For the purposes of §§ 388—388f of this title, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings stated below:
(a) Office.— Means the Coffee Market Supervision and Investigation Office.
(b) Department.— Means the Department of Agriculture of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(c) Director.— Means the Director of the Coffee Market Supervision and Investigation Office.
(d) Secretary.— Means the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico.
(e) Act.— Means §§ 320 et seq. of Title 5.
(f) Officer.— Means the agents, inspectors, and employees representatives of the Secretary, duly authorized, who are in charge of carrying out the purposes of §§ 388—388f of this title and watch for the compliance of the regulations, norms and standards approved thereunder.
(g) Coffee.— Means the bush belonging to the Rubiaceae family, coffea type, with perennial, coriaceous, single leaves and opposed aromatic flowers, whose fruit is a berry red, white and yellow in color, which generally contains seeds, from which is produced the beverage known by the same name, among other by-products. It may be in any of it[s] elaboration phases: plantation, cultivation, harvesting or elaboration of coffee.
(h) Coffee farmer or producer.— Means any person who owns, leases, usufructs or is him/herself the middleman, or through his/her agents, representatives, managers, employees or other persons, devotes his/her lands, in whole or in part, to the agricultural activity of sowing, cultivating, harvesting or processing coffee.
(i) Beneficiary.— Means the person who owns, manages, or is in charge of an establishment to receive, purchase and process ripe and green coffee on a commercial scale, to submit it to cleaning, washing and drying process, which leaves it as dry and hulled coffee beans.
(j) Roaster.— Means any person who owns, manages, or is in charge of an establishment to receive, purchase, roast, grind, and sell coffee to be sold to the consumer.
(k) Importer.— Means any person who is devoted to the introduction of processed coffee to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, from any of the jurisdiction.
(l) Purchaser.— Means any person who owns, manages, or is in charge of an establishment for the purpose of buying, processing, classifying and selling dry coffee beans.
(m) Person.— Means any natural or juridical person, including without being limited to, partnership, association, institution, corporation, cooperative or group of persons.
(n) Lot.— Means one or more containers of coffee that may be distinguished or isolated from other similar container or containers.
History —Dec. 31, 2002, No. 311, § 2.