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Overseas-based exporters: Registration refusal and deregistration

Animal Products Act 1999

STATEMENT OF POLICY

This statement of policy is to clarify certain matters in the event of handling the situation where an overseas-based exporter and New Zealand-based agent are possibly to have an application to register as an exporter refused or to be deregistered.

Dated at Wellington this 25th day of February 2002.

(Signed)

Tony Zohrab
Director Animal Products

Background

1. Section 54 (Applications for registration) of the Animal Products Act lists the grounds on which an application for registration as an exporter may be refused.
   Those specified are:

• the application is not properly made or there is no prescribed fee (if any);
• the applicant is not a fit and proper person (mainly referring to previous conviction for fraud, dishonesty, or mismanagement);
• the applicant has, in the past, a serious or repeated failure to comply with exporter duties;
• there are grounds to consider that the applicant will fail to comply with exporter duties in the future;
• neither the applicant nor the New Zealand-based agent are New Zealand residents; and
• the applicant fails to provide any additional information requested within the required time period.

2. Under the Animal Products Act the term "exporter" includes both a person who exports from New Zealand, and the New Zealand-based agent of an overseas-based exporter. Thus a "joint registration" of applicant and agent is needed in the case of an overseas-based exporter. There is nothing to prevent a New Zealand-based agent representing a number of overseas-based exporters. Conversely, an overseas-based exporter may employ several New Zealand agents.
3. The procedure to be followed in dealing with grounds for refusing registration is described in section 56.
4. Section 58 (Deregistration of exporters) of the Act provides the grounds on which the Director-General may remove a person from the register of exporters. These include:

• serious or repeated failure by the exporter to comply with the duties;
• neither the exporter nor agent is a New Zealand resident;
• the exporter proves not to be a fit and proper person (eg conviction for fraud, dishonesty, or mis-management); and
• there is failure to pay the annual fee.

5. The procedure to be followed in dealing with grounds for de-registration is described in section 58(2). (There is also an exigency procedure in s 58(3))
6.  

Overseas exporter registrations – refusal and deregistration

6. The policy/procedures described below is to be followed whenever the overseas-based exporter or the New Zealand-based agent in a joint registration is, prime facie, suspected of being either ineligible for registration or liable to de-registration.

A Review procedure

7. Animal Products Act section 59 provides for a review when a decision is taken to refuse to register an exporter or to deregister an exporter. The review procedure is set out in section 162 of the Act.
8. This procedure allows 30 days for a review request to be lodged.
9. Where no such review request is received by the due date, the final decision will stand.

B Sharing of information

10. Animal Products Act sections 56 or 58 or 59 review (as the case may be) procedures are to be addressed only to the party under suspicion.
11. The "innocent party" in the joint registration is not to be informed while the procedure is under action. In the event that the "innocent party" requests information or an explanation before a decision is made, he/she is to be told only that the matter is still being progressed.
12. When the procedures have been completed, including review, and where a decision goes against the party under suspicion in a joint registration, both parties are informed of the outcome.
13. The "innocent party" should be told the broad grounds (that is in similar wording to that used in the Act) for the decision but not the detail.
14. If the "innocent party" demands a further explanation, they should be told:

• that the detailed reasons for the refusal/de-registration are confidential to the other party; and
• that, in the case that the overseas-based exporter is the "innocent party", it is recommended they find an alternative New Zealand agent.

C Implications for other parties

15. Where a decision goes against the party under suspicion in a joint registration, a search of the exporter register will be made to determine if other parties are involved.
16. When the party at fault is:

• the New Zealand-based agent, and they represent more than one overseas exporter; or
• the overseas-based exporter, and they use several New Zealand agents;

the decision is applied to all affected joint registrations and all affected parties are informed.