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Law No. 75 Of 6 July 1995 * Republished

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 75 din 6 iulie 1995 *** Republicată

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LEGE no. 75 of 6 July 1995 *** on the production, quality control, marketing and use of seed and propagating material, and the registration of agricultural plant varieties
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 362 362 of 17 December 1997



------------- Note * *) Republicated pursuant to art. II of Law no. 131 131 of 15 July 1997 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 159 159 of 17 July 1997, giving the articles a new numbering. Law no. 75/1995 was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 150 150 of 14 July 1995 and has been amended by Law no. 57 57 of 16 April 1997 , published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 68 68 of 17 April 1997. + Chapter 1 General provisions + Article 1 The Ministry of Agriculture and Food provides the organizational framework and compliance with the legal provisions on the production, quality control, marketing and use of seeds and propagating material, as well as the registration of plant varieties agricultural. + Article 2 In the field of activity circumscribed in art. 1, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food shall have the following main duties and responsibilities: a) authorizes specialized economic agents, regardless of the form of ownership, to produce, process and market seeds of agricultural plants and planting material; b) organize the certification and control of varietal purity, phytosanitary status and the cultural value of seeds and propagating material, encourage and aim to produce seeds and propagating material with high biological value, in quantities sufficient for internal and export needs; c) pursues and controls the application, by authorized economic agents, of specific technologies and technical norms established together with the Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences "Gheorghe Ionescu-Sisesti", with the institutes and resorts of agricultural research, for the production of seeds and propagating material; d) supports the development of domestic research for the creation of agricultural plant varieties and establishes measures for the protection of agricultural producers against the risk of the use of seeds and improperly propagating material or of varieties unadapted to agricultural conditions in our country; e) publish annually or periodically, as the case may be, on the basis of studies and proposals of the bodies authorized by the Ministry List of varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants recommended to be used by agricultural producers in Romania; f) provide assistance to authorized economic agents in the production, processing and marketing of seed and planting material and also in the forecasting of seed needs by species, varieties and biological categories, making them available. the relevant information available to it; g) pursues the application of the provisions of the law, as well as the provisions resulting from international conventions and agreements in the field of production, quality control, marketing and use of seeds and propagating material, as well as the registration of varieties of agricultural plants, to which Romania is a party. + Article 3 The definition of the specialized terms used in this law is specified in the annex, which can be modified and supplemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, depending on the evolution of specialized knowledge and regulations international bodies in the field, to which Romania is a party. + Chapter 2 Manufacture, processing and marketing of seed and propagating material + Article 4 (1) The production, processing and marketing of seeds and propagating material shall be carried out by economic agents-natural and legal persons-authorized for this purpose by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food by the territorial bodies of specialty. (. The authorization shall be granted, upon request, to those natural or legal persons who prove that they have an adequate material and personnel basis with appropriate training, for obtaining seed and quality propagating material and for maintaining their varietal purity according to the rules in force. + Article 5 Economic operators authorised for the production, processing and marketing of seed and planting material shall have the following obligations: a) comply with the requirements of the technologies and rules in force concerning the production, processing and marketing of seed and propagating material; b) keep records of the production, transactions and stocks of seeds and propagating material, to make available to the competent control bodies, at their request; c) comply with the legal provisions on the protection of varieties; d) to announce, within the deadlines set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the areas for the production of seeds and propagating material that they propose for certification; e) ensure the use of appropriate propagation methods, self-control of quality and guarantee to beneficiaries the quality, during the period of validity of the delivered products. + Article 6 Agricultural producers-natural or legal persons-, following conventions or agreements concluded in writing with seed producers, are required to respect the distances of isolation from neighbouring crops intended for semi-incere lots, according to established technical standards. + Article 7 The creators of varieties have the obligation to provide authorized economic agents who multiply these varieties the specific technologies for the production of seeds and propagating material by species, varieties and hybrids, under the law. + Article 8 The authorization granted to an economic agent specialized in the production, processing and marketing of seed and planting material may be withdrawn by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, if it is found that the obligations of I come back 5. + Article 9 The production of seeds from the upper biological categories, the prebasic seed and the basic seed shall lie with the natural and legal persons, specified as maintainer in the State Register of Registered Agricultural Plant Varieties, hereinafter referred to as the state register, and in the Official List of varieties and hybrids of crop plants in Romania, for that year, hereinafter referred to as the official list. + Article 10 Economic agents authorized in the production, processing and marketing of seeds and propagating material are responsible for their quality and authenticity and will bear the damage caused to the beneficiaries for the delivery of seeds and propagating material inappropriately. + Article 11 Economic agents who produce, process or market seeds and propagating material have the obligation to store, store, handle and transport, so as to avoid any danger of loss of authenticity, and their identity may be avoided. be determined easily. The preservation of seed and planting material will be made by lots, by varieties and by biological categories, in containers or in appropriate packaging. + Article 12 Technical rules on processing, batch formation, treatment, packaging, labelling, transport, storage and storage of seeds are elaborated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in compliance with the provisions of this law, conventions and international agreements to which Romania is a party. + Article 13 The marketing of seed and propagating material shall be made only in specific packaging, officially labelled, attesting to their authenticity, identity and quality according to the rules in force. + Article 14 Economic agents authorized in the production, processing and marketing of seeds and propagating material may carry out imports and exports, in accordance with the internal rules and regulations of international bodies in the field, to which Romania is part. + Article 15 The seeds and propagating material of the varieties entered in the state register and in the official list, as well as the varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants registered in the catalogues of the European Community or in the catalogue of a Member State of the European Union. You can also import: a) seed samples and propagating material obtained in exchanges by agricultural research institutes and resorts and higher education institutions for scientific research; b) seeds and propagating material of foreign varieties, which are introduced into the country for official testing at the State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration; c) seed and propagating material of unregistered varieties in the state register and in the official list, originating in countries outside the European Union, which shall be multiplied by contract for export, in full, both as seed and as commercial product, in countries outside the European Union. + Article 16 The export of seeds and propagating material made up of elites, prior to registration, shall be prohibited, with the exception of bilateral exchanges for scientific purposes. + Chapter 3 Certification and quality control of seeds and propagating material + Article 17 Quality control, issuance of quality certificates, supervision, monitoring and accreditation of economic agents seed suppliers and planting material for production, treatment, packaging, labelling, storage, storage, transport and Marketing shall be made by the State Inspection for the quality of seeds and propagating material of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in accordance with the internal technical rules and international regulations in the matter. The territorial inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and the Central Laboratory for Seed Quality Control function as units with legal personality, financed from the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and subordinate to the State Inspection for the quality of seeds and propagating material. Territorial inspectorates for the quality of seed and propagating material shall be responsible for the authenticity and quality of seed and propagating material, including those imported, by the acts they issue. + Article 18 The state inspection for the quality of seeds and propagating material shall have the following tasks: a) issue and withdraw the operating permits for economic agents producing, processing and marketing seeds and propagating material; b) submit for approval to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food draft normative acts on the quality of seeds and propagating material; c) organize, coordinate and control the activity of territorial inspectorates for the quality of seeds and propagating material and of the Central Laboratory for the Control of Seed Quality; d) develop rules and norms of control, certification and marketing, in accordance with the regulations of international bodies in the field of seeds and propagating material, to which Romania is a party, endorse the annual certification programs and follow their application; e) ensure and exercise control in order to maintain the quality of seeds and propagating material in all biological categories in precontrol and postcontrol, through appropriate scientific schemes and techniques; f) liaise with international organizations specialized in seed and planting material; g) accredits individuals and legal entities in the private sector for carrying out the control and quality tests of seeds and propagating material. In order to carry out control in the field, in order to certify and authorize, as well as laboratory tests, the applicant will pay the value of the benefits once the application is submitted, according to the tariffs established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. From the resulting amounts, the territorial inspectorates for the quality of seeds and planting material and the Central Laboratory for Seed Quality Control will use 70% for capital, material and personnel expenses. + Article 19 The biological categories of seed and propagating material subject to control and for which acts certifying the authenticity and quality of seeds and propagating material are issued, under the conditions of this law, are: a) pre-basic seed; b) the basic seed; c) certified seed. The rules and technical rules of production, control, certification and marketing may also provide for other categories of seed and propagating material characteristic of different species, in accordance with the regulations of international bodies in the field, at which Romania is a party. + Article 20 It is admitted for control and certification: a) varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants, admitted in the state register and in the official list, and the parental forms of hybrids registered in the official list; b) varieties of the species contained in the European Community catalogues or in the catalogues of the Member States of the European Union; c) seeds and propagating material provided in art. 15 lit. c); d) the genders and species established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in accordance with the regulations of international bodies to which Romania is a party. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will be the fund of reserve seeds, within the limits of the quantities established by Government decision, and the necessary expenses will be provided in the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. + Article 21 It is forbidden to market seeds and propagating material, the quality of which has not been controlled and/or certified by the State Inspection for the quality of seeds and propagating material, by the accredited supplier for the species established by The Ministry of Agriculture and Food or the corresponding authority in the country of the exporter, for import. For certain species and periods established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, small producers may market, on the local market, some categories of seeds and unertified propagating material, without prejudice to quarantine regulations. phytosanitary and self-guaranteed quality. + Chapter 4 Registration of agricultural plant varieties + Article 22 On the territory of Romania are admitted the production, marketing and use of seeds and propagating material from the varieties registered in the state register and published annually in the official list, as well as those provided in art. 20 lit. d) and art. 21 21 para. 2. Varieties of the species contained in the catalogues of the European Community or in the catalogue of a Member State thereof shall be equivalent to the varieties registered in the State Register and the Official List of varieties and hybrids of agricultural plants grown in Romania. + Article 23 Seeds and propagating material of the varieties radiated from the lists provided for in art. 22 can also be certified and marketed in the next 2 years and 3 years after deregistration, in order to liquidate existing stocks. + Article 24 The registration of a variety in the state register and in the official list is made by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Food, after it has been established, following the prior examination carried out by the State Institute for Testing and Registration Varieties, as it meets the conditions of distinctibility, stability and homogeneity, provided by the regulations in force and that they possess agronomic and technological value. + Article 25 When registering in the state register and in the official list, each variety will be individualized by a name that makes it possible to identify it. + Article 26 The registration of the varieties for examination at the State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration, for registration in the state register and in the official list, shall be made on the basis of a request of the breeder or his representative, authorized in writing, accompanied by the descriptive sheets of the variety and the provision of the quantities of seeds necessary for the examination. + Article 27 The deletion of a variety from the official list shall be made by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Food, in cases where: a) is exceeded as an agronomic and technological performance of other similar varieties and is no longer of interest for its use by economic agents; b) is improperly proven to be the requirements of distinctibility, stability and homogeneity, in the sense that such attributes have been taken into account in its registration in the state register and in the official list; c) elements appeared that would have prevented its registration in the state register and in the official list, unknown on the date when this registration was made; d) at the request of the maintainer, as well as if the maintainer fails to fulfil his obligations to present at any time the necessary seed to ensure the reproduction of the variety with the original characteristics, and to submit to the inspection made for the purpose of verifying how the preservative selection is carried out; e) there is no longer a responsible for maintaining the conservatory selection of the variety; f) it turns out that the same variety is found in the state register and in the official list under another name; g) the holder of the certificate of registration of the variety does not pay the tariffs provided by law for the verification of the authenticity of the variety during the official list; h) 10 years after the registration in the state register is no longer required or no longer approved; i) at the author's request + Article 28 The State Institute for Varieties Testing and Registration is established, by reorganizing the State Commission for the Testing and Approval of Variety, keeping the organizational structure and the salary level of the staff. The State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration operates as a specialized body under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and has the following tasks: a) develop the methodology for the presentation and examination of new varieties for registration in the state register and in the official list, taking into account the internal and international regulations in the matter; b) examine the varieties for which registration is requested in the state register and in the official list; c) prevents the disposal of the biological material in examination and ensures the secret of the information obtained d) ensure the conservation of seed samples of the varieties entered in the state register; e) carry out the annual verification of the varietal purity of the varieties multiplied by the control and certification authority; f) is the depositary of the state register, publishes and publishes annually the official list. The regulation of organization and functioning of the State Institute for the Testing and Registration of Variety is approved by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Food. + Article 29 Within the Ministry of Agriculture and Food is organized the Technical Council for varieties and seeds of agricultural plants. Its composition and duties shall be established by order of the Minister of Agriculture and Food. + Article 30 In order to carry out the examination of the varieties, the applicant will pay, with the approval of the registration for examination, the amounts provided for in the tariffs established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food. From the resulting amounts, the State Institute for Testing and Betting Registration will use 70% for capital and material expenses. + Article 31 Varieties meeting the conditions laid down in art. 24 and 25 are considered registered and are entered in the state register and in the official list, and the improver is issued by the State Institute for Testing and Registration of Variety a certificate of registration of the variety, the validity is 20 years from the date of issue, for field crops, and for 25 years, for trees and vines. At the request of the breeder, the parental forms used to obtain commercial hybrids may also be recorded. + Article 32 The protection of varieties of agricultural plants is ensured according to Law no. 64/1991 on patents for invention. The patent gives the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, multiply, market and lease that variety, entire plants or plant parts, elements of sexual breeding or vegetative multiplication. The right to produce and market the seed of the breeder, the prebasic seed and the basic seed shall belong exclusively to the patent holder of that variety. The right to produce and to market may be transmitted to any natural or legal person, authorized according to art. 4, which undertakes to pay to the patent holder a royalty, established by mutual agreement, of the value of the seed or propagating material sold. Failure to comply with this commitment entails the cancellation of the authorisation for the production and marketing of seed and the payment of the corresponding damages These rights can be transmitted, under the law, by sale of licenses or by divestment, the acquirer automatically becoming a maintainer. + Article 33 For varieties registered before the entry into force of the Law no. 64/1991 on patents, the certificate of registration of the variety gives the holder the exclusive right to produce and market the seed of the breeder, the prebasic seed and the basic seed and to benefit from the royalty for the seed certified, produced and marketed. + Article 34 The patrimonial rights due to individuals, authors of varieties, are established on a contract basis, from the income obtained by the improver. + Article 35 The State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration is designated as a repository institution of the biological reproducible material for the varieties of agricultural plants. + Article 36 The State Institute for Variety Testing and Registration is empowered to carry out all the experiments and checks in order to control the biological material for which the invention patent was granted. + Article 37 After obtaining the certificate of registration of the variety, its holder has the obligation to provide the State Institute for Testing and Registration of Variety a sample-witness of plants or seeds, which will be preserved and which will be preserved. Standard sample for the verification of varietal purity and authenticity. + Article 38 The holder of the certificate of registration of the variety shall pay the authenticity verification tests for the duration in which the variety is entered in the official list. + Chapter 5 Sanctions + Article 39 The state inspection for the quality of seed and planting material may order the retention of any seed lot or propagating material, which circulates without quality or phytosanitary status documents, until the situation is clarified, but no longer a lot of 30 days. If the seed lot or planting material is improperly inadequate or of the phytosanitary condition, it is ordered to use it for other purposes or destruction at the holder's expense. + Article 40 It constitutes contraventions to the rules on the production, processing, conditioning, storage, storage, transport, valorization and control of the quality of seeds and propagating material the following facts, if not committed in such conditions that, according to the criminal law, be considered crimes: a) the marketing of seed and propagating material not certified or of consignments from unauthorised producers; b) the production, processing and marketing of seeds and propagating material, without the authorization issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, except for those provided in art. 21 21 para. 2 2; c) introduction into the country of seeds of agricultural plants or propagating material, unauthorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food; d) the marketing of agricultural plant seed or planting propagating material, not authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food; e) non-compliance with crop technologies for the production of seeds and propagating material, which causes the reduction of biological purity below the rules in force; f) failure to ensure appropriate measures to maintain quality and authenticity when harvesting, processing or conditioning seeds and propagating material; g) the storage and transport of seeds and propagating material without documents attesting to their quality and provenance, as well as non-assurance of measures to protect their quality and authenticity; h) lack of evidence of production, transactions and stocks of seeds and propagating material; i) refusal to submit the documents on the quality of the seed and the propagating material, as well as the records referred to in lett. h), at the request of the control bodies authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food; j) the registration of erroneous data in the documents of attestation of the quality of seeds and propagating material k) marketing of seed or propagating material without documents attesting the quality and the corresponding phytosanitary status for sowing or planting; l) marketing of seeds and propagating material, which do not correspond to the rules in force. + Article 41 The contraventions provided in art. 40 of this law is sanctioned with a fine imposed on individuals or, as the case may be, legal, as follows: a) those of lit. e), f), h) and i), with a fine of 300,000 lei to 900,000 lei; b) those of lit. g), j) and l), with a fine of 900,000 lei to 1.500.000 lei; c) those of lit. a), b) and k), with a fine of 1,500,000 lei to 3,000,000 lei; d) those of lit. c) and d), with a fine from 3,000,000 lei to 5,000,000 lei. The amount of fines will be updated by Government decision, depending on the inflation rate. + Article 42 Finding of contraventions and application of sanctions provided in art. 41 are made by minutes drawn up by the State Inspection for the quality of seeds and propagating material. The Minister of Agriculture and Food can empower other people to find the contraventions and apply the sanctions. Provisions Law no. 32/1968 on the establishment and sanctioning of contraventions shall apply insofar as this law does not have otherwise. + Chapter 6 Final provisions + Article 43 The provisions of this Law shall also apply to varieties which are entered in the state register and in the official list on the date of entry into force of this Law. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food will take measures that, for all varieties entered in the state register and in the official list until the date of entry into force of this law, to issue certificates of approval of the respective varieties and to establish the right to maintain institutes, agricultural research resorts, higher education institutions and other improvers, on their proposal. + Article 44 Companies with agricultural profile, agricultural companies, agricultural associations without legal personality, individual agricultural producers, as well as other owners and legal holders of agricultural land benefit from discounts on prices purchasing seeds from authorized economic agents up to 50%, if they renew the seed for crops established by the Government on an annual basis. The level of price reductions for each culture and biological category is established annually, until September 1 for autumn and potato crops, respectively January 31 for spring crops, by Government decision. + Article 45 The date of entry into force of this Law shall be repealed: - Law no. 13/1971 on the production, use and control of the quality of seeds and propagating material for vegetable agricultural production, published in the Official Bulletin no. 132 132 of 21 October 1971; - H.C.M. no. 780/1972 on the contracting, taking, conditioning, valorization and control of the quality of seeds and propagating material in R.S. Romania, published in the Official Bulletin no. 77 77 of 17 July 1972; -any other provisions contrary to this law. + Article 46 This law shall enter into force within 30 days of its publication in the Official Gazette of Romania *). ------------ Note *) See also the dates of entry into force of the amending normative acts. + Annex 1 DEFINITION the specialized terms used in the law 1. Samanta means any reproductive material (seeds, fruits, propagating material, produced by any propagation methods) intended for the multiplication or reproduction of an agricultural plant. 2. Soi means a population of plants created or identified, which: a) differentiates itself from those already known by at least an important, precise and little fluctuating character, which can be clearly defined and described, or by several characters whose combination is likely to give the quality of new (distinctibility); b) is homogeneous for all the characters considered by the regulations in force on the uniformity of the varieties, with the exception of a very low number of atypical forms, taking into account the peculiarities of reproduction (homogeneity); c) is stable in its essential characters, that is, following the successive reproduction or multiplication, or at the end of each breeding cycle defined by the ameliorator, the essential characters remain as originally described (stability); d) to commercial hybrids, the novelty is given by the characters of the constituent parents and the formula that associate the parental forms. 3. Ameliorator means the legal or physical person who created or identified by scientific methods a variety. Improvers may be agricultural research institutes and resorts, higher education institutions of agricultural profile and other institutes, private producers, specialized for this purpose, foreign firms or their agents, associations between research institutes, private producers and foreign firms, etc. 4. Maintainer means the legal or physical person indicated in the state register as responsible for maintaining a variety with the characteristics held at the date of registration in the state register. The maintainer may be the breeder of the variety or authorised person to whom the breeder has transferred this right through a legal transaction. 5. Titular means the legal or physical person with the right of ownership of the approved variety, intended for reproduction, marketing, etc. 6. Commercialization means offering for sale, exposure for sale, sale, possession for sale and any transaction by which the ownership of the seed is transferred from person to person or through which its seeds the propagating material is transferred from one person to another by a contract according to which they will be used to produce seeds or to obtain the harvest for any other use. 7. The biological categories in the seed production process are defined as follows: a) the seed of the breeder -produced by or under the direct responsibility of the breeder or the maintainer, using the preservative selection or other specific scientific methods; --which is intended for the production of basic seed; -which satisfies the requirements imposed by the regulations in force on varietal purity for prebasic seed; b) the prebasic seed means seed of all the biological links between the seed of the breeder and the basic seed, which: --was produced by or under the direct responsibility of the maintainer; --has been produced from the seed of the breeder or the prebasic seed; --is intended for the production of basic or basic seed; -satisfies the requirements imposed by the regulations in force on varietal purity, germination, etc., specified for prebasic seeds. In the current terminology, the prebasic seed can be the equivalent of the superelite basic biological categories and superelite consangvinized lines (maintenance field), in the case of potato-clones A, B, C, D and E; c) basic seed means seed: -produced by or under the direct responsibility of the maintainer; --which was produced from the prebasic seed; --which is intended for the production of certified seed; -which satisfies the requirements imposed by the regulations in force on varietal purity, germination, etc., specified for basic seed. In the current terminology, the basic seed corresponds to the elite biological category, inbred lines androsters and fertility restorers or simple hybrids, parental forms used for the hybridation lots in order to produce the seed commercial (F1); d) certified seed means: -in the case of commercial hybrids, the seed produced in batches of basic seed hybrids and intended for the production of the harvest for human consumption, animal or for industrialisation; -in the case of varieties, the seed produced directly from the basic seed for reinmultires or for consumption and which satisfies the requirements imposed by the regulations in force on varietal purity, germination, etc., specified for certified seed. In the case of autogame species, the production of certified seeds in the second generation is admitted. In the current terminology, the certified seed corresponds to the biological categories: -multiplication I (I1); -multiplication II (I2); -commercial hybrids (F1) HSC; HT; HD; Top Cross hybrids, hybrids between varieties; -synthetic variety; -multilineal variety; -vine propagating material-selectioned and authentic; -propagating material of mulberry, hops and dendrologically-authentic. --------------