S.L. 46.1 Art. 14Executive contestation of the Consul’s assaying result.

(1) If the manufacturer or the sponsor or the authorised representative, as the case may be, is not satisfied with the Consul’s decision that the submitted precious metal article is inferior in standard either to -

(a) the standard claimed in Form S of the Fifth Schedule;

or

(b) any of the standards prescribed for the Consul’s office hallmark; or

(c) any standard that may be imprinted on the said article prior to submission to the Consul for imprinting, he may, within not more than seven days from the day on which the decision of the Consul is communicated to him, request the Minister responsible for the Authority for the carrying out of a second assay provided he deposits in the office of the Consul two hundred and thirty euro (230).

(2) When a request and deposit for a second assay is made, the Minister responsible for the Authority shall direct the Consul to further suspend the imprinting or breaking of any article as the case may be until the lapse of eight days, from the date on which the result of the second assay has been communicated to the person who shall have asked for the second assay.

(3) The second assay shall be carried out in the presence of the person applying for it, if he so requires, and it shall be conducted by a Board made up of a professor of Chemistry in the University of Malta or some other expert designated by the Minister responsible for the Authority, in either case assisted by the Consul and by an experienced artificer also appointed by the Minister responsible for the Authority.

(4) The result of the second assay shall be entered in the Consul’s register and shall be signed by all the members of the Board and by the Consul.

(5) When the result of the second assay which is carried out by the Board in accordance with sub-regulation (3) shows that the Consul’s assay result was erroneous, the Minister responsible for the Authority shall direct the Consul to reimburse the deposit of two hundred and thirty euro (230) indicated in sub-regulation (1) and shall furthermore direct the Consul to proceed with the imprinting of the said article in accordance with the result of the second assay.