year determined by the Agency; “ the Agency ” means Food Standards Scotland ; “ audit ” has the meaning given to it in Article 3(30) of Regulation 2017/625 ; “ controls ” means those official controls performed by the Agency— under Regulation 2017/625, Regulation 2019/624 and Regulation 2019/627 , at slaughterhouses, game-handling establishments and cutting plants, for the verification of compliance with the provisions of Regulation 853/2004 in so far as they apply in relation to meat of domestic ungulates, meat from poultry and lagomorphs, meat of farmed game and meat of wild game; at slaughterhouses, for the verification of compliance with the provisions of the Welfare of Animals (Slaughter or Killing) Regulations 1995 and the Welfare of Animals at Time of Killing (Scotland) Regulations 2012 ; in relation to domestic ungulates slaughtered outside the slaughterhouse, pursuant to Chapter VI of Section I of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004; in relation to poultry slaughtered on farm, pursuant to Chapter VI of Section II of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004; and in relation to— farmed ratites, farmed game mammals of the family Cervidae or the family Suidae , or bison, slaughtered at the place of origin pursuant to Section III of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004; “ cutting plant ” means any establishment which is used for boning and/or cutting up fresh meat for placing on the market and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625; “ cutting up ” has the meaning that it bears in Regulation 853/2004 and “ cut up ” shall be construed accordingly; “ Directive 2004/41 ”, “ Regulation 178/2002 ”, “ Regulation 852/2004 ”, “ Regulation 853/2004 ”, “ Regulation 1688/2005 ”, “ Regulation 2073/2005 ”, “ Regulation 2074/2005 ”, “ Regulation 2015/1375 ”, “ Regulation 2017/185 ”, “ Regulation 2017/625 ”, “ Regulation 2019/624 ” and “ Regulation 2019/627 ” have the meanings respectively given to them in schedule 1; “ domestic ungulates ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.2 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ establishment ” has the meaning given to it in Article 2.1(c) of Regulation 852/2004; “ farmed game ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.6 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ food business operator ” has the meaning given to it in Article 3.3 of Regulation 178/2002; “ fresh meat ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.10 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ game ” has the meaning that it bears in Regulation 853/2004; “ game-handling establishment ” means any establishment in which game and game meat obtained after hunting are prepared for placing on the market and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625; “ game meat ” has the meaning that it bears in Regulation 853/2004; “ inspector ” means an official veterinarian, an official auxiliary or any other person appointed by the Agency for the purpose of performing controls; “ lagomorphs ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.4 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ meat ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.1 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ official auxiliary ” has the meaning given to it in Article 3(49) of Regulation 2017/625 ; “ official controls ” shall be construed in accordance with definition of “official control” in Article 2(1) of Regulation 2017/625 ; “ official controls charge ” means the charge calculated in accordance with Schedule 2 and notified in accordance with regulation 3(1), (2) or (3); “ official veterinarian ” has the meaning given to it in Article 3(32) of Regulation 2017/625 ; “ operator ” means a food business operator who is carrying on a food business at any premises or that person's duly authorised representative; “ place of origin ” has the meaning that it bears in point 3 of Section III of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004; “ placing on the market ” has the meaning given to it in Article 3.8 of Regulation 178/2002; “ poultry ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.3 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004; “ premises ” means any slaughterhouse, game—handling establishment, cutting plant, place that is outside the slaughterhouse for the purposes of Chapter VI of Section I of Annex III to Regulation 853/2004, farm or place of origin; “ slaughterhouse ” means any establishment used for slaughtering and dressing animals, the meat of which is intended for human consumption and which is approved or conditionally approved under Article 148 of Regulation 2017/625; “time costs”, means in relation to any establishment for any accounting period, the costs calculated in accordance with paragraphs 7 to 9 of Schedule 2; “ verification ” means checking, by examination and provision of objective evidence; and “ wild game ” has the meaning given to it in point 1.5 of Annex I to Regulation 853/2004. 2 In these Regulations, any reference to an EU instrument defined in Schedule 1 is a reference to that instrument as amended from time to time. Charges 3 1 The Agency shall, subject to the following provisions of this regulation, notify each operator of any premises at which controls have been exercised in any accounting period of an official controls charge in respect of those controls as soon as practicable after the end of that period. 2 Where the Agency cannot comply with paragraph (1) because it has insufficient information available to it to enable it to calculate the official controls charge for any accounting period in respect of any premises, it shall notify the operator of those premises of an interim charge, being such amount as the Agency estimates (having regard to the information it has) the official controls charge to be. 3 Where the Agency has notified an operator of an interim charge in accordance with paragraph (2), and sufficient information becomes available to the Agency to calculate the official controls charge, it shall calculate that charge and— a where it exceeds the interim charge, notify the operator of the amount by which the official controls charge exceeds the interim charge; or b subject to paragraph (5), where it is less than the interim charge, credit to the operator the amount by which the interim charge exceeds the official controls charge. 4 Any charge notified to an operator under paragraph (1), (2) or (3) shall be payable by the operator to the Scottish Ministers and shall be recoverable on demand by the Scottish Ministers, or by the Agency acting on their behalf, as a debt from the operator concerned. 5 Where under paragraph (3)(b) a sum is to be credited to an operator, the Scottish Ministers may if they so determine pay such sum to the operator concerned instead of crediting such sum to the operator. Withdrawal of official controls 4 Where the Scottish Ministers, or the Agency acting on their behalf, have obtained decree against an operator of any premises for any sum which is payable to the Scottish Ministers under regulation 3(4) and the operator fails within a reasonable time thereafter to comply with that decree, the Scottish Ministers may (without prejudice to any other legal remedy open to them) direct the Agency not to exercise any further controls at those premises in respect of which the debt accrued until the debt has been satisfied. Information 5 1 An operator shall, on demand being made by the Agency, supply— a such information as the Agency may reasonably require for the purpose of calculating the official controls charge or notifying an operator of it; and b such evidence as the Agency may reasonably require to enable it to verify information supplied under sub—paragraph (a). 2 Any demand made by the Agency under paragraph (1) shall be in writing and may be served on the operator concerned— a by delivering it to that operator; b in the case of an operator that is a body corporate other than a limited liability partnership— i by delivering it to their secretary at their registered or principal office, or ii by sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to their secretary at that office; c in the case of an operator that is a limited liability partnership— i by delivering it to a designated member of the partnership at their registered or principal office, or ii by sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to a designated member of the partnership at that office; d in the case of an operator that is a partnership other than a limited liability partnership, by delivering it to the partnership's principal place of business; or e in the case of any other operator, by leaving it or sending it in a prepaid letter addressed to the operator at the operator's usual or last known residence. 3 Where a demand is to be served on an operator under paragraph (2) but it is not reasonably practicable to ascertain the name and address of the person on whom it should be served, or the premises of the operator are unoccupied, the document may be served by addressing it to the operator in the capacity of occupier of those premises (naming them), and— a by delivering it to some other person at the premises; and b if there is no other person at the premises to whom it can be delivered, by affixing it or a copy of it to some conspicuous part of the premises. 4 Any person who— a without reasonable excuse, fails to comply within a reasonable time with a demand made under paragraph (1); or b in purported compliance with paragraph (1), knowingly or recklessly supplies information or evidence that is false or misleading in a material particular, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale. Revocation 6 The Meat (Official Controls Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 are revoked. RICHARD LOCHHEAD A member of the Scottish Executive St Andrew's House, Edinburgh