Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)

2.   Interpretation

In this Act —

“aquaculture” includes mariculture;

“agricultural and fisheries inputs” means equipment, instruments, implements, supplies and materials required for agriculture and fishing and includes seeds, breeding stock and pesticides; (Amended by Act 8 of 2022)

“agriculture” means the production of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fibre, bio-fuel and other products used to sustain life;

“agricultural produce” includes anything for profit derived directly or indirectly from —

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   (a)     apiculture;

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   (b)     aquaculture;

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   (c)     aquaponics;

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   (d)     crop production;

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   (e)     horticulture;

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   (f)     hydroponics;

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   (g)     livestock production; or

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   (h)     production of timber;

(Substituted by Act 8 of 2022)

“agricultural products” means agricultural produce to which value is added;

“apiculture” means the cultivation or rearing of bees on a commercial scale for the production of honey and other derived products; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“applicant” includes a farmer, processor, sea moss producer, agro-forester fisher, boat owner, an exporter, farming entity and an association or cooperative formed for an agricultural or fisheries purpose that satisfies the specific eligibility criteria under section 3; (Amended by Act 8 of 2022)

“approved agricultural or fisheries product” means an approved agricultural or fisheries product under section 12; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“approved agricultural or fisheries project” means an approved agricultural or fisheries project declared under section 9; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“aquaculture” means the rearing of aquatic animals or the cultivation of aquatic plants for food and ornamental purposes; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“aquaponics” means an aquaculture system in which plants are fed through the soluble waste products of fish or other aquatic animals; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“articles” —

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   (a)     includes plant, machinery, spare parts for processing equipment, raw materials or components or other articles needed for an approved agricultural or fisheries project;

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   (b)     does not include spare parts or tires for a commercial motor vehicle;

(Substituted by Act 8 of 2022)

“authorised officer” includes an extension officer, a front line officer or any other officer who is designated as an authorised officer by the Minister;

“benefit” means any relief granted to an applicant under this Act;

“capital equipment” —

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   (a)     in relation to agriculture, means materials and equipment used solely for agricultural produce or agricultural products;

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   (b)     in relation to fishing, means boats, outboard engines, refrigeration trucks and fork lifts used by processors and exporters and any other equipment approved by the Minister which is used solely in commercial fishing activities, processing and exporting of fish or fisheries products; (Amended by Act 8 of 2022)

“capital expenditure on agricultural works” includes expenditure incurred in respect of the clearing, ploughing, draining or planting of land for agricultural purposes, soil conservation works, the provision of drains, wells, boreholes or dipping tanks, construction of livestock housing, pasture development including fencing and the cutting of new roads to areas for production;

“CARICOM Single Market and Economy” means the regime established by the Treaty for the deeper integration of the national market and economies of all member states of the Community;

“Chief Fisheries Officer” has the meaning assigned to it under section 3(2)(a) of the Fisheries Act, Cap. 7.15;

“commencement date” means the date specified in an Order made under section 9;

“commercial motor vehicle” includes —

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   (a)     a Single and Double Cab Closed Panel Van;

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   (b)     a Single and Double Cab Pickup Van;

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   (c)     a Refrigerated Truck;

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   (d)     a Dump Truck weighing 4 Tons or less,

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   that is used solely for the transportation of agricultural produce, inputs and processing equipment;

(Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“Committee” means the Agriculture and Fisheries Incentives Committee established under section 6;

“Community” means the Caribbean Community established by the provisions of the Treaty;

“Comptroller of Customs” means the person so appointed under the Customs (Control and Management) Act;

“crop production” means a branch of agriculture that deals with growing crops for use as food and fibre; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“customs duty” means a duty of customs chargeable under any law on goods on importation, purchase or exportation;

“exporter” means a person engaged in the commercial export of agricultural produce, agricultural products, fish or fisheries products or marine products; (Amended by Act 8 of 2022)

“facility” means an agro-processing facility, irrigation and water delivery system, farming facility, livestock production facility or similar facility used to produce or process agricultural produce or products or fisheries products or marine products; (Amended by Act 8 of 2022)

“farmer” means an individual engaged in the production of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fibre, bio-fuel and other produce used to sustain life;

“farming entity” means a company, partnership, organisation or other similar group which is engaged in agriculture;

“fish” means any aquatic animal, whether piscine or not and includes shellfish, turtles, mollusc, crustacean, coral, sponge, echinoderms, their young and their eggs;

“fisher” includes a person who owns or operates a local fishing vessel and engages in commercial fishing;

“Fisheries Act” means the Fisheries Act;

“fishing” means fishing for or catching or taking fish or placing any fish aggregating device and includes searching for fish;

“fish product” (deleted by Act 8 of 2022)

“fisheries product” —

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   (a)     means fish;

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   (b)     includes other aquatic biota,

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   in whatever form whether, live, frozen, iced, dried, salted or other form of processing that is intended for human consumption;

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   (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“horticulture” means the agriculture of plants, mainly for food, materials, comfort and beauty for decoration; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“hydroponics” means a soilless growth of plants, such as, cultivation of plants by placing roots in liquid nutrient solutions rather than soil; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“livestock” includes any cattle, sheep, goat, swine, rabbit, poultry, bees and any other farm animal used for livestock production;

“livestock production” means the raising of domesticated animals in an agricultural setting to produce commodities, such as, meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather and wool; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“member state” means a member state of the Community;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for agriculture and fisheries;

“Ministry” means the Ministry responsible for agriculture and fisheries;

“person” includes a facility, association or cooperative;

“pesticides” includes insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, nematicides, molluscides, rodenticides, acaricides or miticides and similar pesticides for use in agriculture and aquaculture activities;

“poultry” means domestic fowl, guinea fowl, turkey, goose, duck, pheasant, pigeon or quail and other similar birds;

“processor” means —

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   (a)     in relation to agricultural activities, a person who adds value by transforming locally produced farm output into semi-finished or finished agricultural products;

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   (b)     in relation to fishing activities, a person who adds value by transforming fish or marine species into fish or marine products;

“production of timber” means the process of managing stands of deciduous trees to maximize woody output; (Inserted by Act 8 of 2022)

“Public Health Act” means the Public Health Act;

“registered fisher” means a fisher who is registered with the Ministry;

“tax holiday period” means any period of exemption from income tax granted by Cabinet in an Order made under section 9 or under the Income Tax Act;

“termination date” means the date specified in an Order made under section 9;

“Treaty” means the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramus establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy signed in the Bahamas on 5 July, 2001; and

“year of income” means the year for which income tax is payable under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, Cap. 15.02.