S.I. No. 394/1947 - Exchange Control Order, 1947.

STATUTORY RULES AND ORDERS. 1947. No. 394.

EXCHANGE CONTROL ORDER, 1947.

The Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by the Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946 (No. 22 of 1946), hereby order as follows:—

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Exchange Control Order, 1947.

(2) This Order shall come into operation as follows:—

(a) the following provisions shall come into operation on the days prescribed respectively in that behalf:

(i) paragraph (f) of Article 3,

(ii) paragraph (k) of Article 3,

(iii) paragraph (p) of Article 3, so far as that paragraph relates to exports to a destination not in the United States of America or Canada.

(iv) Article 5,

(b) the other provisions of this Order shall come into operation on the day on which this Order is made.

2. In this Order

the expression "authorised depositary" means a person authorised by the Minister by order to act as an authorised depositary for the purposes of this Order;

the expression "authorised officer" means a person authorised by the Minister by order to act as an authorised officer for the purposes of this Order;

the expression "bearer certificate" means a certificate of title to securities by the delivery of which, with or without endorsement, title to the securities is transferable;

the expression "certificate of title" means any document (not being a receipt by an authorised depositary for a document deposited pursuant to Article 5 of this Order) recognising or conferring, or containing evidence of, title or rights (whether actual or contingent) to securities and, in the case of any such document with coupons (whether attached or on separate coupon sheets), includes any coupons which have not been detached;

the word "coupon" means a coupon representing dividends or interest on a security;

the expression "foreign currency" means any currency or notes other than currency or notes issued by the Government or under the law of any part of the scheduled territories, and any reference to foreign currency includes, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, a reference to any right to receive foreign currency in respect of any credit or balance at a bank;

the word "gold" means gold coin or gold bullion;

the expression "Irish currency notes" means—

(a) legal tender notes, or

(b) consolidated bank notes, within the meaning of the Currency Act, 1927 (No. 32 of 1927), as amended by the Central Bank Act, 1942 (No. 22 of 1942);

the expression "the Minister" means the Minister for Finance:

the word "prescribed" means prescribed by the Minister by order;

the word "register" means any book, file or index in which securities are registered;

the word "registered" includes inscribed;

the expression "reserved securities" means securities declared by the Minister by order to be reserved securities for the purposes of this Order;

the expression "the scheduled territories" means—

(a) the State, and

(b) such other territories as the Minister may by order declare to be included for the purposes of this Order in the expression "the scheduled territories";

the word "securities" means shares, stocks, bonds, debentures, debenture stock, units under a unit trust scheme or shares in an oil royalty;

the expression "the United Kingdom" means the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

3. A person shall not do any of the following:

(a) buy, sell, lend or borrow gold or foreign currency;

(b) make, or commit himself to make, any payment to or by the order of or on behalf of any person resident outside the scheduled territories, or place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person resident outside the scheduled territories, or place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person resident within the scheduled territories by the order of or on behalf of any person resident outside the scheduled territories:

(c) make, or commit himself to make, any payment to a person resident in the scheduled territories, or place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person so resident as consideration for or in association with—

(i) the receipt by any person of a payment made outside the scheduled territories, the acquisition by any person of property which is outside the scheduled territories, the performance outside the scheduled territories of any service, or the importation into the State or any other of the scheduled territories of goods of a place or country of origin not being in the scheduled territories,

(ii) the transfer to any person, or the creation in favour of any person, of a right (whether present or future and whether actual or contingent) to receive a payment outside the scheduled territories, to acquire property which is outside the scheduled territories, to have performed outside the scheduled territories any service, or to import into the State or any other of the scheduled territories goods from a country of origin not being in the scheduled territories;

(d) lend any money or securities to any body corporate resident in the scheduled territories which is by any means controlled (whether directly or indirectly) by persons resident outside the scheduled territories;

(e) issue any security to a person resident outside the scheduled territories or who is a nominee of a person so resident;

(f) issue any bearer certificate or coupon or so alter any document that it becomes a bearer certificate or coupon;

(g) detach otherwise than in the normal course for collection any coupon from a certificate of title to securities with coupons (whether attached or on separate coupon sheets);

(h) transfer—

(i) any security, annuity or policy of assurance, or any rights to, interest in or power over any security, annuity or policy of assurance, to any person who is resident outside the scheduled territories or who is nominee for a person so resident,

(ii) any reserved security or any coupon, or any rights to, interest in or power over any reserved security or any coupon, to any person;

(i) accept a transfer of—

(i) any security, or any rights to, interest in or power over any security, from any person who is resident outside the scheduled territories or who is nominee for a person so resident, or

(ii) any reserved security or any coupon, or any rights to, interest in or power over, any reserved security or any coupon, from any person;

(j) do any act with intent to secure—

(i) that a security, being a security registered in the scheduled territories or transferable by means of a bearer certificate in the scheduled territories, becomes, or is replaced by, a security registered outside the scheduled territories or a security transferable by means of a bearer certificate outside the scheduled territories, or

(ii) that a certificate of title to any security, not being a security registered in the scheduled territories or transferable by means of a bearer certificate in the scheduled territories, is issued outside the scheduled territories in substitution for, or in addition to, a certificate of title thereto which is, or has been, lost or destroyed in the scheduled territories,

(iii) that capital moneys payable on a security registered in the scheduled territories are paid outside the scheduled territories or that, where the certificate of title to a security is in the scheduled territories, capital moneys payable on the security are paid outside the scheduled territories without production of the certificate to the person making the payment ;

(k) enter in any register the name or address of any person unless there has been produced to him the prescribed evidence that the entry does not form part of a transaction which involves the doing of anything prohibited by this Order ;

(l) do any act in relation to a register which recognises or gives effect to any act appearing to him to have been done contrary to the provisions of this Order, whether done by a resident of the State or not ;

(m) import from any place—

(i) any certificate of title to any reserved security, including any such certificate which has been cancelled and any document certifying the destruction, loss or cancellation of any certificate of title to a reserved security,

(ii) any coupon ;

(n) import from any place not in the United Kingdom any currency notes of such class or description, other than Irish currency notes, as may be declared by the Minister by order to be subject to the provisions of this paragraph ;

(o) export—

(i) to any place not in the United Kingdom

(I) any Irish currency notes,

(II) any notes issued by any bank in, or which are or have been legal tender in, any part of the scheduled territories,

(III) any foreign currency or any document of a kind intended to enable the person to whom it is issued to obtain foreign currency from some other person on the credit of the person issuing it,

(IV) any policy of assurance,

(V) any postal order,

(ii) to any place—

(I) any gold,

(II) any certificate of title to a reserved security, including any such certificate which has been cancelled and any document certifying the destruction, loss or cancellation of any certificate of title to a reserved security ,

(III) any coupon ;

(p) export goods of any class or description to a destination in any territory other than the scheduled territories unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners—

(i) that payment for the goods either has been made to a person in the State in the manner prescribed in relation to goods of that class or description exported to a destination in that territory or is to be so made not later than six months after the date of the exportation, and

(ii) that the amount of the payment that has been made or is to be made is such as to represent a return for the goods which is in all the circumstances satisfactory in the national interest.

4.—(1) A person who is entitled to sell or procure the sale of any foreign currency, being foreign currency declared by the Minister by order to be subject to the provisions of this paragraph, shall, notwithstanding any other provision of this Order, offer it, or cause it to be offered, for sale to the Minister in the prescribed manner and at such price as may for the time being be determined by the Minister.

(2) A person who has a right (whether present or future and whether actual or contingent) to receive any foreign currency, being foreign currency declared by the Minister by order to be subject to the provisions of this paragraph, or to receive any payment from a person resident outside the scheduled territories shall not do, or refrain from doing, any act with intent to secure—

(a) that the receipt by him of the whole or part of the currency or payment is delayed, or

(b) that the currency or payment ceases in whole or in part to be receivable by him.

5.—(1) A person by whom or to whose order (either directly or indirectly) a certificate of title to a reserved security is held shall cause the certificate to be kept at all times in the custody of an authorised depositary.

(2) For the purposes of this Article—

(a) a certificate of title shall be deemed not to be in the custody of an authorised depositary if he has no notice of the nature of the certificate or if it is in a locked or sealed receptacle from which he is not entitled to have it removed,

(b) a certificate of title shall be deemed to be in the custody of an authorised depositary if it is in the custody of another person who holds it by order of and on behalf of an authorised depositary.

(3) An authorised depositary shall not—

(a) release from his custody or destroy any certificate of title to a reserved security or any coupon, or

(b) do any act whereby he recognises or gives effect to the substitution of one person for another as the person from whom he receives an instruction in relation to a certificate of title to a reserved security.

(4) Capital monies, interest or dividends shall not be paid in the State on any reserved security except to, or to the order of, an authorised depositary having the custody of the certificate of title to that security.

(5) A person who deposits a certificate of title to a reserved security into the custody of an authorised depositary shall furnish to the authorised depositary such information as to the ownership of the certificate as the authorised depositary may require.

6.—(1) The Minister, if he so thinks proper, may, subject to such conditions as he may see fit to impose,—

(a) grant permission for the doing of any act prohibited by this Order, or

(b) grant exemption from compliance with any provision of this Order,

and such permission or exemption may be granted either generally or for the purpose of a particular transaction, and it shall be a good defence in any proceedings for an offence consisting of a contravention of this Order that the person charged acted in exercise of such permission or exemption.

(2) The Minister may, subject to compliance with such conditions as he sees fit to impose from time to time, authorise any person, or persons of any class or description, to grant permission and exemption on his behalf under paragraph (1) of this Article.

(3) A person who does any act prohibited by this Order in exercise of any permission granted under paragraph (1) of this Article, or who avails himself of any exemption so granted, shall comply with any conditions attached to the permission or exemption.

7. A person shall not do any act which either is calculated to facilitate or secure or is one of a series of acts which together are calculated to facilitate or secure the contravention of this Order.

8. For the purpose of satisfying themselves in the case of any goods as to the matters specified in paragraph (p) of Article 3 of this Order, the Revenue Commissioners may require the person making entry of the goods for export to deliver to the collector or other proper officer of customs together with the entry, such declarations signed by such persons as the Commissioners think fit, and where any such declaration has been so required, the goods shall not be exported until it has been delivered as aforesaid.

9. For the purpose of securing compliance with this Order or any Order made by the Minister under this Order, the Minister may direct any person to furnish, within such time and in such manner and to such person as may be specified in the direction, such information as may be so specified and to produce to the person so specified for inspection any relevant accounts, books and other documents.

10.—(1) A person (in this Article referred to as the traveller) who on any occasion is about to leave the State or arrives in the State shall, if on that occasion he is required to do so by an officer of customs and excise or an authorised officer—

(a) declare whether or not he has with him any thing prohibited to be exported or imported by Article 3 of this Order, and

(b) produce any such thing as aforesaid which he has with him,

and the officer may examine or search any article which the traveller has with him for the purpose of ascertaining whether he is conveying or has in his possession any such thing and, if the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the traveller has about his person any such thing, he may search the traveller, and the officer may seize anything produced as aforesaid or found upon such examination or search as aforesaid unless the traveller produces evidence showing that he is exporting or importing the thing in pursuance of permission granted to him under Article 6 of this Order.

(2) A female shall not be searched pursuant to this Article except by a female.

11. An officer of customs and excise or an authorised officer may, without warrant, search any luggage, goods or postal packets being imported or exported, or enter and search any vessel, vehicle or aircraft which has arrived in or is about to leave the State, to ascertain whether the luggage, goods or postal packets consist of or contain, or the vessel, vehicle or aircraft has in it, any things which are being imported or exported in contravention of Article 3 of this Order, and may seize any of those things found in such search unless there is produced to him evidence showing that the importation or exportation is being done in pursuance of permission granted under Article 6 of this Order.

12. Any things seized under this Order shall be dealt with in accordance with the directions of the Minister.

13. Where the Minister directs that, for all or any of the purposes of this Order, a person is to be treated as resident or not resident in a specified territory, such person shall be so treated.

14. The Orders specified in the Schedule to this Order are hereby revoked.

Article 14.

SCHEDULE.

Emergency Powers (No. 4) Order, 1939 (S. R. & O. No. 237 of 1939).

Emergency Powers (No. 29) Order, 1940 (S. R. & O. No. 166 of 1940).

Emergency Powers (No. 43) Order, 1940 (S. R. & O. No. 234 of 1940).

Emergency Powers (No. 44) Order, 1940 (S. R. & O. No. 235 of 1940).

Emergency Powers (No. 69) Order, 1941 (S. R. & O. No. 41 of 1941).

Emergency Powers (No. 76) Order, 1941 (S. R. & O. No. 129 of 1941).

Emergency Powers (No. 81) Order, 1941 (S. R. & O. No. 156 of 1941).

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government, this 5th day of December, 1947.

(Signed) ÉAMON DE VALÉRA,

Taoiseach