GREATER COLOMBO ECONOMIC COMMISSION

(1) There shall be established a Commission called the Greater Colombo Economic Commission(hereinafter referred to as the ” Commission “).

(2) The Commission shall, by the name assigned to it under subsection (1), be a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued in its corporate name, and may perform such other acts as bodies corporate may by law perform.

(a) to foster and generate the economic development of the Republic;

(b) to widen and strengthen the base of the economy of the Republic;

(c) to encourage and promote foreign investment within the Republic ;

(d) to diversify the sources of foreign exchange earnings and to increase the export earnings;

(e) to encourage and foster the establishment and development of industrial and commercial enterprises within the Republic;

(f) to administer the affairs of the Area of Authority referred to in section 4; and

(g) to do all such other acts as may be necessary or conducive to the attainment of any or all of the above objects.

(1) the Area of Authority;

(2) any licensed zone; and

(3) any licensed enterprise.

(1) The Commission shall consist of five members to be appointed by the President, one of whom shall be appointed the Director-General of the Commission.

(2) Every member shall hold office for a period of five years from the date of his appointment, unless he earlier vacates office by death, resignation or removal.

(3) Any member may resign his office by written communication addressed to the President.

(4) The President may, in his absolute discretion and without assigning any reason therefor, by Order published in the Gazette, remove any member with effect from the date of such publication.

(5) Upon the vacation of office by any member, the President may appoint any person to nil such vacancy and such person shall hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the member whom he succeeds.

(6) No act or proceeding of the Commission shall be invalid by reason only of any vacancy among the members or any defect in their appointment.

(7) Where the Director-General or any other member is temporarily unable to discharge the duties of his office on account of ill-health, absence from the Republic or any other cause, the President may appoint any person to act in place of such member.

(a) for the regulation of procedure and the transaction of business at meetings;

(b) providing for the custody and manner of affixing its seal.

(1) The Director-General shall be the Chief Executive of the Commission.

(2) The Director-General shall preside at all meetings of the Commission and in his absence any member elected by the members present shall preside at such meeting.

(1) The Commission may, subject to such conditions as may be specified, in writing, delegate to the Director-General any power, duty or function conferred or imposed on or assigned to the Commission under this Law, other than the powers conferred on the Commission under section 17 of this Law.

(2) Notwithstanding any such delegation the Commission may exercise, discharge or perform any such power, duty or function.

(1) There may be appointed to the staff of the Commission such officers and servants as the Commission may deem necessary.

(2) The Commission may, subject to the general or special direction of the Minister-

(3)

(1) The Commission may establish and maintain such departments as it may consider necessary for the proper and efficient conduct of the business of the Commission.

(2) The Commission shall have its principal office in Sri Lanka and may establish any branch office or agency within or outside Sri Lanka.

(1) The Commission may delegate to the head of any department the exercise or discharge of any power or function vested in or assigned to the Commission, other than the powers conferred on the Commission under section 17 of this Law. The Commission may, notwithstanding any such delegation, exercise or discharge any such power or function.

(2) The Commission may, in writing under its seal or in such other manner as may be provided by the rules made by the Commission, empower any person either generally or in respect of any specific matter to act for, and on behalf of, the Commission in any place outside Sri Lanka.

(a) to do all such acts or take such steps as may be necessary or conducive to the attainment of the objects of the Commission;

(b) to acquire, sell or lease land for the purposes of industrial sites, for the use of employees or for general economic development;

(c) to lay out industrial estates for sale or lease;

(d) to enter into agreements with enterprises;

(e) to exercise, perform and discharge all such powers, duties and functions as are by or under this Law vested in or assigned or delegated to the Commission; and

(f) generally to do all such other acts and things as are incidental to or consequential upon the exercise, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions under this Law.

(1) The Commission shall have the power to enter into agreements with any enterprise in or outside the Area of Authority and to grant exemptions from any law referred to in Schedule B hereto, or to modify or vary the application of any such laws, to such enterprises in accordance with such regulations as may be made by the Minister.

(2) Every such agreement shall be reduced to writing and shall upon registration with the Commission, constitute a valid and binding contract between the Commission and the enterprise.

(1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules relating to the exercise, performance and discharge of the powers, duties and functions vested in or assigned to the Commission, including the power to impose or levy any charge or fee, and in respect of any matter for which rules are authorized to be made.

(2) Every rule made under subsection (1) shall come into force upon publication in the Gazette.

(1) The written laws for the time being specified in Schedule C hereto shall have effect in the Area of Authority and in every licensed zone subject to the modification that it shall be lawful for the Commission-

all or any of the powers or functions vested in or assigned to by any such written law in any officer or person, in like manner as though the references in any such written law to the authority, officer or person empowered to make or issue such by-laws, regulations, orders or notifications or to exercise or discharge such powers or functions were a reference to the Commission.

(2) The Commission may by rule designate any officer or person to exercise or discharge on behalf of the Commission any power or function referred to in this section.

(1) The Commission shall, with the concurrence of the Minister, within the Area of Authority, exercise, perform and discharge all the powers, duties and functions of a Municipal Council and its officers and servants under the Municipal Councils Ordinance.

(2) The provisions of the Municipal Councils Ordinance, save and except the provisions contained in Parts I, II, III, IX, X, XI and XIV, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply within the Area of Authority except such provisions as are inconsistent with the provisions of this Law and every reference to the Municipal Council in such Ordinance shall be deemed to be a reference to the Commission, every reference to the Municipality shall be deemed to be a reference to the Area of Authority and every reference to the Minister shall be deemed to be a reference to the Minister to whom the subject and function of the administration of this Law has been assigned.

(3) The Commission may designate any officer or person by rule to exercise, perform and discharge within the Area of Authority any power, duty or function vested in and assigned to by the Municipal Councils Ordinance in any officer or person.

(4) Every reference in any written law to a local authority shall, in the Area of Authority, be deemed to be a reference to the Commission.

(1) In any case where the Area of Authority comprises the whole of the administrative area under the control of any local authority established under the Municipal Councils Ordinance, the Urban Councils Ordinance, the Town Councils Ordinance or the Village Councils Ordinance, the Commission shall be deemed to be the successor of such local authority for all purposes relating to such administrative area from the date of coming into operation of section 4 of this Law and such local authority shall be deemed to be dissolved on the date immediately preceding that date.

(2) In any case where the Area of Authority does not comprise the whole of the administrative area under the control of any local authority established under any such Ordinance the Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister in charge of the subject of Local Government, by Order published in the Gazette direct that the provisions of subsection (1) shall apply to the area situated within the Area of Authority with such exceptions, adaptations and modifications, if any, as may be specified in the Order and in particular may by such Order issue all such directions as he may deem necessary with a view to providing for any circumstances that may arise or to determine or adjust any question or matter in the application of this section.

(2A) Where a Municipal Council, Urban Council, Town Council or Village Council, the administrative limits of which are situated wholly or partly within the Area of Authority of the Commission has been dissolved and an officer has been appointed to administer the affairs of such Council, the Commission shall be deemed to be the successor to such officer administering the affairs of the whole or part of such administrative area, as the case may be.

(3) All by-laws made by any local authority which were in force in any area on the date of coming into operation of section 4 of this Law shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Law, continue to be in force in that area and shall be deemed for all purposes to be by-laws made by the Commission under this Law,

(1) Where the President is of the opinion that in any area, not included in the Area of Authority, it would be necessary to provide facilities or improvements for the establishment of undertakings by licensed enterprises and for such purpose to enable the Commission to exercise certain powers under this Law, he may, by Order published in the Gazette, declare such area to be a licensed zone, and specify the boundaries of such zone.

(2) Where a licensed zone is declared under subsection (!), no person, body or authority other than the Commission shall exercise, perform and discharge any powers, duties and functions relating to the approval of building plans or the planning, development or improvement under any written law, within such zone.

(1) The Minister may, by regulation-

(2) Every regulation made by the Minister under this Law shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation upon such publication or on such later date as may be specified in the regulation.

(3) Every regulation made by the Minister shall as soon as convenient, after the dale of its publication, be brought before Parliament for approval. Any regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be rescinded from the date of such disapproval but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.

(1) The Commission shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other written law, in the exercise of its powers under section 17, have the power to authorize any enterprise carrying on the business of banking to have as its constituents persons who are not citizens of Sri Lanka and to accept deposits on current accounts or otherwise from such persons.

(2)

(3) All deposits accepted by the banking institution authorized by the Commission under the provisions of this section, shall be in currencies other than Sri Lanka currency.

(1) Any dispute relating to the interpretation of the provisions of any agreement or the rights of the parties to such agreement entered into under the provisions of this Law between the Commission and any enterprise shall, unless otherwise agreed to between the parties, be referred for settlement to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes established under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States of 1965.

(2)

such enterprise shall, notwithstanding such Sri Lanka nationality, be deemed for the purpose of conferring jurisdiction on the Centre to be a national of a State other than Sri Lanka.

(3) Neither party to any agreement to refer any dispute to the Centre for arbitration shall be entitled to withdraw such consent at any time thereafter.

(4) Any award made upon such reference shall be final and binding on the parties and shall not be subject to any appeal or any other remedy, except those provided for under the aforesaid Convention.

(5) Any such award may be enforced in Sri Lanka in the District Court of Colombo as a decree of that Court and the provisions of the law relating to the execution of a decree of that Court shall apply.

(1) The Commission shall permit Customs Offices to be established in the Area of Authority and shall provide adequate facilities for officers of Customs whose duties require their presence within or at the perimeter of the Area of Authority. The Commission shall, where necessary, provide for similar facilities within the premises of any area enterprise or licensed enterprise.

(2)

(1) Where any land or any interest any land is required by the Commission for any of its purposes, that land or interest therein may be acquired under the Land Acquisition Act by the Government for the Commission and the provisions of that Act shall, save as otherwise provided in subsection (2) of this section, apply for the purposes of the acquisition of that land, or interest therein. Such land or such interest therein shall, for the purposes of the Land Acquisition Act, be deemed to be required for a public purpose.

(2) In the case of any such acquisition where the public notice of the intention to acquire that land or interest therein is published as required by the Land Acquisition Act at any time within the period of five years commencing from the date of coming into operation of section 4 of this Law, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Land Acquisition Act, the market value of the land or the interest therein shall be deemed to be the market value which the land or the interest therein would have had on July 22, 1977, increased by a reasonable amount on account of improvements, if any, effected to such land, after that date.

(a) the Business Undertakings (Acquisition) Act; and

(b) the Companies (Special Provisions) Law.

(1) There shall be a Fund established for the general financial purposes of the Commission. There shall be paid into the Fund-

(2) The Commission shall make rules, with the concurrence of the Minister, for the withdrawal of any moneys from the Fund and no sum shall be withdrawn from the Fund except in accordance with such rules.

(1) The provisions of the Public Corporations (Financial Control) Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the financial control and accounts of the Commission.

(2) The financial year of the Commission shall be the calendar year.

(3)