| (1) | Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), the registrar shall, after considering an application in terms of section 18 and examining the results of any tests or trials conducted with a variety, recognise the variety and enter it in the varietal list if— |
| (a) | the application conforms to the requirements of this Act; |
| (b) | the variety complies with the requirements referred to in section 17; and |
| (c) | all moneys payable in terms of this Act in respect of the application have been paid. |
| (2) | The registrar may refuse to recognise a variety if— |
| (a) | it is in the public interest to do so; |
| (b) | he or she, after an evaluation in terms of section 22, decides that the variety is undesirable for use. |
| (3) | The registrar shall not recognise a variety before— |
| (a) | he or she has decided under section 22(1) not to investigate the variety; or |
| (b) | the prescribed period, reckoned from the date on which the plants and propagating material were supplied to the registrar under section 22(3)(a) for the first time, has expired. |
| (4) | The registrar shall in respect of each variety which is recognised— |
| (a) | enter the applicable particulars referred to in section 15 in the varietal list; and |
| (b) | inform the applicant in writing of such recognition. |
| (5) | If the registrar refuses to recognise a variety in terms of this section, he or she shall in writing advise the person who applied for recognition of a variety of his or her decision and of the grounds on which it is based. |
[Section 20 substituted by section 16 of Act No. 25 of 1996]
