Explanatory note

These Regulations revoke and replace the Plant Protection Products (Fees) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 and its 1997 amendment covering fees to be paid to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in connection with examinations for approval under the Plant Protection Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004. The new 2004 Regulations continue to implement Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, as amended, in relation to Northern Ireland.

These Regulations introduce a new fee structure largely based on a modular approach founded on component examination elements, depending on the extent of examination called for by the type of application as well as the statutory examination function involved. The fee modules (Item A in the Table within the Schedule) are categorised into a preliminary examination charge, miscellaneous application charges and charges for specialist evaluations.

This new approach is not however to be applied to fees related to applications for products containing new active substances under the Directive 91/414/EEC, (Item B in the Table within the Schedule) where each such application requires examination of a full dossier of data and other information. Resubmission of such an application for approval where an earlier application has been unsuccessful involves a tiered, tapering fee dependent on the relevant percentage of the full data package required for the unsuccessful application. Similarly the new approach is not applied to fees in respect of recognition of testing facility under the Directive (Item C in the Table).

The Regulations introduce a new £10,000 fee (item B(5)) to cover the costs of acting as a co-rapporteur Member State for a new active substance following a specific request from a person involved and responsible as a notifier of that substance under Council Directive 91/414/EEC for Annex I inclusion.