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Short title.
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1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Ceylon Post Office Savings Bank Ordinance.
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Continuation, of existing savings bank and application of Ordinance thereto.
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2. The post office savings bank existing on the day immediately preceding the appointed date by virtue of the provisions of the Post Office Ordinance shall be continued under this Ordinance as the Ceylon Post Office Savings Bank and shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance and the regulations made thereunder.
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Management and control of Bank.
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3. Subject to the provisions of section 11, the Bank shall be under the management and control of the Postmaster-General who may take such steps as he may deem necessary for the encouragement of thrift, for the proper management of the Bank, and generally for the promotion of the objects and purposes of this Ordinance.
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Appointment and discontinuance of offices of the Bank.
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4.
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(1) The Postmaster-General may from time to time appoint any post office in Ceylon to be an office for the transaction of the business of the Bank and may discontinue any office so appointed.
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(2) Every office of the post office savings bank appointed under the provisions of the Post Office Ordi-nance, and existing on the day immediately preceding the appointed date, shall be deemed to be an office appointed under subsection (1) for the transaction of the business of the Bank.
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Employment of officers, &c.
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5. There may be appointed8 such officers and servants as may be necessary for the purposes of this Ordinance, and, where all the necessary officers and servants are not so appointed, the Postmaster-General may for such purposes employ for the whole or part of their time officers and servants of the Posts and Telecommunications Department.
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Deposits and repayments.
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6. Deposits of money to be paid into the Bank shall be received, and moneys to be withdrawn from the Bank shall be repaid, under such conditions as may be prescribed.
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Interest on deposits.
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7.
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(1) Interest shall be payable on deposits at the rate of two rupees and forty cents per hundred rupees per annum, or at such other rate *[* Interest has been fixed with effect from 1st January, 1947, at the rate of Rs. 2 per Rs. 100 per annum.-Gazette No. 9.602 of 20th September, 1946.] as may be fixed from time to time by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.[1] Notice of any change in the rate of interest shall be published in the Gazette not less than three months before the date of such change.
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(2) No interest shall be payable-
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(a) on any amount in deposit which is less than the amount prescribed as the minimum amount on which interest is payable ; or
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(b) on the sum, if any, by which an amount in deposit exceeds the amount prescribed as the maximum amount on which interest is payable.
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(3) Interest shall be payable only on such complete unit or units of a prescribed sum as may be comprised in the amount in deposit.
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(4) Interest on any amount in deposit-
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(a) shall not commence to accrue until the first day of the month next following the date of the deposit of that amount ; and
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(b) shall be deemed to have ceased to accrue on the last day of the month preceding the date on which that amount is withdrawn.
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(5) Interest on every amount in deposit shall, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) and (4), be calculated to the thirty-first day of December in every year, and shall then be added to and become part of the principal amount remaining on deposit.
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Repayment guaranteed by Government of Ceylon.
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8. The repayment of all moneys deposited in the Bank and of the interest thereon is guaranteed by the Government of Ceylon and is hereby constituted a charge upon the Consolidated Fund ;[1] and accordingly, whenever the assets of the Bank are insufficient to pay a lawful claim made by any depositor, the deficiency shall be met out of the Consolidated Fund.[1]
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Expenses of the Bank.
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9.
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(1) All expenses incurred in the administration of this Ordinance shall be met from the moneys in the Bank.
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(2) For the purposes of this Ordinance, ” expenses ” means the cost of any work or service done by or in connexion with the Bank, including such sum on account of administrative or other overhead expenses as may, with the approval of the Minister,[1] be reasonably assigned to that work or service.
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Trustees of the Bank.
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10. The Permanent Secretary to the Ministry,1 the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury[1] and the Postmaster-General shall be the trustees of the Bank.
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Investment and deposit of moneys in the Bank.
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11.
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(1) The moneys in the Bank shall not be applied to any purpose not authorized by this Ordinance.
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(2) The trustees may in their discretion determine the maximum amount which may, out of the moneys in the Bank, be retained in the custody of the Postmaster-General for the general purposes and expenses of the Bank.
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(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (6), the balance of the moneys in the Bank, remaining after the deduction of such amount as may be determined by the trustees under subsection (2), shall from time to time be invested by the trustees-
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(a) in rupee loans of the Government of Ceylon ;
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(b) in rupee loans of the Government of India ;
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(c) in debentures of the Ceylon State Mortgage Bank;
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(d) in sterling securities of the Government of the United Kingdom or of the Government of any of Her Majesty’s Realms and Territories ;
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(e) in sterling securities guaranteed by the Government of the United Kingdom or by the Government of any of Her Majesty’s Realms and Territories ;
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(f) in such other stock or securities as may be approved by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.
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(4) Every investment under subsection (3) shall be held in the joint names of the trustees:
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Provided that every investment of moneys outside Ceylon shall be made and held in accordance with such general instructions as may be issued in that behalf by the trustees, with the approval of the Minister and the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.
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(5)
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(a) The trustees may at any time vary any investment held by them under this section, or realize and reinvest any moneys so invested.
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(b) The provisions of subsections (3) and (4) shall apply in the case of every variation of an investment and every reinvestment made under this subsection.
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(6)
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(a) Any moneys which are required by the preceding provisions of this section to be invested in accordance with those provisions may, pending the investment thereof-
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(i) be deposited for fixed periods or in current account in the name of the Postmaster-General in any such bank or banks in Ceylon as may be approved by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance[1] in that behalf; or
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(ii) be deposited in the joint names of the trustees with the Government of Ceylon at a rate of interest to be determined by the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance.[1] Any moneys so deposited may at any time be withdrawn for any purpose authorized by this Ordinance.
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(b) Any moneys retained under subsection (2) for the general purposes of the Bank may be deposited in the manner provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection.
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Sale of securities, and advances to the Bank out of Consolidated Fund.
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12.
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(1) Any sum of money that may from time to time be required for the repayment of any deposit under the authority of this Ordinance or for the payment of interest thereon or of any expenses incurred in the administration of this Ordinance, may, at the discretion of the trustees, be raised by the sale of the whole or any part of the securities in which moneys may have been invested under section 11, or by the withdrawal of any moneys deposited under that section.
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(2) Where any sum of money, which may be required for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1), cannot immediately be raised in the manner referred to in that subsection, an advance may be made to the trustees by the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury[1] out of the Consolidated Fund[1] until such sum is so raised ; and every such advance shall bear interest at such rate as the Minister of Finance[1] may determine at the time the advance is made, such rate not being less than the rate payable at that time on deposits paid into the Bank.
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Accounts of the Bank.
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13. Annual accounts of the revenue and expenditure of the Bank, of deposits received and repaid and of interest credited to depositors during each year ending on the thirty-first day of December, together with a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Bank shall be submitted to the trustees, and shall, after being audited and certified by the Auditor-General, be published by the trustees in the Gazette at any time not later than the prescribed date in the ensuing year.
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Surpluses and deficits.
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14.
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(1) If in any year the revenue of the Bank is insufficient to defray the interest due to depositors and all expenses under this Ordinance, the deficiency shall be met out of the Consolidated Fund.[1]
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(2) If in any year the revenue of the Bank is more than sufficient to defray the interest due to depositors and all expenses under this Ordinance, the Minister with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance1 may direct the transfer of the surplus or any portion thereof to the Consolidated Fund: [1]
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Provided that no such transfer shall be made unless the assets of the Bank will thereafter exceed the liabilities by not less than fifteen per centum of the liabilities to depositors.
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(3) If on the thirty-first day of December in any year the assets of the Bank exceed the liabilities by more than fifteen per centum of the liabilities to depositors, the Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister of Finance, direct that the surplus over fifteen per centum or any portion of such surplus, shall be transferred to the Consolidated Fund.[1]
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Moneys in name of married woman.
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15. Any deposit made in the Bank in the name of a married woman, or in the name of a woman who shall marry after such deposit, shall be deemed to be the separate property of such woman, and shall be accounted for and paid to her as if she were an unmarried woman:
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Provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall, as against the creditors of a husband, give protection to any deposit made by him in fraud of such creditors, and that any moneys so deposited may be followed as if this Ordinance had not been enacted.
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Moneys of deceased depositors.
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16. Where, upon the death of any depositor, there is any sum of money to his credit in the Bank, any officer or person who is authorized by or under this Ordinance to make payments to depositors may, if satisfied that the depositor died intestate and that letters of administration to the estate of such depositor are not required by any written law, pay such sum of money to the person or persons to whom such sum is required, in accordance with any regulation made in that behalf, to be paid :
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Provided that until regulations are made in that behalf, any such sum may be paid to the person or persons appearing to be legally entitled to the payment thereof.
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Exemption from stamp duty.
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17. No power, warrant, or letter of attorney given by any depositor in the Bank to any other person authorizing him to make any deposit of any sum of money in the Bank on behalf of the said depositor, or to sign any document or instrument required by any regulation to be signed on making such deposit, or to receive back any sum of money deposited in the Bank, or the dividends or interest arising therefrom, nor any receipt nor any entry in any book of receipts for money deposited in the Bank or for any money received by any depositor, his executors or administrators, assigns, attorneys, or agents, from the funds thereof, nor any draft or order, nor any appointment of any agent, nor any certificate or other instrument for the revocation of such appointment, nor any bond or other instrument or document whatsoever required or authorized to be given, issued, signed, made, or produced in pursuance of the provisions of this Ordinance, or of any regulation, shall be subject to, or be charged with, any stamp duty or duties whatsoever.
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Settlement of disputes.
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18. If any dispute arises between the Postmaster-General or the officer in charge of the business of the Bank at any post office, and any individual depositor therein, or any heir, executor or administrator of any depositor, or any creditor or assignee of any depositor who may become insolvent, or any person claiming to be such heir, executor, administrator, creditor or assignee or to be entitled to any money deposited in the Bank, then, and in every such case, the matter in dispute shall be referred to an arbitrator to be appointed by the Minister,[3] and whatever award, order or determination may be made by such arbitrator shall be binding and conclusive on all parties and shall be final to all intents and purposes without any appeal.
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Power to make deductions from accounts of depositors in the Bank.
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19.
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(1) Where at any time after the moneys due on a money order or postal order accepted from a depositor are collected and credited to that depositor’s account, the Bank is called upon to refund the moneys or any part thereof on the ground of any error or defect in title or fraud affecting the money order or postal order, the Bank shall be entitled to debit the amount of the refund so made to that depositor’s account.
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(2) The powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section shall not be deemed to be in derogation of the powers to recover moneys wrongly paid to any person in respect of any money order or postal order, conferred upon the Postmaster-General or any other officer of the post office by any other written law.
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Non-liability of Government and officers.
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20. When any payment is made or act done by the Postmaster-General or any person acting under his authority in accordance with this Ordinance or any regulation, the Government of Ceylon, the Postmaster-General and such person shall not be liable in respect of any claim on the part of any person in connexion with such payment or act, but any person may nevertheless recover any sum lawfully due to him, from the person to whom such sum may have been paid by or under the authority of the Postmaster-General.
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Names of depositors, & c, not to be disclosed.
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21.
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(1) Except in the performance of his duties under this Ordinance, or in due course of law or upon the direction of the Minister,[1] no officer or servant appointed under this Ordinance or employed in carrying out, or in assisting any officer or servant to carry out, the provisions of this Ordinance, shall disclose to any person the name of any depositor or the amount which may have been deposited or withdrawn by any depositor.
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(2) Any person contravening the provisions of subsection (1) 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.
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Power to make regulations.
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22.
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(1) The Minister[1] may make regulations for the administration and management of the Bank and generally for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Ordinance.
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(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), such regulations may-
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(a) provide for any matter which is in this Ordinance stated or required to be prescribed ;
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(b) prescribe limits of deposits ;
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(c) prescribe the modes of making deposits, and of withdrawing deposits and interest;
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(d) prescribe the modes of calculating interest on deposits ;
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(e) prescribe the time at which deposit books shall be returned to the Bank by depositors ;
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(f) regulate deposits by minors, guardians, trustees, married women, societies, bodies corporate, charitable bodies and other unincorporate bodies of persons acting collectively ;
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(g) prescribe conditions for the withdrawal of deposits by minors, guardians, trustees, married women, societies, bodies corporate, charitable bodies and other unincorporate bodies of persons acting collectively;
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(h) prescribe the modes of dealing with the deposits of deceased persons and persons of unsound mind ;
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(i) authorize the Postmaster-General to enter into an arrangement with the Post Office Savings Bank of the United Kingdom or with the savings bank of any of Her Majesty’s Realms and Territories, any protected state, or protectorate or any territory in respect of which a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations is being exercised by Her Majesty, or any foreign country, for the transfer of any sums standing to the credit of depositors from such savings banks to the Ceylon Post Office Savings Bank, and vice versa, and prescribe conditions for such transfers ;
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(j) prescribe penalties not exceeding a fine of one thousand rupees for the breach of any regulation ; and
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(k) provide for the forfeiture of deposits made in wilful contravention of this Ordinance or of any regulation.
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(3) No regulation shall have effect unless it has been approved by the Senate and the House of Representa tives. [1] Notification of such approval shall be published in the Gazette.
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(4) Every regulation shall, upon the publication in the Gazette of the notification required by subsection (3), be as valid and effectual as though it were herein enacted.
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Interpretation.
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23. In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires-
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” appointed date” means the 1st day of October, 1941 ;
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” Bank ” means the Ceylon Post Office Savings Bank ;
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“business of the Bank” includes the receipt of moneys paid as deposits, the transmission of such moneys to the head office of the Bank, the repayment of moneys deposited and of interest thereon, and all business incidental to such receipt, transmission and repayment;
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” Postmaster-General” and ” post office” have respectively the same meanings as in the Post Office Ordinance;
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” prescribed ” means prescribed by regulation ;
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” regulation” means a regulation made by the Minister [1] under this Ordinance ; and
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” trustees” means the trustees of the Bank, constituted by section 10.
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Savings and transitory provisions.
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24.
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(1) Notwithstanding the repeal of those provisions of the Post Office Ordinance which relate to the post office savings bank-
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(a) all rules, whether made or continuing in force under any of the provisions of the Post Office Ordinance which relate to the post office savings bank existing on the day immediately preceding the appointed date and which are in force on that day, shall, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, be deemed to be regulations made under this Ordinance, and shall continue in force accordingly, and may be varied, amended or repealed by regulations made under section 22;
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(b) every entry made in any depositor’s book before the appointed date under the provisions of any of the rules referred to in paragraph (a) and for the time being in force, shall be deemed to be an entry made under this Ordinance.
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(2)
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(a) All moneys and all securities whatsoever which may, on behalf of the post office savings bank existing on the day preceding the appointed date, be vested in, held by or in the possession of the trustees constituted under any written law in that behalf, shall on and after the appointed date be vested in, transferred to and held by the trustees constituted by this Ordinance.
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(b) All moneys and all securities whatsoever vested in, held by or in the possession of the Crown Agents on behalf of the post office savings bank existing on the day preceding the appointed date shall, on and after the appointed date, be deemed to be vested in, held by or in the possession of the Crown Agents for and on behalf of the trustees.
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