ARTICLE Obtaining hemp cultivation permit in Serbia

For article in Serbian published by LawLife Portal click HERE

For article in Serbian published by Pravna komora Srbije click HERE

For article in Serbian published by eKapija click HERE   

     After considering the legal aspects of cultivation and trade of cannabis in the Republic of Serbia in the article available here, in this text we deal in more detail with the requirements that a legal or natural person must meet in order to obtain a permit to grow hemp seeds for further propagation and cultivation of industrial hemp.

According to the current regulations of the Republic of Serbia, species and varieties of cannabis (genus Cannabis) that can contain more than 0.3% of substances from the group of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are plants from which a psychoactive controlled substance can be obtained. Therefore, the cultivation, production, sale and possession of such plants is prohibited, except under the conditions of the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances.

For industrial purposes – such as production of fibers, production of seeds for animal feed, processing and testing of seed quality, as well as its circulation – it is allowed to grow hemp varieties that belong to the species Cannabis sativa L enlisted in the Register of Recognized Varieties of Agricultural Plants, in accordance with the law that regulates the recognition of varieties of agricultural plants. The precondition is that the content of substances from the THC group is less than 0.3%.

In order for the hemp cultivation permit to be issued to a legal or natural person, the hemp seeds in question have to be produced, processed, packaged, declared and marked in accordance with the Law on Seeds.

Cultivation of hemp seeds for further reproduction can only be carried out by a legal entity or an entrepreneur if they are registered in the Register of Producers of Seeds, Seedlings, Mycelia of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms, in accordance with the Law on Seeds, and if they have obtained a hemp seed cultivation permit.

PERMIT FOR HEMP SEED CULTIVATION INTENDED FOR FURTHER PROPAGATION AND FOR INDUSTRIAL HEMP CULTIVATION

•    Legal persons / natural persons / entrepreneurs are allowed to cultivate; 
•    It is necessary to obtain a Cultivation Permit issued by the Ministry of Agriculture;
•    The permit lasts for one production year and is issued upon request;
•    The content of the permit request and its attachments are prescribed by the Rulebook and the Law;
•    The request is to be submitted before hemp planting and no later than 30 April of the current year.

The permit is issued upon the submission of a request for permit to produce and/or sell a psychoactive controlled substance.

Content of the request - general information:

1. LEGAL ENTITY: name, seat and registration number of the legal entity or entrepreneur from the Decision on Registration in the Business Registers Agency, 
   NATURAL PERSON: name, address of natural person, national identity number and contact phone number;
2. The purpose of hemp cultivation;
3. DATA ON THE PLOT: ownership, legal basis of use, cadastral municipality, area, number of the cadastral plot and the area on which hemp cultivation is planned;
4. DATA ON THE SEEDS: variety name, category and amount of seeds;
5. Planned dates of sowing and harvesting;
6. Statement to confirm that the requester is familiar with the provisions of Article 87 of the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances;
7. The date of submission and the signature of the requester.

Content of the request – additional information:

A legal or natural person who submits a request for the purpose of fiber production, production of seeds for animal feed, processing and seed quality testing, as well as for the purpose of seed sale, is to submit the following together with the Request:
 

• - Legal basis for use of agricultural land (ownership certificate or land lease agreement certified in court);
• - Copy of the Decision on Registration in the Serbian Business Registers Agency as a proof that the legal entity or entrepreneur is registered for the performance of activities:

01.11 Cultivation of grain (except rice), legumes and oil seeds, 
01.16 Cultivation of plants for fiber production, OR
10.41 Production of oils and fats;

• - Contract on the production and purchase of cannabis concluded between the legal entity,  entrepreneur or the natural person with a legal entity that is registered for the performance of activities referred to in point 2), certified in court, as well as an Excerpt from the Business Reigers Agency to prove that the legal entity with which the contract has been concluded is registered for the performance of activities from point 2);
• - Proof that the responsible person in the legal entity or entrepreneur or the natural person has not been convicted of the following criminal offenses from the Criminal Code ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 85/ 05, 88/05 - correction, 107/05 - correction, 72/09, 111/09 and 121/12)

• unauthorized production and placing on the market of narcotic drugs, 
• unauthorized possession of narcotic drugs, nor 
• facilitating the consumption of narcotic drugs;

• - Copy of the identity card of the responsible person in the legal entity or entrepreneur, or a copy of the identity card of the natural person;
• -  Copy of the Declaration on Seed Quality with the Delivery Note;
• -  Copy of the Receipt for the purchased cannabis seeds.

In addition to the above, the legal entity or entrepreneur who submits a request for hemp seed cultivation intended for further propagation, also submits a copy of the Decision on registration in the Register of Producers of Seeds, Seedlings, Mycelia of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms. 
 

The costs of a permit issuance for hemp cultivation include:

• - Application processing fee;
• - Permit issuing fee, which is prescribed by the law regulating administrative fees of the Republic of Serbia.

A person who receives a permit to cultivate hemp must submit each a copy of the license:

1. Ministry responsible for health affairs;
2. Ministry responsible for internal affairs.

The hemp cultivation permit is valid for one production year, and is kept for one year from the issue date, together with:

• - Original invoice for purchased seeds;
• - Declaration on Seed Quality with visible data on the processor, i.e. the importer, the quantities and varieties of the purchased hemp seeds;
• - Original packaging in which the hemp seeds were packed;
• - Label from the seed package.

 

DUTIES OF THE PERSON WHO GROWS PLANTS FROM WHICH PSYCHOACTIVE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES CAN BE OBTAINED

The person is to submit a report to the ministry responsible for agriculture by the end of June of the current year on:

• - the surface of land sown during the current year with plants, including the name of the registered variety of the plant, the name and number of the cadastral plot;
• - an assessment of the area of land on which the person intends to grow plants during the next calendar year.

During the growing season and at least 5 days before the harvest, the person is to submit a report to the ministry responsible for agricultural affairs on:

• - surface of the land and treatment of the plants, including the name of the registered subspecies, the name and number of the cadastral plot.

By the end of December of the current year, the person is obliged to submit a report to the ministry responsible for agricultural affairs on:

• - the surface of the land sown with plants, the surface of the land that has been harvested, including the name of the registered subspecies, the name and number of the cadastral plot;
• - the amount of collected hemp and hemp seeds.

The person is to inform the ministry responsible for internal affairs and the ministry responsible for agricultural affairs about any circumstance that indicates the possibility that hemp plants or parts of hemp plants have been used or could be used for the illegal production of psychoactive controlled substances.

The legal entity or entrepreneur who grows hemp in violation of the provisions of the Law on Psychoactive Controlled Substances, as well as if the legal person does not notify the ministry responsible for internal affairs and the ministry responsible for agriculture of any circumstance that indicates the possibility that hemp or parts of hemp have been used or that could be used for the illegal production of psychoactive controlled substances, constitutes an economic offense from Article 108 of the Law, which is punishable by a fine of 1.000.000,00 to 3.000.000,00 Serbian dinars, and a natural person may be liable for the criminal offense of unauthorized production of narcotic drugs.

 

Authors:

Miloš Vučković, Senior & Managing Partner

Sandra Popović, Associate

 

*The information in this announcement does not represent legal advice and is provided for general informational purposes only.

**Partner, Senior Associate and Associate refers to Independent Attorney at Law in cooperation with IVVK Lawyers.