Jail term for breaching dairy regulations
MBABANE – The final dairy regulations have been gazetted and they come with stiff fines for offenders.
,n exercise of the powers conferred by section of the 'airy $ct, , the 0inister for $griculture, -abulani 0abu]a made the regulations. They have been published in the (swatini *overnment gaa]]ette through /egal 1otice 1o. of . (swatini 'airy Board ('B had Must published them on their website.
Some of the offences are related to permits of import, export, emergency, transit, invoices, declaration forms and licences. $ person who fails to provide a permit for import, export, emergency, transit or an invoice, declaration forms and licences to the Board or relevant authorised officer commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.
³$ person who provides a permit for import, export, emergency, transit or an invoice, a declaration form or a licence otherwise than as is provided for under these regulations commits an offence and shall be liable on convic tion to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years, or both,´ reads $rticle of the regulations.
There are also fines related to failure to submit a permit. $ person who fails to submit a permit or any other document under these regulations within fifteen days of being so required commits an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value of the previous submit ted permit or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding months.
³$ person who fails to pay a levy when due commits an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value or to imprison ment for a term not exceeding six years, or both,´ reads the regulations in part.
$ person who fails to pay for a permit and a licence fee when due will also be commiting an offence and will be liable to a fine not less than three times the invoice value or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
Smuggling
When it comes to smuggling of prod ucts, there are also stiff fines that include a Mail term. $ person who smuggles a dairy product commits an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value of that product or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years, or both. ,n addition to imposing a penalty, the goods smuggled shall be confiscated by the Board. &onfiscated products shall be disposed off in any manner the Board deems fit.
)ailure to maintain proper records also attracts a fine.
$ person who, whether deliberate or reckless, fails to maintain proper records under the regulations com mits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five per cent of that person’s annual total revenue or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years.
³$ person who fails to provide the Board or authorised officer with all reasonable assistance as required by these 5egulations commits an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ( or to impris onment for a term not exceeding three years.
³$ person who knowingly uses a false licence and a permit number, including the licence and a permit number of another person, commits an offence and, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three times the invoice value of that person’s correct previous permit or to imprisonment for a term not ex ceeding three years, or both,´ further reads the article.
0eanwhile, this publication re cently reported about several op portunities in the dairy value chain. The dairy industry makes a large and growing contribution to the economy in (swatini.
The local dairy industry is lucrative in nature presenting a number of investment opportunities for both domestic and foreign investment. The country is among the $frican countries with a high consumption per capita of dairy products /t &apita $nnum which present enor mous investment opportunities in the locally dairy industry.
The country also has a compara tive advantage in agriculture with good climatic conditions and access to both regional and international export markets. 'espite the high consumption per capita, the coun try remains a net importer of dairy products with approximately over per cent of locally consumed dairy products imported mainly from the 5epublic of South $frica 5S$ .