3  Applying for NZUs

Opening an emission unit account

You can only receive an allocation of NZUs if you have an account with the New Zealand Emission Unit Register (NZEUR). The NZEUR is the ‘bank’ for emission units. The NZEUR only operates via the internet and you need an email address to open an account. You can open an account any time and there are no fees to do this.

The steps to opening an account with the NZEUR are as follows.

  1. Register as a user of the NZEUR and obtain a ‘username’ and ‘password’ – each individual who wishes to use the NZEUR must complete this step before applying to open a unit holding account (step 2).
  2. Apply online to open a unit holding account in the NZEUR and nominate one to five registered users who can operate the account.
  3. Complete, sign and submit the declaration form that is sent to you after you have applied online. If two or more people are joint owners of the quota, all the joint owners will need to be the joint holders of an NZEUR account, and all will need to sign the declaration form to open the account.

The decision to apply and complete the steps above rests with the person or organisation applying. If you do not complete all the steps, you will not be eligible to receive units. It is not feasible for Fishserve to undertake these tasks on behalf of quota owners, given that like any other asset, the holding and trading of NZUs is the responsibility of the quota owners who receive them. Government officials have made the process for applying as straightforward as possible, and can provide you with information and help you with completing your application.

Once you have decided you wish to apply, the Registrar of the NZEUR recommends that you begin the application process to open your account as soon as possible.

For more information, visit www.eur.govt.nz, particularly the guides called Fishing Quota Owners’ Guide to Opening a Holding Account and Registering as a User.

Applying for and receiving emission units

After the final Fishing Allocation Plan is issued, the Ministry for the Environment (on behalf of the Minister for Climate Change Issues) will invite eligible people to apply for an allocation of NZUs – that is, if they are shown on the quota register kept under Part 8 of the Fisheries Act 1996 as an owner of a fishing quota on 24 September 2009.

In some instances, successors to the quota owners as at 24 September 2009 may be eligible for an allocation of NZUs under the Fishing Allocation Plan. For example, if an individual quota owner (as at 24 September 2009) has subsequently deceased or a body corporate quota owner (as at 24 September 2009) has subsequently been wound-up or dissolved then some other person or body corporate may be eligible for the allocation that would otherwise have gone to the deceased person or wound-up company. In such instances, the Ministry for the Environment (on behalf of the Minister) will consider applications from those claiming to succeed to the allocation and will determine their eligibility. Such people must provide evidence necessary to establish that they are eligible to receive an allocation of NZUs under the Fishing
Allocation Plan.

Every eligible person (and anyone claiming to be entitled by succession) must fill out an application form and send this with a signed declaration to the Ministry for the Environment by the given date. You may be asked to provide further information to support your application. If so, you will have 20 working days to provide the information.

The Ministry for the Environment (on behalf of the Minister) will consider each application and make a preliminary determination (or decision) whether the applicant is eligible to receive an allocation, the total number of NZUs the person is entitled to receive under the plan, and the year in which the NZUs will be transferred. Applicants will be notified of this information and be given an opportunity to provide further information by a specified date if they think the determination is incorrect.

The Ministry will take into account any information provided by the date specified, and then make a final determination about each applicant’s entitlement to receive NZUs and notify applicants of this.

The decision will also be published in the New Zealand Gazette and on the Ministry for the Environment’s website (www.mfe.govt.nz). Following this, NZUs will be transferred to the NZEUR unit holding accounts of each eligible person.

What records must you keep and for how long?

The Draft Fishing Allocation Plan says that you must keep copies of the information submitted with your application for a minimum of seven years from the date you receive the last of any NZUs allocated to you.

If you provide misleading or inaccurate information you may be given penalties under the Act or may be required to return some or all of the NZUs you have been allocated.

 

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