CUMIN SEED EXPORT REGULATIONS *

CUMIN SEED EXPORT

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 85.02

CUMIN SEED EXPORT REGULATIONS *

29th November, 1935

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 481 of 1935, as amended by Legal Notices 40

of 1968 and 408 of 2007.

The title of these regulations is Cumin Seed Export

Regulations.

"Foreign matter" means any matter other than the seed of

the cumin plant, such as cumin seed stalks, seeds of other plants,

stones and soil.

Cumin seed intended for export shall be sound, dry, free

from disease, insects and insect damage and shall not contain a

percentage of foreign matter, calculated by weight, greater than

that specified in these Regulations.

Subject also to conformance with the general requirements,

stated in regulation 3, cumin seed shall be graded for export as

follows

Grade 1. Cumin Seed, which shall not contain a

percentage of foreign matter greater than five per cent.

Grade 2. Cumin Seed, which shall contain a

percentage of foreign matter greater than five per cent

and less than eight per cent.

No Grade 2 cumin seed shall be exported without the

special permission of the Director of Agriculture, who may give

su c h p e r m i s si o n i n s p e c i a l e a s e s w h e r e i t i s p r o v e d t o h i s

satisfaction that the buyer or consignee wishes to receive Grade 2

cumin seed to meet the requirements of a special trade or of a

special demand.

Cumin seed from crops of different years shall not be

mixed in any one bag.

Cumin seed shall be packed for export in new bags which

shall be sufficiently strong as to warrant arrival at their destination

in sound condition.

On the outside of every bag shall be marked before

inspection, in legible and easily visible characters the following

(i)

the grade of the cumin seeds Grade 1 or Grade 2;

(ii)

the words Cumin Seed;

(iii)

the words Malta Produce;

(iv)

a design representing the Maltese Cross; and

(v)

the name and/or the mark of the exporter.

Every consignment of cumin seed shall, before shipment,

be examined by an inspector of the Department of Agriculture.

*These Regulations have been repealed by Act XXXIV of 2023.

CUMIN SEED EXPORT

The inspector may, at his discretion, examine all or any of

the bags in any consignment, provided that samples shall be taken

for determination of the foreign matter from not less than ten per

cent of the bags in the consignment in question.

Any consignment approved for export shall be liable to a

new inspection if not shipped within two weeks of the inspection.

Application for an inspection shall be made to an inspector

or to the Director of Agriculture at least three clear working days

before shipment

Provided, however, that application may be made at shorter

notice at the risk of the exporter.

Every application for inspection shall specify the name of

the exporter, the number of the bags, the destination of the cumin

seed and the year of the crop of the cumin seed in the consignment,

provided that when the consignment contains cumin seed from

more than one crop, the number of bags respectively of each crop

shall be stated.

No application for inspection shall be considered unless

the packages are exhibited in the Potato Export Control Warehouse

or in some other place approved for the purpose by the Director of

Agriculture.

A fee of one cent (0.01) for each bag shall be charged for

inspection, such fee including the cost of the analysis for the

determination of the percentage by weight of foreign matter

present, provided that the fee for the inspection of any one

consignment shall not be less than twenty-nine cents (0.29). If a

consignment which is refused is subsequently re-submitted for

inspection after re-sorting the cumin seed, a further fee of twenty-

nine cents (0.29) shall be charged for each such subsequent

inspection.

If the cumin seed when inspected is found to conform in all

respects with these Regulations and to be fit for export, the

Director of Agriculture, or an authorised officer acting on his

behalf, shall issue a licence to that effect. Furthermore, a certificate

shall be issued in respect of each consignment inspected certifying

the percentage by weight of foreign matter present, as determined

by analysis of the sample taken from the consignment in question.

Whenever the sealing of bags of cumin seed is required a

further fee of €0.005 shall be charged for every seal used.

The Board of Reference shall be composed of the Director

of Agriculture or an officer of the Department of Agriculture acting

on his behalf as Chairman and two members chosen from a panel of

ten persons engaged in the produce export trade. The panel shall be

nominated by the Minister responsible for Agriculture before the

beginning of each export season. On each Board of Reference one

of the panel members shall be selected by the complainant and one

b y the Chairm an. No panel m ember shall si t on a Board in

connection with any produce in which he has an interest.

CUMIN SEED EXPORT

A fee at the rate of twelve cents (0.12) per package shall be

deposited with the inspector by the exporter requiring reference to

a Board of Reference. The minimum fee in this connection shall be

six euros and ninety-nine cents (6.99).

The Department of Agriculture shall undertake the analysis

of samples of cumin seed for persons who, in connection with local

sale or purchase, wish to ascertain the percentage of foreign matter

present. Such samples shall be delivered at the office of the

Department of Agriculture in Valletta and a fee of twenty-nine

cents (0.29) shall be charged for each such analysis performed.

With reference to such analyses the Department of Agriculture

shall not be responsible for the accuracy of the sampling of the

cumin seed.