Procedures for the Issue of Special Permits (Licences) for Commercial Activities in Fishery and Payment of the State Fee for the Issue of Special Permits (Licences)

Issued pursuant to Section 7,
Paragraph two of the Fishery Law

I. General Provisions

1. These Regulations prescribe:

1.1. the procedures for the issue of special permits (licences) for commercial activities in fishery:

1.1.1. in international waters and waters of other states outside the Baltic Sea;

1.1.2. in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga beyond coastal waters;

1.1.3. in coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga; and

1.1.4. in inland waters;

1.2. the amount of the State fee and the procedures for payment thereof for the issue of a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery.

2. A permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery (hereinafter - permit (licence)), which are related to the catch and primary processing of fish on board a fishing vessel or a small-size floating unit, as well as for offering the caught fish for further trade or processing shall be issued by:

2.1. the Ministry of Agriculture - for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 of these Regulations; or

2.2. the local government, in the territory of which the relevant water body is located (hereinafter - local government), - for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraph 1.1.4 of these Regulations.

[22 December 2009]

3. A separate permit (licence) shall be necessary for commercial activities in fishery in each of the waters referred to in Sub-paragraph 1.1 of these Regulations.

4. In order to apply for the receipt of a permit (licence), an applicant shall submit a written application to the Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government in accordance with Annex 1 to these Regulations and the documents referred to therein.

[22 December 2009]

5. If the applicant does not submit the documents referred to in Annex 1 to these Regulations together with the application for the receipt of a permit (licence), the Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government shall receive them from the Enterprise Register, the State Revenue Service, the Latvian Maritime Administration and the Road Traffic Safety Directorate in accordance with the procedures specified in the Administrative Procedure Law.

[22 December 2009]

II. Issue and Cancellation of Permits (Licences)

6. In order to evaluate the application of an applicant for the receipt of a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 of these Regulations, the Minister for Agriculture shall approve a Licensing Commission. Two representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture (the chairperson of the Commission and the vice-chairperson of the Commission) and one authorised person from each of the following State institutions and organisations (associations) shall be included in the composition of the Licensing Commission:

6.1. the State Environmental Service;

6.2. the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments;

6.3. the Latvian Fishermen Federation;

6.4. the Latvian Fisheries Association;

6.5. the Union of Latvian Fish Processing Industry; and

6.6. the Northern Kurzeme Fisheries Association.

[22 December 2009]

7. The Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government shall, within one month after receipt of all the documents referred to in Annex 1 to these Regulations, take a decision regarding the issue of a permit (licence) and issue the relevant permit (licence) (Annex 2 or 3), indicating therein the specific waters, in which the right is granted to engage in commercial activities in fishery in accordance with Sub-paragraph 1.1 of these Regulations.

[22 December 2009]

8. The permits (licences) issued shall be numbered. The first two characters of the permit (licence) number shall be letters, which indicate the relevant waters in which commercial activities in fishery are permitted:

8.1. ZS - international waters and waters of other states outside the Baltic Sea;

8.2. ZJ - the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga beyond the coastal waters;

8.3. ZK - the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga; and

8.4. ZI - inland waters.

9. A permit (licence) shall be granted for five years, except in the cases referred to in Paragraphs 10 and 11 of these Regulations.

10. The period of validity of a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 of these Regulations shall be determined taking into account the period of validity of the Certificate of Compliance of a vessel used in fishery or the trade certificate of a vessel.

11. A permit (licence) shall be issued for one year if an applicant:

11.1. plans to fish in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 of these Regulations with a chartered fishing vessel;

11.2. has, within one year and with one fishing vessel, twice infringed the requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating fishery during the validity period of the previous permit (licence) in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2 or 1.1.3 of these Regulations.

12. If a permit (licence) has been lost, the Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government shall issue a duplicate of the permit (licence) upon the receipt of a written request of the owner of the permit (licence).

[22 December 2009]

13. If the name or legal status of the owner of a permit (licence) changes, the owner of the permit (licence) shall, within 10 working days after setting in of the relevant conditions, submit to the Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government an application for re-registration and documents justifying the making of amendments to the permit (licence) issued.

[22 December 2009]

14. A permit (licence) shall be cancelled if the owner of the permit (licence) when fishing in inland waters or during fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraph 1.1.1, 1.1.2 or 1.1.3 of these Regulations with one fishing vessel has, within one year, infringed the requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating fishery or has suspended commercial activities in fishery more than twice.

15. [22 December 2009]

III. Refusal of Permit (Licence) Issue

16. The Ministry of Agriculture is entitled to refuse the issue of a permit (licence) to an applicant if:

16.1. the documents submitted are not accurate or have mistakes and the applicant has not submitted additional information within 10 working days after a repeated written request from the Ministry of Agriculture;

16.2. the applicant has a tax debt;

16.3. the applicant who has applied for the receipt of a permit (licence) for the first time, during the year has no available fishing limit in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraph 1.1.2 of these Regulations, which would ensure commercial activities in fishery in at least the following amount:

16.3.1. 150 tonnes of cod or 1000 tonnes of herring and sprat - for trawl fishing vessels with net engine power of 220 kilowatts (kW) and higher;

16.3.2. 500 tonnes of herring, sprats - for trawl fishing vessels with net engine power from 110 up to 219 kilowatts (kW); or

16.3.3. 100 tonnes of cod - for net fishing vessels;

16.4. the applicant has, within one year, infringed the requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating fishery more than twice with one fishing vessel during the validity period of the previous permit (licence);

16.5. the inclusion of the vessel owned by the applicant and intended for fishing in the List of Fishing Vessels of Latvia would exceed the total engine power and total gross tonnage ceiling of fishing vessels determined for Latvia in the Community Fishing Fleet Register database provided for in legal acts of the European Union; or

16.6. the inclusion of the vessel owned by the applicant and intended for fishing in the Gulf of Riga in the List of Fishing Vessels of Latvia does not conform with the requirements of legal acts of the European Union regarding the engagement of a vessel in fishing in the Gulf of Riga during the reference period from 2000 to 2001, or the engine power of this vessel exceeds 221 kilowatts (kW).

[22 December 2009]

17. A local government is entitled to refuse the issue of a permit (licence) to an applicant if:

17.1. the documents submitted are not accurate or have mistakes and the applicant has not submitted additional information within 10 working days after a repeated written request from the local government;

17.2. the applicant has a tax debt;

17.3. the local government has no free fishing limit available in specific inland waters; or

17.4. the applicant has, within one year, infringed the requirements of the regulatory enactments regulating fishery more than twice with one fishing vessel during the validity period of the previous permit (licence).

18. The decision of the Ministry of Agriculture and the local government regarding the refusal to issue a permit (licence) may be contested and appealed in accordance with the procedures specified in the Administrative Procedure Law.

[22 December 2009]

IV. Amount of the State Fee for the Issue of a Permit (Licence) and Procedures for Payment of the State Fee

19. The following State fee rate is determined for the issue of a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2., 1.1.3 and 1.1.4 of these Regulations:

19.1. in international waters and waters of other states outside the Baltic Sea - 50 lats;

19.2. in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga beyond the coastal waters - 25 lats;

19.3. in the coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga - 10 lats; and

19.4. in inland waters - 10 lats.

20. An applicant shall pay a State fee for the re-registration of a permit (licence) in the amount of 10 per cent of the State fee rate specified in Paragraph 19 of these Regulations.

21. A recipient of a permit (licence) shall pay the State fee prior to the receipt of the permit (licence).

22. The State fee for a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraphs 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.3 of these Regulations shall be transferred to the State basic budget.

23. The State fee for a permit (licence) for commercial activities in fishery in the waters referred to in Sub-paragraph 1.1.4 of these Regulations shall be transferred to the budget of the relevant local government.

V. Closing Provision

24. Cabinet Regulation No. 39 of 11 January 2005, Procedures for the Issue of Special Permits (Licences) for Commercial Activities in Fishery (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2005, No. 9, 172) is repealed.

Prime Minister V. Dombrovskis

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Annex 1
Cabinet Regulation No.1015
8 September 2009

[22 December 2009]

Application

Appended:

By signing this application, the submitter agrees that the Ministry of Agriculture or the relevant local government shall itself acquire the documents indicated in the application, which are not submitted together with the application, in the relevant State and local government institutions.

Place for a seal

Note. The details of the document "signature", "date" and "Place for seal" shall not be completed if the electronic document has been drawn up in conformity with the regulatory enactments regarding the drawing up of electronic documents.

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Annex 2
Cabinet Regulation No.1015
8 September 2009

[22 December 2009]

(The small coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia)

Ministry of Agriculture
Special Permit (Licence) No. _______

Place for a seal

Annex 3
Cabinet Regulation No.1015
8 September 2009

Special Permit (Licence) No. _______

Place for a seal

Minister for Agriculture J. Dūklavs

Translation © 2010 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)