Control of Prices (Amendment) Law

Control of Prices (Amendment) Law A LAW TO AMEND THE CONTROL OF PRICES ACT BE it enacted by the National State Assembly of the Republic of Sri Lanka as follows: Short title and date of operation. 1. This Law may be cited as the Control of Prices (Amendment) Law, No. 43 of 1975, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may fix by Order published in the Gazette. Repeal of section 4 of Chapter 173. 2. (1) Section 4 of the Control of Prices Act, hereinafter referred to as the ” principal enactment “, is hereby repealed. (2) Notwithstanding the repeal of section 4 of the principal enactment, every Order made under section 4 of that enactment in respect of any .article, and in force on the day immediately preceding the coming; into force of this Law, shall, in so far as that Order is not inconsistent with the provisions of the National Prices Commission Law, be deemed to be an Order made under section 20 of that Law. Amendment of section 6 of the principal enactment. 3. Section 6 of the principal enactment is hereby amended in subsection (2) of that section as follows:- (i) by the omission of paragraph (b) of that subsection; (ii) by the substitution, for paragraph (d) of that subsection, of the following paragraph: – “(d) the prohibition, regulation or control of the storage, removal or disposal of any articles, and the prevention of the hoarding of any articles, during the operation of any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the prices of such articles; ”; (iii) by the substitution, for paragraph (e) of that subsection, of the following paragraph: “(e) the seizure of articles in respect of which or in relation to which contraventions of any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the prices of such articles, or of any regulation made under this Act have been or are suspected to have been committed, and the custody, sale and disposal of articles so seized or ordered by any court to be forfeited;” ; (iv) by the repeal of paragraph (f) of that subsection; and (v) by the substitution, for paragraph (g) of that subsection, of the following paragraph: – (g) any other matter incidental or consequential to any of the matters herein before mentioned, or which may be necessary for the purpose of securing compliance with any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the prices of any article.” Amendment of section 8 of the principal enactment. 4. Section 8 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: – (1) by the substitution, for subsection (1) of that section, of the following subsection: – ” (1) Every person who acts in contravention of any Order or regulation made or deemed to be made under this Act or of any general or special direction given under section 5 of this Act, or contravenes any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the price of an article, or contravenes or fails to comply with any direction given or requirement imposed under section 5A of this Act or resists or obstructs any other person in the exercise of his powers under that section. shall be guilty of an offence; (2) in subsection (2) of that section- (a) by the substitution, for paragraph (a) of that subsection, of the following paragraph- “(a) any person, carrying on business at any premises situated in any place or area in which an Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the price of an article is in operation, has in his possession for purposes of trade a stock of such article; and ”: and (b) by the substitution, for sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (b) of that subsection, of the following sub-paragraph :- (ii) offers to sell the article subject to a condition requiring the buying of any other article (whether or not an Order made or deemed to be made under section 20 of the National Prices Commission Law is in force in respect of such other article), or the making of any payment in respect of any service, or subject to any other condition, except a condition that the buyer shall pay the price forthwith, “; (3) in subsection (6) of that section, by the substitution for sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a), of the following sub-paragraph :- “(i) if it is the contravention of an Order made or deemed to be made under section 20 of the National Prices Commission Law by selling an article above the maximum price fixed for that article by that Order, or of a regulation for the prevention of the hoarding of an article for which the maximum price is fixed by such an Order, be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than four weeks and not exceeding six months and, in addition, with a fine not exceeding seven thousand five hundred rupees, and ” ; (4) by the substitution, for subsection (8) of that section., of the following subsection: – ‘ (8) Where any person who is employed by any other person (such other person being hereinafter referred, to as the ” employer “; to sell articles in the course of any business carried on by the employer at any premises is, by reason of anything done or omitted to be done at those premises, convicted of the offence of contravening any provision o1 any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the prices of the articles, or of a. regulation made or deemed to be made under this Act then the employer, or where the employer is out of Sri Lanka, the person for the time being acting as manager or having; control of the business, shall also be guilty of that offence unless he proves to the satisfaction the court that the offence was committe without his knowledge and that he exercise-all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence:’ Replacement of section 10 of the principal enactment. 5. Section 10 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed, and the following section is substitute therefor: “Application of Act. 10. The provisions of this Act or c any Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the price of any article shall have no application to any artic imported, purchased or stored by or c behalf of the naval, military, air for or civil authorities for the use of the Armed Services of Sri Lanka or to Government, or to the price at which an article specified by the Minister by Notification published in the Gazette is sc to any officer authorized by the Minister to purchase such article for the use the Government; but nothing in the section shall be deemed or construed permit any person to sell, or authority of any person to refuse to sell, any article to the naval, military or air force authorities, or to any other person on behalf of any of the last-mentioned authorities, in contravention of the aforesaid provisions. Amendment of section 11 of the principal enactment. 6. Section 11 of the principal enactment is hereby a mended as follows :- (i) by the omission of the definition of ” Minister “; (ii) by the substitution, for the definition of ” price-controlled article ” of the following definition: – ” price-controlled article ” means any article in respect of which an Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law fixing the price of such article, is in operation ; and (iii) by the insertion, immediately after the definition of ” requisition “, of the following new definition.:- “Order made or deemed to be made under the National Prices Commission Law ‘ includes a variation under section 22 of the National Prices Commission, Law of an Order made or deemed to be made under section 20 of that Law;’,