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OUTCOME OF 2015 CONSULTATION

Information on this page relates to a 2015 consultation:

Proposed revisions to the cost recovery regimes for biosecurity and food safety

MPI has reviewed cost recovery several times since 2015.

For the latest information refer to fees and charges overview

Overview of the review of fees and charges

The review looked at a series of proposals to change the way MPI recovers costs from individuals and industries so we can continue to provide essential food safety and biosecurity services.

Cabinet has approved updates to 254 biosecurity and food safety fees, charges, and levies. Over the next year, MPI expects to recover more costs from industry for:

  • biosecurity – an extra $6 million to $36.4 million
  • food safety – an extra $5.9 million to $61.2 million.

Find new fees, levies and charges by subject

The consultation process for changes to fees and charges

Before making any changes to our fees and charges, we talked to you about how our proposals would impact your businesses. We held 21 meetings around the country and received 247 submissions.

We aimed to keep fees down while ensuring we charge businesses fairly and appropriately.

At a glance

Key changes to fees and policies include:

  • updating 254 biosecurity and food safety fees, charges, and levies
  • reducing costs to small dairy processors by decreasing their annual levy from $487 to $465
  • creating a new levy category for medium-sized dairy processors
  • introducing cost recovery for infant formula exports
  • introducing cost recovery for essential services we provide the wine industry, like setting industry standards and helping the industry gain market access
  • increasing the biosecurity entry levy fee and the amount at which this is capped
  • revising the rules and fees around transitional and containment facilities
  • increasing the veterinary professional hourly rate for all live animal veterinary inspections
  • reducing processing times to approve registrations for trade names of agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines by increasing resources
  • adopting a single levy for export and domestic poultry meat production
  • introducing a cost recovery model to the new Food Act 2014.

Businesses will pay different amounts depending on which services they receive. We’ve grouped information about the main changes by subject.

Why we're updating our fees

This is the first review of biosecurity fees since 2010 and the first substantive review of food safety fees since 2008. It is also the first review of both systems since MPI was formed in 2011.

Since the last reviews of fees, there have been:

  • increases in imports and exports
  • increases in the number of food businesses
  • changes to trading patterns, meaning MPI had to provide new and improved services
  • increases in the real cost of delivering services because of inflation pressure.

Systems for recovering costs from industry were developed separately and, over time, this has led to potential inequities in current charges. MPI designed the changes to try to address these inequities and ensure all industry – large and small – is treated fairly.

The services these fees cover

MPI provides a range of important services to all food and food-related industries. This includes:

  • developing and maintaining domestic and overseas standards
  • monitoring and testing products to ensure consumer safety
  • gaining market access
  • providing assurances to overseas customers.

Collecting these fees means MPI can play its integral role in the growth of our $37.4 billion primary sector export industry and ensure New Zealand maintains its reputation as a reliable producer of safe, high-quality goods.

MPI worked hard to address inequities in the current charges and strike a balance between keeping costs fair, while collecting the right amount of money to let us continue doing our job.

Goods and Services Tax

The new fees and charges shown on this page don’t include Goods and Services Tax (GST). We will add this when we request payment, or include it on documents like application forms, where a payment is required.

When the fees and policy changes come into effect

The rates we’ll charge you will depend on when your application or work begins.

  • If you have work with MPI that is currently underway, then this will continue to be charged at the old rates until the work is complete.
  • Any work or applications received and accepted by MPI (i.e. the applications are assessed as complete) before 1 July will be charged at old rates until work is complete.
  • All work and applications received and accepted by MPI on or after 1 July will be charged at the new rates.

If you have questions on how these changes apply to you:

Find out more

Changes to MPI's original proposals

After submissions and feedback from industry, we made a number of changes to our initial proposals.

Changes MPI made to the proposal after consultation

Area

Changes to proposals

Wine
  • Increase in the wine export levy threshold volume from 10,000 litres to 200,000 litres).
  • Payment of the domestic standards wine levy by New Zealand Winegrowers by way of an agreement with MPI, rather than as a regulatory requirement.
  • Reduction of the domestic levy from $330,000 to $320,000 (reflecting the cost of services that relate to fruit wine and cider makers).

Small and artisan businesses
  • Small wine producers’ exports will not be subject to an export levy as they will fall below the threshold (described above)
  • Small dairy processors will see their annual levy reduce from the proposed $930 to $465 a year.

Live animal exports
  • Fee cap equivalents for germplasm, day-old chicks, and hatching eggs exports consignments.

Agricultural compounds and veterinary medicines
  • Increase in fees to cover additional resources and speed up trade name product registration.

Meat
  • Reduction of the proposed programme charge for meat industry establishments from $44.90 to $41.04 an hour, so historical deficits are not recovered from establishments.

Eggs
  • Egg processors' annual levy will continue to be paid on their behalf by the Egg Producers Federation.

Poultry
  • A single flat rate of $0.004430 for each processed bird will be adopted (rather than a differentiated fee based on type of premises).

Deer
  • Proposed revisions to regulations will be put in place, but a partial waiver will be issued to maintain current rates pending further discussion with the industry.

Alignment of hourly rate minimum charge
  • The proposed minimum hourly rate charge has been reduced to 30 minutes from 1 hour.

Food Act 2014
  • Improvements to the specifications of services to which fees and charges apply.

Changes to fees by subject

This section gives a breakdown of the main changes to fees and charges.

Expand all

MPI business units