This Act may be cited as the Wheat Producers Levy Act 1987.

This Act shall come into force on the 1st day of January 1988.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a levy calculated in accordance with section 4 of this Act is imposed on, and shall be payable by, the producers of any wheat grown in New Zealand and sold or delivered to a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat.

No levy shall be payable, under subsection (1) of this section, in respect of any wheat that is sold or delivered to any person (being a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat) if that wheat is subsequently rejected by that person and is returned to, or disposed of at the direction of, the producer of the wheat.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act shall be at such rate as may from time to time be determined by United Wheatgrowers.

No rate of levy shall be determined by United Wheatgrowers under this section except on the recommendation of the Electoral Committee of that company, and any such recommendation may be made only if it is supported by at least 75 percent of the persons present and voting at the meeting of the Electoral Committee at which the recommendation is considered.

The amount of the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act shall not exceed $7.50 for every tonne of wheat sold or delivered by the producer to any flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat.

The levy imposed by section 3 of this Act shall be computed by reference to the quantity of wheat sold or delivered by the producer to any grain merchant, flourmiller, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat.

The rate of levy determined in accordance with section 4 of this Act shall be published in the Gazette at least 28 days before the date on which it is to come into force.

Any notice under this section may be in like manner amended or revoked at any time.

Where an amendment alters the rate of the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act, the notice effecting the amendment shall be published in the Gazette at least 28 days before the date on which the amendment comes into force.

All levies imposed by section 3 of this Act shall be recoverable in any Court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to United Wheatgrowers.

Every person (being a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat) who buys from a producer any wheat in respect of which a levy is payable under section 3 of this Act shall, when making payment to the producer for the wheat, deduct from that payment the levy payable in respect of that wheat by the producer, and shall from time to time, as required by United Wheatgrowers, pay the proceeds of the levy to United Wheatgrowers.

Where, pursuant to section 6(2) of this Act, any flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat deducts, from any payment made to any producer of wheat, the amount of the levy payable, under section 3 of this Act, by that producer in respect of any wheat, that producer shall cease to be liable for the payment of that levy in respect of that wheat, notwithstanding that the flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat—

United Wheatgrowers shall, on the request of any person, inform that person, free of charge, of the total amount of the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act that has been paid to United Wheatgrowers pursuant to section 6(2) of this Act during such month or months as are specified in the request.

Subject to subsection (3) of this section, where, pursuant to section 6(2) of this Act, any person (being a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat) deducts, from any payment made to any producer of wheat, the amount of the levy payable, under section 3 of this Act, by that producer in respect of any wheat, that person shall, on making that payment, provide that producer with an invoice containing the following particulars:

Every person who issues any invoice required to be issued by subsection (1) of this section shall retain a copy of that invoice for a period of not less than 2 years.

An invoice is not required to be issued under subsection (1) of this section if the information required to be included in any such invoice is included in a goods and services tax invoice supplied to the producer of the wheat by the grain merchant, flourmiller, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat to whom the wheat is sold or delivered.

Every person (being a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat) who collects levies under section 6(2) of this Act may deduct from any levies collected by that person a collection fee of such amount as may be agreed between that person and United Wheatgrowers.

Where United Wheatgrowers and any person (being a flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat) are unable to agree on the amount of the collection fee that may be deducted from the levies collected by that person, the amount of the collection fee shall be determined by the Minister of Agriculture.

No collection fee agreed under subsection (1) of this section or determined under subsection (2) of this section shall exceed an amount equal to 5 percent of any levy collected.

Every payment to United Wheatgrowers of the amount of any levies in accordance with section 6(2) of this Act shall be accompanied by a statement that specifies, in relation to the wheat in respect of which the levies comprised in the payment were collected, the district or districts in which that wheat was grown, with the amount (in tonnes) of each cultivar of that wheat separately identified for each such district.

United Wheatgrowers shall, on the request of any person, make available to that person, free of charge, any information contained in any statement supplied to United Wheatgrowers pursuant to subsection (1) of this section.

Notwithstanding any rule of law to the contrary, but subject to section 10 of this Act, the amount of any levy collected or purported to have been collected by any flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat under subsection (2) of section 6 of this Act shall be deemed to be money held in trust for United Wheatgrowers by that flourmiller, grain merchant, feed manufacturer, or other purchaser of wheat, as the case may require, until that amount has been paid to United Wheatgrowers pursuant to that subsection.

The money received by United Wheatgrowers in respect of the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act may be expended by that company for the promotion, development, and improvement of the wheat growing industry.

Without limiting the general power conferred by subsection (1) of this section, any such money may be expended by United Wheatgrowers for all or any of the following purposes:

Nothing in subsection (2)(d) or (e) of this section authorises United Wheatgrowers to fund any commercial wheat-trading activity (whether that activity is carried out by United Wheatgrowers or by any other person) out of money received by United Wheatgrowers in respect of the levy imposed by section 3 of this Act.

Subject to subsection (3) of this section, for the purposes of ensuring that any levy imposed by section 3 of this Act is collected, any person (being a person who is qualified for appointment as auditor of a company under the Companies Act 1955) specifically or generally authorised in writing in that behalf by the Minister of Agriculture may, from time to time, at the request of United Wheatgrowers,—

Every authorisation given under subsection (1) of this section shall contain—

No person shall be required, pursuant to any provision of subsection (1) of this section, to produce any book, record, contract, account, invoice, note, or other document, or to furnish any information or particulars, if the production of that book, record, contract, account, invoice, note, or other document, or the furnishing of that information or those particulars, as the case may require, would or could tend to incriminate that person, and that person shall be informed of that right before any person exercises the power conferred by any or the provisions of subsection (1) of this section to require the production of any book, record, contract, account, invoice, note, or other document, or the furnishing of any information or particulars.

Where, at the request of United Wheatgrowers, any person authorised to do so exercises any of the powers conferred by paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, the expenses incurred by that person in exercising any such power shall be met by United Wheatgrowers.

Where any person authorised to do so exercises any of the powers conferred by paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 14(1) of this Act, that person shall, as soon as practicable, make a report to the Director-General of Agriculture and Fisheries on the exercise of that power.

Except in respect of a prosecution under this Act or an action for the recovery of any amount due under this Act, no person who exercises any of the powers conferred by paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of section 14(1) of this Act shall disclose to any other person (other than the Director-General of Agriculture and Fisheries or any person authorised in that behalf by the Director-General) any information obtained by that person as a result of the exercise of any such power.

Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of the Official Information Act 1982 shall apply in respect of any information that is held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and that was obtained pursuant to section 14(1) of this Act.

Every person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 who—

Any offence against this section committed by any employee or agent in the course of employment or agency shall be deemed to have been also committed by the employee’s or agent’s employer or principal if it is proved that the act or omission constituting the offence occurred with that employer’s or principal’s authority, permission, or consent.

The Schedule to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Act 1953(as substituted by section 4(1) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Amendment Act 1972) is hereby amended by inserting, in its appropriate alphabetical order, the item “The Wheat Producers Levy Act 1987”.