Section 63
Certificate of Inspection
The Director may, pursuant to any rules made under section 113, prohibit the export from Sarawak of any timber, or of timber of a particular class or description or destination unless such timber is accompanied by a Certificate of Inspection in such form as may be determined by the Director.
Power to impose production limit and restriction on sales of timber 64.―(1) The Director may, with the written approval of the
Minister, by notice in writing to every holder of a licence―
(a)
fix or impose a limit on the volume of timber to be produced, taken, felled or removed from any area covered by such licence (hereinafter referred to as “the production limit”) for such period as may be specified in the notice and may, in like manner, cancel, vary or amend any such production limit;
(b)
direct that a proportion of the production limit shall be reserved for use or processing by licensed sawmills within
Sarawak (hereinafter referred to as “the reservation quota”); or
(c)
direct that all or such quantity of the reservation quota be sold to an agency appointed by the Director with the written approval of the Minister (hereinafter referred to as “an authorized agency”) for such purposes as provided under subsection (5).
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(2)
The production limit and the reservation quota referred to in subsection (1) shall be in such proportion and calculated in such manner as the Director may, with the written approval of the Minister, from time to time, determine.
(3)
Any person aggrieved by the production limit or the reservation quota fixed or imposed under subsection (1) may, within twenty-one days from the date of receipt of such notice, appeal to the
Minister to review or reconsider or vary such production limit or reservation quota and the decision of the Minister shall be final and conclusive.
(4)
Subject to any particular condition or limitation on reservation imposed in the notice under subsection (1), no holder of a licence to which the notice apply shall―
(a)
fell, extract or remove from any forest area covered by his licence any time in excess of the production limit fixed or imposed under subsection (1)(a) for the period specified in the notice; or
(b)
export or caused to be exported or removed from
Sarawak any timber forming or constituting part of the reservation quota referred to in subsection 1(b).
(5)
An authorized agency―
(a)
shall be charged with the responsibility for the purchase, collection, sale and transmission of timber to licensed sawmills in the State;
(b)
may, subject to such terms and conditions, including the method, measure and manner to be adopted, as the Director may approve, enter into arrangements for the purchase of timber direct from the holder of a licence;
(c)
shall observe and obey Part VII of the Sarawak Rivers
(Traffic) Regulations, 1993 [Swk. L. N. 130/93], relating to the transmission and transportation of timber for licensed sawmills through any rivers and shall carry out such activities which appear to it to be requisite for or in connection with the discharge of its functions; and
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(d)
may appoint sub-agents or contractors for the purposes of carrying out its functions:
Provided that any sub-agents or contractors so appointed by an authorized agency shall not export or cause to be exported or removed from Sarawak or dispose of any timber purchased or otherwise acquired by it except to licensed sawmills or otherwise in accordance with instructions given by or on behalf of the authorized agency.
(6)
Any sub-agent or contractor appointed by an authorized agency shall be entitled to receive such commission, fees or other considerations as the authorized agency deems fit in respect of the amount of timber purchased or otherwise acquired by it and delivered to the licensed sawmills or otherwise, but such commission, fees or other considerations may be varied by the Director, with the written approval of the Minister, from time to time.
(7)
No timber shall be loaded or transmitted onto any conveyance for export or removal from Sarawak until a certificate (hereinafter referred to as “Export Clearance
Certificate”) has been issued by the Director or any person authorized by him certifying that the timber does not form part of the reservation quota referred to in subsection 1(b).
(b)
The master of every conveyance carrying or towing timber for export or removal from Sarawak shall not leave or attempt to leave any port until and unless he has in his possession an Export Clearance Certificate provided to him by the person exporting or removing the timber from Sarawak.
(c)
An Export Clearance Certificate shall not be issued unless the Director or any person authorized by him is satisfied that―
(i)
all royalties, premia, cess and other dues chargeable on any timber to be exported or removed from
Sarawak have been duly paid;
(ii)
such timber carried or towed by the conveyance have been taken under licence as indicated in the valid removal pass and other documents produced by the master of the conveyance in support of such claim; and
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(iii)
the master of the conveyance carrying or towing such timber has not contravened any of the requirements of Part VII of the Sarawak Rivers (Traffic)
Regulations, 1993 [Swk. L.N. 130/93].
(8)
The Export Clearance Certificate shall be in such form as may be determined by the Director.
(9)
The master of any conveyance in Sarawak waters shall obey any signal made to him from a preventive or police conveyance, or any instructions given by a forest officer or any person authorized by the Controller of Rivers from any conveyance or any place, requiring him to stop, or heave to or to perform any other act.
(b)
Any timber found by a forest officer or any person authorized by the Controller of Rivers in any conveyance in
Sarawak waters and not correctly accounted for in the log book required to be carried on board a conveyance under regulation 47
of the Sarawak Rivers (Traffic) Regulations, 1993 [Swk. L.N.
130/93], or in the Export Clearance Certificate or other documents shall be liable to seizure.
(10)
Nothing in this section shall interfere with the operation of the Sarawak Rivers (Traffic) Regulations, 1993 [Swk. L.N. 130/93], relating to the navigation of any conveyance in any river.
(11)
Any timber or conveyance seized or detained under this section shall be dealt with, sold or disposed of in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed under section 113.
(12)
For the purpose of this section―
“Controller of Rivers” means the Controller of Rivers appointed under section 10 of the Sarawak Rivers Ordinance,
1993 [Cap. 4].