(Object)
Article 1. The object of this Law shall, in order to ensure the quickness and security of transaction of the important agricultural, forestry, live-stock, and marine products, be to perform proper and fair inspection, and also to promote the improvement of quality of the commodities concerned.
(Definition)
Article 2. The designated agricultural and forestry commodities within the meaning of this Law shall be the important agricultural, forestry, live-stock, and marine products which have been produced within the borders of our country, and the commodities which have been manufactured from the abovementioned products as raw materials (including processing. The same shall apply hereinafter as the same expression arises,) and which are mentioned in the annexed list No.1 and No.2.
(Standard of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities)
Article 3. The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall, in order to decide whether the designated agricultural and forestry commodities are up to the standard or not and to fix the grade of the said commodities, determine the standards and the date of enforcement for each kind of commodities through the discussion of the Standard Examing Council, and he shall make public notice to that effect by the time thirty days prior to the date of enforcement at latest.
The standards mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be proper and fair, and they shall not be the standards which produce any disparity among the producers of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities under similar conditions.
Any producer of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities may, if he considers that the standards determined in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1, are lacking in the conditions mentioned in the preceding paragraph, apply for the matter to the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry by the time ten days prior to the date of its enforcement.
In case the request prescribed in the preceding paragraph has been made, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall refer the matter to the Standard Examing Council, and if he considers that there is any sufficient reason for the revision, he shall revise the standards promptly and make public notice to that effect by the time five days prior to the day of enforcement at latest. And if he considers that there is no sufficient reason for the revision, he shall notify the applicant to that effect, stating the reason.
Any producer of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities may, if he considers that the standards have come to be lacking in the conditions prescribed in Paragraph 2 owing to the change of circumstances after enforcement, request the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry for revisions of the said standards.
(Inspection agency)
Article 4. The agencies of the national government or the governor of Metropolis, Hokkaido, Special prefecture, of Prefecture as mentioned in Annexed List No.1 shall, in compliance with the provisions of the ordinance and in accordance with the standards as determined in pursuance of the provisions of the preceding Article, conduct inspection of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities mentioned in Annexed List No.1 and which have been produced within their respective spheres of jurisdiction or brought into such spheres.
The governor of Metropolis, Hokkaido, Special Prefecture, or Prefecture may, in accordance with the standards as determined in pursuance of the provisions of the preceding Article, conduct inspection of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities being produced in the sphere of jurisdiction or being brought into the same sphere that are mentioned in the Annexed List No.2 or that are mentioned in the Annexed List No.1 and not underwent the inspection provided in the preceding paragraph.
In case the designated agricultural and forestry commodities which have been inspected by the agencies of the national government, or the governor of Metropolis, Hokkaido, Special Prefecture, or Prefecture who conduct the inspection prescribed in the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs (hereinafter referred to as the inspection agencies,) have been carried into the sphere of jurisdiction of other inspection agency where the inspection is carried out with respect to the said designated agricultural and forestry commodities the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall not apply to the said commodities, except in the cases where the commodities in question are deemed not to have undergone the inspection under the provision of Article 8.
In case inspection as provided for in the provisions of Paragraph 1, or Paragraph 2 has been conducted, or in case any inspection has been omitted in accordance with the provisions of Article 7, the inspection agencies shall affix certification labels, seals or marks (hereinafter referred to as certification labels, etc.) to the designated agricultural and forestry commodities inspector their containers in order to certify the inspection as provided by the Ministerial Ordinance.
Other matters concerning the procedure of inspection in addition to those provided for in the preceding four paragraphs shall be provided for in the Agricultural and Forestry Ministry Ordinances.
(Duty of the producer)
Article 5. Any producer of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities shall not sell, (including the case they are exchanged. Hereinafter the term shall be understood in the same sense), consign for sale, or carry out the designated commodities from the sphere of jurisdiction of the inspection agency concerned unless, when the inspection is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, said commodities pass the inspection. But this shall not apply in case the commodities not exceeding the quantity fixed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry are carried out of the said sphere.
(Duty of the dealer)
Article 6. Any dealer in the designated agricultural and forestry commodities shall not purchase, sell or consign for purchasing or sale the designated commodities, unless any certification label, etc. is affixed thereto. However, the above provision shall not apply in case any of the designated commodities concerned which has been produced within the sphere of jurisdiction of any inspection agency where inspection is performed in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 is purchased, sold, or consigned for purchasing or sale within the sphere of other prefecture where no inspection is performed in accordance with the provisions of the same Article with respect to the prefecture concerned or the designated agricultural and forestry commodities.
The provisions of the preceding Article shall apply with the necessary modifications to the dealers who have brought the designated agricultural commodities which had been purchased in the sphere of inspection agency where the inspection is not carried out into the sphere of other inspection agency where the inspection is carried out.
(Exemption for the inspection)
Article 7. With respect to any article which is a designated agricultural and forestry commodity, and to which other laws concerning the inspection of exports are applied, any producer or dealer may, as provided by the provisions of the Ministerial Order, apply for the exemption from the inspection to be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 to the inspection agency.
In case the application mentioned in the preceding paragraph was made, the inspection agency may exempt the appplicant from the inspection regardless of the provision of Article 4.
(Restriction of the movement of commodities obtained no inspection)
Article 8. Although a designated agricultural and forestry commodity has been already inspected, if it falls under any of the following items, it shall be regarded as the commodity not being inspected.
1. Any commodity whose packing or binding has been renewed or damaged;
2. Any commodity whose certification label, etc. are not discernible, or whose certification label, etc. have been forged, or altered;
3. Any commodity which has increased or decreased conspicuously in its volume or weight, or any commodity whose shape has been changed considerably;
4. Any commodity which has been damaged by insects rats, etc., or has been deteriorated;
5. Any commodity whose term of validity of certification label, etc. has been already passed;
6. Any commodity that the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry designated to be reinspected concluding that the inspection conducted by the inspection agency is unjust.
The term of validity mentioned in the preceding paragraph, Item 5, shall be determined by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
(Prohibition on use of similar certification label, etc.)
Article 9. Any person shall not affix to the designated agricultural and forestry commodities anything resembling the certification labels, etc. to be affixed in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, Paragraph 4.
(Restriction on the reuse of packing materials.)
Article 10. The packing materials to which certification labels, etc. are affixed shall not be reused as packing materials of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities, unless erased.
(Demand on reinspection)
Article 11. Any person who has an objection to the inspection conducted by an inspection agency may request the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry for the reinspection of the designated Agriculture and Forestry commodities,
If the request mentioned in the preceding paragraph has been made, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry shall give the inspection agency the instructions necessary to the reinspection.
(Inspection fee)
Article 12. In case the inspection agency that is the organization of national government, has conducted inspection, it may collect inspection fee as provided by the ministerial order, except the cases where the commodity was changed to be of superior rank by reinspection or underwent the reinspection because of the application of Item 6 Paragraph 1 of Article 8.
(Collection of report, and field inspection)
Article 13. The inspection agency may demand the producer or the dealer of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities on which the inspection is to be performed to submit the necessary report concerning the description, quantity, place of production and the like of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities concerned which the said producer or dealer produces or sells.
(Standard Examination Council)
Article 14. In order to examine the standards of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry shall have four Standard Examining Council respectively of agricultural products, forestry products, marine products and processed foodstuffs.
The members of the Standard Examining Council shall be not less than five and not more than ten, and shall be appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry upon his request, from among men of learning and experience who have no interest in the production or dealing work of the designated agricultural and forestry commodities.
The necessary matters, other than the provisions of this law, relative to the Standard Examination Council shall be provided by the Cabinet Order.
(Punishment Regulation)
Article 15. Those who violate the provisions of Article 5 (including the case where Article 5 is applied correspondingly in Paragraph 2 Article 6) or Paragraph 1 Article 6 shall be punished with imprisonment with hard labour not exceeding one year or shall be obliged to pay a fine not exceeding 10,000 yen.
Article 16. Those who violate the provisions of of Article 9 or 10 or who fail to submit report provided in Article 13 or submit false report, shall be obliged to pay a fine not exceeding 5,000 yen.
Article 17. When functionaries such as representatives of juridical person, deputy or employee of juridical person or man, in the works of juridical person or man, violate the provisions of Article 15 or preceding Article, the juridical person or man shall be punished by a fine as well as the man who acted the violation.