Chapter 11
Coercive fines and infringement fines.
Section 58
Coercive fines.
The Ministry may impose coercive fines to ensure compliance with provisions made in or under this Act.
A coercive fine is a continuous fine that becomes effective from a specified deadline for complying with an order, if the deadline for compliance with the order is not met. The Ministry may in special cases reduce or waive a coercive fine that has accrued.
The Ministry may by regulations adopt further provisions on setting and imposing coercive fines, the time period for which they are to apply, and provisions on interest and surcharges in the event that a coercive fine is not paid by the due date.
A coercive fine may be collected through a sales organisation by deducting the amount from payments for catches.
Section 59
Infringement fines.
The Ministry may order anyone that wilfully or through negligence contravenes provisions or decisions laid down in or under this Act to pay an infringement fine. An infringement fine may be imposed as a fixed penalty or the amount may be fixed in each case. Such factors as the profit or potential profit those responsible have made through the contravention, how serious the contravention was, and the extra costs of control measures and processing the case may be taken into account in determining the amount of the fine.
The Ministry may by regulations adopt provisions on fixing infringement fines and provisions on interest and surcharges in the event that an infringement fine is not paid on the due date.
A final decision on an infringement fine is enforceable by execution proceedings. An infringement fine may also be collected through a sales organisation by deducting the amount from payment for catches. The amount of an infringement fine may be put before a court.
An infringement fine and penal measures as set out in Chapter 12 may not be applied to the same offence.
