Issuing of special permit

(1) Notwithstanding these Regulations and subject to subregulation (2), the Managing Director may, in consultation with the Minister, on receiving an application, issue a permit to allow, during the period stated in the permit– (a) the production or marketing of experimental or test products; (b) the reworking, reconditioning, processing, culling or salvaging of fish or fishery products at a registered establishment to enable the fish or fishery products to meet the applicable requirements of the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (Food Safety) Regulations, 2001, or these Regulations; (c) the construction or utilization of areas that do not comply with the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (Food Safety) Regulations, 2001, or these Regulations; (d) equipment that is used in a vessel or an establishment constructed before the coming into force of these Regulations that does not comply with the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (Food Safety) Regulations, 2001, or these Regulations to continue to be used or to operate; (e) the marketing, possession, use or disposal of tainted, decomposed or unwholesome fish or 264 fishery products not intended for human consumption; (f) the re-use of containers or the use of labels that do not meet the applicable requirements of these Regulations; (g) the labelling of products to accommodate particular cultural communities in Belize or export markets; (h) the importing, exporting or marketing of fish or fishery products for charitable purposes, international events or national festivities, if the lot size is less than 1000 kg; (i) the production and supply of food in a national emergency or for international aid; or (j) the exporting to another country of fish or fishery products or containers that do not meet the applicable requirements of the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (Food Safety) Regulations, 2001, or these Regulations. (2) The Managing Director may, in consultation with the Minister, on reasonable grounds refuse to issue a permit if in the Managing Director’s opinion, the issuance of the permit– (a) would result in a risk to public health or safety or otherwise diminish consumer protection; (b) may result in the marketing to consumers of fish or fishery products that does not comply with regulation 6(1) or the requirements of other countries; or (c) may damage the reputation of Belize’s fish or fishery products processing industry. (3) The Managing Director may, in consultation with the Minister, revoke or refuse to issue a permit if – (a) the Managing Director has reasonable grounds to believe that the holder of the permit or the applicant has provided false information to the Managing Director for the purpose of obtaining the permit; or (b) the holder of the permit or the applicant has contravened a condition of the permit or a provision, of the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (Food Safety) Regulations, 2001, or these Regulations.