S.L. 146.2 Art. 3Approval of processors.

(1) Any person intending to be registered as a processor shall submit an application to the competent authority for approval.

(2) The approval application shall contain detailed information about the processing activity of the applicant, the number of processing plants to be utilised for processing by the applicant and their exact location, as well as an undertaking by the applicant to respect and, where necessary, implement any obligations or requirements that may be imposed from time to time in virtue of any European Union and Maltese regulations.

(3) In addition to the requirements laid down in subregulation (2), the competent authority shall require that the documentation listed hereunder shall be submitted by the applicant together with the approval application:

(a) the indication of the quantity and type of product that will primarily be used by the applicant for the purposes of manufacturing the finished products;

(b) detailed plans indicating the number of establishments showing the layout of each establishment and the processing plant or plants therein;

(c) a declaration by the applicant as to the labour capacity, of each establishment to be utilised by the applicant for processing, both within and outside of normal working hours;

(d) a declaration by the applicant as to the production capacity of each and every production line within the establishment, both within and outside normal working hours;

(e) a banker’s reference confirming the financial good standing or the audited accounts of the applicant for the last financial year;

(f) if the applicant is a commercial partnership or a co-operative, its memorandum and articles of association, statute or other act of constitution;

(g) if the applicant is a commercial partnership or a co-operative, a certified true copy of its certificate of registration with the Registry of Companies or with the Board of Co-operatives, as the case may be;

(h) certified true copies of all valid operating licences required by law including all licences issued by the sanitary authorities;

(i) a declaration by the applicant that before the 31st of December of the year of submission by the applicant of the approval application in respect of processing of tomatoes and before the 30th of April of the year following the year of submission of the approval application in respect of the processing of peaches, pears, prunes and dried figs, the said applicant intends to participate in the aid scheme and to adhere to all conditions imposed in virtue of participation by the applicant in the said aid scheme; and

(j) any additional documentation required to be submitted together with the approval application, as the competent authority may communicate from time to time.

(4) The approval application together with the additional documentation requested in terms of subregulation (3) shall be submitted to the competent authority for its approval by not later than the 12th November of the year preceding the year in which the intended processing of the products by the applicant is to commence, or by such other time limit which the competent authority may establish by notice in the Gazette.

(5) In order to ensure that any requirements relative to the approval application have been met, the competent authority may at its discretion carry out on-the-spot checks on the establishment or on any processing plant of the applicant and furthermore request clarification and verification of any document or request additional documentation.

(6) Once the competent authority is satisfied that all its the requirements in relation to the approval application have been met, it shall grant its approval to the applicant and inform the Permanent Secretary that the applicant is to be registered as a processor in the Register of Processors.

(7) If the competent authority is not satisfied that all its requirements in relation to the approval application have been met, it shall have the right to refuse the granting of approval to the applicant. Nevertheless the applicant shall have until the date communicated in subregulation (4) to satisfy all requirements and to re-submit the approval application to the competent authority.

(8) The processor shall notify the competent authority of any changes in relation to the requirements imposed by the competent authority by virtue of subregulations (2) and (3) within ten days of occurrence of such change together with any related documentation:

Provided that in the case of any modification carried out to the processing plant which may result in a change in the labour capacity of the processing plant, such notification shall be notified to the competent authority along with any related documentation including, but not limited to, updated plans of the processing plant, within fifteen days of completion of such modifications.