AGRICULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRIES (FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) ACT

CHAPTER 146

AGRICULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRIES

(FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE) ACT

To authorise the provision of financial assistance to farmers and

fishermen and persons desiring to engage in the agricultural or fishing

industry.

28th January, 1956

ACT II of 1956, as amended by Acts XIII of 1956, VI of 1957;

Emergency Ordinance XIV of 1958; Ordinances VIII of 1960 and XXV of

1962; Legal Notices 4 of 1963 and 46 of 1965; Act IX of 2002; and Legal

Notice 409 of 2007 and Act XXXV of 2023.

The short title of this Act is the Agricultural and Fishing

Industries (Financial Assistance) Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"agricultural industry" means the business of growing crops,

cultivation of fruit-trees, and of breeding livestock;

"fishing industry" means the business of catching any description

of fish or shell-fish by means of fishing boats registered as such in

Malta;

"Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

"person" includes a body of persons.

(1)

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Minister

responsible for the Department of Agriculture and the Department

of Fisheries, hereinafter referred to as "the Minister", may, with the

approval of the Minister responsible for finance, make

arrangements for the provision of financial assistance for persons

engaged in the agricultural or fishing industry and persons desiring

to engage therein, including in particular persons who have

previously been so engaged.

(2) Assistance may be given under this Act to any such persons

as aforesaid

(a) in regard to the agricultural industry, in connection

with the acquisition of livestock, machinery, tools,

implements, equipment, fodder, seeds, fertilizers,

insecticides, fungicides or any other thing which in the

opinion of the Minister is useful to the agricultural

industry, or in connection with the acquisition or

improvement of land or the improvement of animal

husbandry;

(b) in regard to the fishing industry, in connection with the

acquisition of boats or equipment for use for the

purpose of the said industry, or in connection with the

improvement or reconditioning of such boats or

equipment;

(c) in regard to both the agricultural and the fishing

industries, in connection with the repayment of any

sum which, before the coming into operation of this

Act, may have been borrowed for any of the purposes

specified in the two preceding paragraphs of this

subarticle or in connection with the payment of any

sum which, before that date, was due for or in relation

with any of those purposes.

(3) Assistance as aforesaid shall be by way of loan. But, if the

Minister is satisfied that the object for which the assistance is

sought would effect an appreciable improvement in the industry, he

may authorize assistance to be given by way of grant, or partly by

way of loan and partly by way of grant, so however that the amount

of grant shall not exceed one-half of the price or expense involved.

(4) Any sums required by the Minister for making grants or

loans in accordance with arrangements made under this article shall

be paid out of moneys appropriated for the purpose.

Any sums received in payment of the interest or in re-

payment of the principal in respect of any loan made under this

Act, and any sums which may be repaid in accordance with the

terms of any grant made under this Act, shall be paid into the

Consolidated Fund.

The Minister shall lay on the Table of the House of

Representatives, as soon as may be after the close of each financial

year, a statement showing the amounts of loans and of grants made

under this Act in the course of that year as well as the amounts

received in the course of that year as provided in article 4.

The Minister responsible for Agriculture and the Minister

responsible for Fisheries may, with the concurrence of the Minister

responsible for Finance, establish schemes and guarantee funds for

the purpose of providing financial and other forms of guidance or

assistance of any nature to the agricultural industry and to the

fishing industry.

The Minister responsible for Agriculture and the Minister

responsible for Fisheries may, with the concurrence of the Minister

responsible for Finance, make regulations for the purpose of

implementing the provisions of this Act and, without prejudice to

the generality of the foregoing, to provide

(a) for the establishment of any paying agency with the

function of administering any scheme or other measure

relating to any financial or other guidance or

assistance to be provided under this Act;

(b) for the establishment and management of any schemes

and guarantee funds for the purpose of providing

financial and other forms of guidance or assistance of

any nature to the agricultural industry and to the

fishing industry under this Act;

(c) for the standards to be observed by persons applying

for any financial or other guidance or assistance under

this Act;

(d) for the measures to be taken to ensure compliance with

international and other standards relating to products

or equipment used in the agricultural industry or in the

fishing industry by persons applying for any financial

or other guidance or assistance under this Act;

(e) for any matters that may be required for the purpose of

complying with any international obligation of Malta

relating to the agricultural industry or to the fishing

industry and involving schemes of financial assistance,

guarantees or guidance to any said industry;

(f)

for any matter related to the resolution of disputes

arising in connection with the operation of this Act

including the establishment of an appellate body and

the regulation of appeals from decisions taken under

this Act;

(g) for enabling the Director of Agriculture or the Director

of Fisheries, as the case may be, to impose

administrative penalties or sanctions upon any person

acting in contravention of any of the provisions of this

Act or of any regulations made thereunder

Provided that any administrative penalty

provided for by regulations made under this article

shall not exceed the sum of two thousand and three

hundred and twenty-nine euro and thirty-seven cents

(€2,329.37) for each offence and two hundred and

thirty-two euro and ninety-four cents (€232.94) for

each day during which failure to observe the

provisions of this Act or of any regulations made

thereunder persists;

(h) for providing that any person who contravenes any

provision of any regulations made under this Act shall

be guilty of a criminal offence

Provided that any criminal offences provided for

in regulations made under this article shall not,

without prejudice to any higher punishment to which

the offender may be liable under any other law,

provide that upon conviction the offender shall be

liable to a fine (multa) of more than six thousand and

nine hundred eighty-eight euro and twelve cents

(€6,988.12) or, in the case of a continuing offence , to

a further fine (multa) of six hundred and ninety-eight

euro and eighty-one cents (€698.81) for each day

during which the offence continues.

Without prejudice to any provision of this Act granting the

Minister the power to make regulations, the Minister responsible

for agriculture and the Minister responsible for fisheries may, with

the concurrence of the Minister responsible for finance, subject to

the provisions of the Exclusive Economic Zone Act, from time to

time, make, amend, substitute or repeal regulations for the purpose

of regulating, prescribing or otherwise providing for any matters

regulated by or under this Act or by or under any subsidiary

legislation made thereunder, in respect of an exclusive economic

zone area or an environment protection area as defined in the

Exclusive Economic Zone Act or any activities therein including,

but not limited, to the applicability or otherwise of this Act and, or

of any subsidiary legislation made thereunder.