Government Notices published in Govt. Gazette No. 20,675 of 30th July 2021

IT is notified for general information that the following Acts are published in the Supplement to this Gazette:

Act No. LIV of 2021 entitled the Sports Governance and Integrity Act, 2021; and

Act No. LV of 2021 entitled the Maltese Language (Amendment) Act, 2021.

The Minister for Gozo has appointed the Gozo Street Naming Committe as follows:

Chairperson

Rev. Dr Joseph Bezzina

Deputy-Chairperson

Mr Joseph Grech

Secretary

Dr Marlene Cini

Members

Dr Marica Borg

Mr Joseph Camilleri

Ms Maria Natoli

Electoral Commission Representative

Ms Marlene Meilak

These appointments remain valid up to the 12th July, 2022.

Appointment of Members of the Festivals Malta Board

It is hereby notified for general information that the Minister for the National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government has approved the appointment of the members of the Festivals Malta Board:

Chairperson

Mr Norman Hamilton

Members

Mr Kenneth Vella

Mr Johan Cini

Ms Miriam Micallef

Ms Rebecca Micallef

Mr Joe Farrell

Mr Keith Borg

Ms Nadia Portelli

Mr Matthew Carbone

Mr Johnny Saliba

Mr Aaron Zahra

Mr Joseph Scerri

These appointments are for a period of 3 years valid up to 23rd March, 2023.

List of Registered Consumer Associations

THE Consumer Affairs Council notifies that for the purpose of Article 33 of the Consumer Affairs Act, the following consumer assocaitions were duly registered consumer associations in accordance with the requirements of Part IV of the Act, as on 31st December, 2020:

'Consumers' Association Malta' as from 22nd October 1997; and

'Association for Consumer Rights, Malta' as from 11th June, 2012.

Grant for Production Planning to Farmers based on the Sale of Agricultural Produce (GRAPPA)

It is hereby being notified for general information, that applications for the Grant for Production Planning to Farmers Based on the Sale of Agriculture Produce (GRAPPA) shall continue to be received until the 31st August, 2021.

The objective of this scheme is to provide financial incentives to farmers to develop and manage a production plan based on supply and demand.

In view of the European Green Deal targets, the Farm to Fork Strategy, and in view of ongoing efforts on a European level to ensure a sustainable production and combat food waste, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights (MAFA) aims to link eligibility for these grants by encouraging land farmers who market their produce through the Pitkali Markets to prepare production plans based on crop plan, review and implement for calendar year 2021.

Crop production planning is a critical and often overlooked part of farming. A production plan, developed before the season starts, helps growers determine how much of each crop to plant, timing and quantity of harvest through the growing season and succession planting or cover cropping to make maximum use of limited acreage. Having a production plan can significantly reduce the stress and chaos of a production season and can contribute to the profitability and productivity of the market farm. Farmers participating in the scheme will be provided with the tools to be able to adjust their production according to the supply and demand.

1. Definitions

In this scheme, unless the context requires otherwise:

Minister: means the Minister responsible for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights.

Agriculture Directorate (AD): The Agriculture Directorate within the Rural Affairs Department (RAD) within the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Animal Rights (MAFA).

AgriConnect: is the entity within the RAD recognized to provide Farm Advisory Services.

Applicant: A Person or legal entity that applied for the grant under this Scheme.

Beneficiary: A legal person applying to benefit from the grant scheme.

Checks and controls: Provide a means of verification that the activitycomplies with, and is in conformity to, the relevant rules and regulations.

Malta Food Agency: The Agency as established in Legal Notice 7/2021.

Pitkali Markets: The Agricultural marketing centres established by SL 117.20.

Primary agricultural production means the production of products of the soil and of stock farming listed in Annex I to the Treaty, without performing any further operation changing the nature of such products.

2. Who is eligible for such assistance?

Assistance is limited to farmers active in the primary agricultural production sector who are registered with the Agriculture Directorate in line with S.L. 549.66 and who are registered with the Pitkali Market and market their produce through the Pitkali Markets.

Only produce produced in the applicant's holding and marketed in the name of the applicant will be eligible for the calculation of the grant.

3. How does a Person Acquire the Right for this Assistance?

To benefit from this scheme applicants are required to implement a production plan submitted electronically through a recognised Farm Advisory Service as indicated by the Agriculture Directorate.

Applicants are to access the Food Production Planning System and review the production plan at least once during the year.

Beneficiaries are to make changes to the production plan where necessary. A confirmation of the review is to be issued by AgriConnect.

Any changes to the production plan are to be notified to the MAFA before they are implemented.

Unsold produce at the Pitkali Market is to be handed over to MAFA to be disposed as determined by MAFA with the aim to reduce food waste.

4. How support is calculated

Payments will be based on the 3% tax paid in connection with sales of agricultural produce marketed through the Pitkali Market between the 1st January, 2021 and 31st December, 2021.

Payments shall not be less than €50 and not more than €20,000.

5. What does such Assistance consist of?

Aid shall be in the form of a Direct Financial Grant.

The grant under this scheme will be given as de minimis aid. This means that the aid given to every undertaking, under this scheme and any other scheme regulated by the de minimis Regulation, cannot exceed the ceiling of €20,000 per beneficiary (single undertaking) over any period of three years according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 1408/2013 of 18 December 2013 (as amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/316 of 21 February 2019).

6. How shall it be paid?

Following the vetting of all documentation submitted and the necessary checks by the Agriculture Directorate and the Malta Food Agency, applicants shall be formally notified about the outcome of their application via an official letter.

Applicants who feel aggrieved by the outcome of the procedure have the right of appeal within five (5) working days from the date of the letter of rejection issued by the Ministry. Appeals will be assessed by an independent board established by the Permanent Secretary MAFA.

Following controls conducted during the eligibility period as per Section 8 of the Guidance Notes which can lead to Deductions and Penalties as per Section 9 of the Guidance Notes, in the beginning of the following year, a letter shall confirm the grant that is to be received by the applicant, if applicable. The grant shall be paid out through the Malta Food Agency.

7. Whenever False Information is given or Failure to Conform to the Provisions of the Scheme

Any false declaration/s shall be considered as being a criminal offence. The applicant shall be held personally liable to return any monies received if payments would have already been processed. One will also be automatically disqualified from this scheme and potentially from other future schemes to be issued by the Ministry. This clause does not have an applicable time limit and shall remain in force indefinitely.

8. Duration of the Scheme

The scheme will be launched for the first time in 2021. It will be announced on 1st June, 2021 and receive applications until 31st August, 2021. In the beginning of the following year, the amount of sales registered at the Pitkali Market during the year 2020 should be known and the aid amount will be calculated. The payments should be affected by end of March 2022.

9. Amendments to the Scheme

The budget available for the Scheme for 2021 is of €500,000 which will be funded exclusively through National funds. The Ministry reserves the right to amend the budget allocated.

The Minister shall make the necessary amendments to this scheme by publishing the said amendments in the Government Gazette.

The Director General Standards and Metrology Institute notifies that, on the date shown hereunder, the price of gold and silver on which valuations made by the Consul for Goldsmiths and Silversmiths are based has been fixed for the purposes of article 14 of the said Act as follows:

Scheduling of Property

The Planning Authority is hereby declaring the property mentioned hereunder as included in the List of Scheduled Property (as shown on the map on page 7643) in terms of Article 57 of the Development Planning Act, 2016, and paragraphs 1.13, 2.27, and policies TO8, UO2 and RO4 of the Strategic Plan for the Environment and Development (SPED) as follows:

The Planning Authority will exercise its powers of enforcement, as set out in Article 57 of the Act, in the case of any contravention to the provisions of the Development Planning Act 2016 as regards to scheduled property.

Correction of Scheduling of Property

Following the decision of the Executive Council dated 8th June, 2021, and 20th July, 2021, the following scheduling is being corrected.

With reference to Government Notice No. 1013 published in the Government Gazette No. 20,475 of the 1st of September, 2020, titled “Development Planning Act, 2016 (Article 57), Scheduling of Property", the map referring to the property mentioned below, namely:

shall be superseded by the map (as shown on page 7649) with part of the Rural Structures (3) now included within the Buffer Zone (5). There are no changes to the boundaries for items 1, 2 and 4 from Government Notice No. 1013 of 2020.

The Planning Authority will exercise its powers of enforcement, as set out in Articles 57 and 97 to 100 of the Act, in the case of any contravention to the provisions of the Planning Act with regards to scheduled property.

Notice is hereby given that I have received an application for the registration of and/or amendment to rules regulating the following condominia:

Dr Marlin Vella, LLD

f/Land Registrar

Notice in terms of Article 61(1)

In Terms of the proviso to article 61 (1) of the Duty on Documents and Transfer Act, the Commissioner for Revenue hereby notifies the persons listed hereunder to call at the Capital Transfer Duty Department, 46, Triq il-Merkanti, Valletta, to collect the notices made on such persons.