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Short title.
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1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Coconut Products Ordinance.
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Ceylon coconut Board
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2.
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(1) For the purposes of this Ordinance, there shall be established a board styled ” The Ceylon Coconut Board ” which shall consist of a chairman and eleven other members all of whom shall be appointed by the Minister.
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(2) The board shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal.
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(3) The seal of the board shall be authenticated in the prescribed manner and when so authenticated shall be judicially noticed.
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(4) The board may sue and be sued under the name and style of “The Ceylon Coconut Board “.
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(5) The board shall appoint a manager and a secretary.
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(6) Service on the board of all legal processes and notices may be effected by service on the secretary of the board. In civil proceedings, it shall be lawful for the secretary to sign proxies on behalf of the board.
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(7) Five members of the board excluding the chairman or other presiding member shall form a quorum thereof ; but subject to the provisions of this subsection the board may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their number.
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(8) The chairman and every other member of the board shall, upon. appointment, hold office for a period of three years; but the Minister may, notwithstanding the term of any such appointment, remove the chairman or any other member of the board from office at any time : Provided that it shall be lawful for the chairman or any other member of the board to resign therefrom at any time.
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(9) Any person ceasing to be a member of the board shall be eligible for reappointment thereto.
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(10) The chairman shall preside at all meetings of the board at which he is present. In the absence of the chairman from any meeting, the members present at the meeting may, subject to the provisions of subsection (7), elect one of their own number to be chairman at that meeting.
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(11) The chairman may summon a meeting of the board at any time and shall summon a meeting upon receipt of a requisition therefor signed by three members of the board.
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(12) All questions shall be decided by a majority of the members voting at a meeting of the board. The chairman or presiding member shall have an original vote on all questions as well as a casting vote if the votes be equally divided.
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(13) A member of the board who is absent without reasonable cause from three consecutive meetings of the board may, by resolution of the board passed at a meeting of which notice has been duly given, be held to have vacated his office ; and, upon the passing of any such resolution, the ember affected by that resolution shall cease to be a member of the board.
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(14) The board may regulate its own procedure in any matters not provided for in this Ordinance or in the regulations made thereunder.
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Powers and duties of the board
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3. The board shall have full power and authority”
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(1) to acquire and hold property, movable or immovable, and to sell, transfer, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of such property ;
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(2) to appoint, employ and remunerate and control its officers and servants and to direct and decide all matters connected with the administration of its affairs ;
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(3) to take such steps as it may consider necessary both in and outside Sri Lanka, to advertise Sri Lanka coconut products, to create, promote, encourage and further the demand for such products in the markets of the world, and to initiate, finance, support and supervise propaganda work for such purposes or for other purposes connected therewith or incidental thereto;
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(4) to take such steps as it may consider necessary for the development or welfare of the coconut industry by organizing, assisting or participating in exhibitions or fairs in or outside Sri Lanka;
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(5) to aid and finance local associations or co-operative societies formed for the advancement and support of the coconut industry ; (6) to promote and subsidize the erection or extension of factories in which coconut products are manufactured or used ;
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(6A) to grant financial assistance to manufacturers of desiccated coconut, in accordance with regulations that may be made in that behalf, for the purpose of enabling such manufacturers to improve the processes of milling in mills belonging to them;
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(7) to investigate questions relating to freights and the export or transport of coconut products and to make recommendations thereon to the Minister;
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(8) to formulate for the consideration of the Minister schemes for the establishment, supervision, control and financial support of such institutions as may be or become necessary for the amelioration of the conditions of the coconut industry;
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(9) to receive and disburse moneys for the accomplishment of the objects for which it is established;
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(10) to raise funds or capital and to borrow money whether on the security of its assets or otherwise ;
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(11) to establish, manage, supervise and support sales rooms and agencies for the sale of coconut products both within and outside Sri Lanka;
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(12) to formulate schemes to give effect to the objects and purposes of this Ordinance;
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(13) to enter into contracts and generally to do all such things as may be necessary for the due exercise of the powers conferred and for due compliance with the duties imposed upon it by this Ordinance or by the regulations made thereunder.
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Allowance for expenses of members of the board.
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4. No member of the board shall receive any remuneration, reward or fee for his services as a member of the board or as an officer thereof except such amount as may be prescribed by way of an allowance to meet expenses which he may incur in the discharge of his duties as a member or as an officer of the board including the expenses of travelling to and from the meetings of the board.
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Minister to have general control.
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5. Save as is otherwise expressly provided in this Ordinance and in the regulations made thereunder, the board shall be under the general direction and control of the Minister.
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Sales rooms.
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6.
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(1) The board shall establish in Colombo a salesroom for the auction and sale of coconut products and may establish similar sales rooms elsewhere.
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(2) The establishment of a sales room in Colombo shall not for a period of three months reckoned from the date of such establishment affect or invalidate any forward contract made prior to the date of the coming into operation of this Ordinance for the delivery or sale of copra at a price fixed definitely in that contract in money or money’s worth.
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Regulations shall be made for the registration of forward contracts by the board and for the measures to be taken and the procedure to be adopted in order to give effect to the provisions of this subsection.
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(3) Auction sales shall be held in the sales room in Colombo daily except on Sundays:
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Provided that the board may, after due notice to the public in the prescribed manner, order that no auction sales shall be held in that sales room on a public holiday or on any other specified day or date.
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Registration of auctioneers and brokers.
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7.
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(1) The board shall keep a register of approved auctioneers and brokers.
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(2) Regulations may be made prescribing”
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(a) the form of the register of auctioneers and brokers ; and
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(b) the procedure whereby an auctioneer or a broker may be approved and registered by the board.
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Sale to be conducted by registered auctioneer.
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8. No coconut products shall be offered or put up for sale at a sales room except through a registered auctioneer or an officer of the board who is an auctioneers.
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Registration of shippers, dealers, and millers.
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9. Regulations may be made providing for the registration of shippers, dealers and millers and prescribing the terms and conditions upon which a person may be registered as a shipper, or a dealer, or a miller, as the case may be.
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Stock-books to be kept by shippers, dealers, and millers.
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10. The board may require any shipper, dealer or miller to keep in the prescribed form a stock-book containing the prescribed particulars relating to coconut products purchased, kept, stored, sold or shipped by him.
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Returns.
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11 The board may require any shipper, dealer or miller to furnish to the board on the prescribed dates returns in the prescribed form containing such particulars as may be required in respect of stocks and shipments of coconut products and contracts and agreements relating to the purchase, sale, marketing, storage, import or export of such products, or to the rates of freight charged or chargeable for the transport of such products.
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Power of board to call for information.
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12. It shall be lawful for the board at any time to call upon any auctioneer, broker, shipper, dealer, or miller”
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(a) to furnish before a specified date such information or explanation as the board may require in respect of any particulars stated in any return furnished by such auctioneer, broker, shipper, dealer, or miller ; and
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(b) to produce or cause to be produced before a specified date such documentary or other evidence as the board may require for the purpose of verifying any facts or particulars stated in any return furnished by such auctioneer, broker, shipper, dealer, or miller.
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Returns to be verified by statutory declaration.
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13.
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(1) Every return furnished under this Ordinance shall be accompanied by a declaration that the statements contained therein are true and accurate. A similar declaration shall be attached to the documents whereby any information is supplied or explanation is offered under this Ordinance.
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(2) Every declaration referred to in subsection (1) shall be free from stamp duty.
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Particulars in returns to be treated as confidential.
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14. All particulars contained in any return furnished, information supplied or explanation offered under this Ordinance shall be treated as confidential by the board and by every member, officer or servant thereof except where the person furnishing such return, supplying such information or offering such explanation otherwise agrees.
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Penalty for unlawful disclosure or publication of information.
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15. No information obtained under this Ordinance in regard to any person or business shall be disclosed or published by the board or by any member, officer or servant thereof except for the purposes of this Ordinance or of any legal proceedings thereunder ; and any person who knowingly discloses or publishes any such information shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment:
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Provided that nothing in this subsection contained shall be deemed to prohibit the disclosure or publication for statistical purposes of facts and figures which make no reference to any particular individual or business.
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sale certificate.
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16.
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(1) The board shall, on demand, issue a sale certificate to every person who purchases copra at a sales room.
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(2) Every sale certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state the name of the purchaser and the quantity of the copra purchased by him.
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(3) A sale certificate shall not be transferable or negotiable.
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Copra export licences.
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17.
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(1) Every copra export licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall authorize the export by the person named in the licence of a specified quantity of copra of a standard quality fixed by the board.
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(2) A copra export licence shall not be transferable or negotiable.
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(3) The board shall, on application in the prescribed form, issue to the applicant a copra export licence authorizing the export by that applicant of a specified quantity of a standard quality of copra if the board or a prescribed officer of the board is satisfied”
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(a) that the applicant has purchased at a sales room a like quantity of copra and has produced a sale certificate as evidence of such purchase ;
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(b) that the copra for the export of which such licence is required was manufactured on an estate and is being exported by the proprietor of that estate on his own account; or
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(c) that the copra for the export of which such licence is required was purchased in any other manner or circumstances prescribed by regulation:
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copra not to be exported except on licence
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18.
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(1) On and after a date* to be declared by the Governor by Proclamation in the Gazette, no copra shall be exported from Sri Lanka through the port of Colombo except upon a copra export licence issued by the board.
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(2) The Minister may by notification in the Gazette and with effect from a date to be appointed in that notification extend the provisions of this section to any port or ports in Sri Lanka in addition to the port of Colombo.
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Coconut oil export licence.
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19.
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(1) Every coconut oil export licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall authorize the export by the person named in the licence of the quantity of coconut oil specified therein.
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(2) The board shall, on application in the prescribed form, issue to the applicant a coconut oil export licence”
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(a) in exchange for sale certificates issued to the applicant in accordance with the provisions of section 16 and surrendered by him to the board in the prescribed manner; or * 11th May, 1936.” Gazette No. 8,214 of 24th April. 1936.
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(b) if the board or a prescribed officer thereof is satisfied that the coconut oil to be exported on that licence was manufactured”
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(i) from copra obtained by the applicant from coconuts produced on an estate of which that, applicant is the proprietor; or
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(ii) from parings or shavings or from fresh coconuts; or
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(iii) in an area other than an area prescribed for the purpose of section 21; or
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(iv) from copra purchased before a prescribed date or in any manner or circumstances prescribed by regulation.
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(3) A coconut oil export licence shall not be transferable except to a shipper. Regulations may be made prescribing the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which a shipper may be entitled to the transfer of a coconut oil export licence and to export coconut oil on that licence.
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exported except on licence.
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20.
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(1) On and after a date* to be declared by the Coconut oil Governor by Proclamation in the Gazette, no coconut oil shall be exported from Sri Lanka through the port of Colombo except upon a coconut oil export licence issued by the board.
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(2) The Minister may by notification in the Gazette and with effect from a date to be appointed in that notification extend the provisions of this section to any port or ports in Sri Lanka in addition to the port of Colombo. * 11th May, 1936.” Gazette No. 8,214 of 24th April, 1936.
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coconut not to be exported except on licence.
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20A. On and after such date as may be fixed in that behalf Desiccated by the Minister by notification published in the Gazette, no person shall export any desiccated coconut from Sri Lanka except under the authority of a desiccated coconut general export licence or a desiccated coconut special export licence issued by the board.
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Regulations relating to manufacture and export of desiccated coconut.
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20B. Regulations may be made for or in respect of all or any of the following matters :-
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(a) the regulation, inspection, supervision, and control of the manufacture, packing, transport, storing, and export of desiccated coconut;
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(b) prescribing standards of quality to which all desiccated coconut manufactured shall conform;
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(c) ensuring that desiccated coconut exported form Sri Lanka is free from impurities, or foreign matter, and is of good quality;
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(d) the inspection, supervision, regulation and control of factories, stores, buildings, equipment, and machinery used or to be used for the manufacture, packing, or storing of desiccated coconut;
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(e) the issue, renewal, suspension, and cancellation of desiccated coconut general export licences and desiccated coconut special export licences, and the terms and conditions subject to which such general or special licences shall be issued, and the manner of disposal of desiccated coconut in respect of which such licences are refused;
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(f) the registration of manufactures or shippers of desiccated coconut, the terms and conditions subject to which such registration shall be effected, and the circumstances in which the registration of any such manufacturer or shipper may be renewed, suspended, or cancelled; ‘ See section 3(2) of Act No. 20 of 1962.
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(g) the prohibition of the manufacture or shipment of desiccated coconut except by registered manufacturers or shippers;
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(h) applications for registration as manufacturers or shippers of desiccated coconut, and prescribing forms for such applications;
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(i) the fees to be paid for the registration of manufacturers or shippers of desiccated coconut and for the issue of desiccated coconut and for the issue of desiccated coconut general or special export licences, and the time and mode of payment of such fees;
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(j) appeals to the Minister against the refusal to register, or to renew the registration of, any person as a manufacturer or shipper of desiccated coconut, or against the suspension or cancellation of the registration of any manufacturer or shipper, or against the refusal, suspension, or cancellation of desiccated coconut general or special export licences;
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(k) the manner in which such appeals to the Minister shall be preferred and disposed of, and the procedure to be followed at the hearing of such appeals;
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(l) the fees to be paid by persons preferring appeals to the Minister, and the time and mode or payment of such fees;
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(m) the investigation of complaints made by importers regarding any desiccated coconut which has been exported from Sri Lanka ; and
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(n) all matters incidental to or connected with the matters referred to in this subsection.
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Purchase of copra
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21. On and after a date to be declared by the Minister by for manufacture notification in the Gazette, no person shall within any prescribed of oil area manufacture coconut oil from copra purchased by or for him unless such copra was purchased at the sales room.
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budget of the board.
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24.
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(1) The Executive Committee shall prepare the Budget of first Such budget shall contain the board-a statement of the estimated income and expenditure of the board from the date of the commencement of this Ordinance to the end of the year in which that date occurs.
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(2) In the month of November in each year the board shall submit to the Minister a budget of the estimated income and. expenditure of the board for the next succeeding year.
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(3) Whenever the board proposes to incur in any year any expenditure in excess of the estimated expenditure as set out in the budget for that year, the board shall prepare and submit to the Minister a supplementary budget containing an estimate of the additional expenditure proposed to be incurred and of any increase anticipated in its estimated income as set out in the budget for that year.
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(4) Every budget and every supplementary budget of the board shall be laid on the table of Parliament for the information of the members thereof.
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(5) Not later than the thirty-first day of March in each year the board shall submit to the Minister a statement, duly audited, of the moneys received and disbursed by the board during the immediately preceding year. Each such statement shall be laid on the table of Parliament for the information of the members thereof.
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