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Animal Products Act 1999

Offences, penalties, and proceedings - Offences

141: Presumption as to authority

You could also call this:

"Assumed to be true unless you can prove otherwise"

If you fill out a form or keep a record, it is assumed you did it yourself, unless you can prove someone else did it. You are responsible for the information you give, unless you can show it was not you who gave it. The law assumes you did it, and it is up to you to prove you did not.

If an animal product officer shows a document that says it is a notice from the Director-General, as stated in section 167, you can assume it is real, unless you can prove it is not. They might also show a copy of the Gazette, which is like a newspaper that publishes official notices. This copy of the Gazette is enough proof that the notice exists and what it says, unless you can prove it is wrong.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM35768.

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Part 10Offences, penalties, and proceedings
Offences

141Presumption as to authority

  1. A return, record, transaction, form, application, or other information purporting to be completed, kept, or provided by or on behalf of a person is for the purposes of this Act to be presumed to have been completed, kept, or provided by that person unless the contrary is proved.

  2. The production of—

  3. any document presented by an animal product officer purporting to be a notice or an extract from a notice issued by the Director-General in accordance with section 167, or a copy of any such notice or extract; and
    1. a copy of the Gazette in which the notice was notified—
        1. is in all courts and in all proceedings sufficient evidence, until the contrary is proved, of the existence, notification, and contents of the notice.

      Notes
      • Section 141(2)(a): amended, on , by section 3 of the Secondary Legislation Act 2021 (2021 No 7).