Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1967

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Amendment of section 12 of Principal Act.

12.—Section 12 of the Principal Act, which relates to the grant of certificates of qualification, is hereby amended—

(i) by the insertion in subsection (1) after “subject to” of “compliance by the applicant with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section and to”, and

(ii) by the insertion after subsection (2) of the following subsections:

“(3) (a) An applicant for a certificate of qualification who has carried on the business of auctioneer or the business of house agent at any time in the period of twelve months ending six months before the date of the application (in this subsection referred to as the current application) shall furnish to the District Justice at the hearing of the current application a certificate signed by an accountant stating that he has examined the accounts of the applicant for such period as is specified in the certificate (being a period beginning, in the case of an applicant who has not previously furnished such a certificate, on the day of commencement of business or such other day as the District Justice may for special reasons allow, and, in any other case, on a day not later than the day immediately following the end of the period to which the last such certificate furnished by the applicant, or a certificate of the kind mentioned in subsection (4) (b) of this section, relates, and, in all cases, ending on a day not earlier than six months before the current application) and that the applicant has complied with the provisions of the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1967, relating to the keeping of accounts and to the opening and keeping of client accounts.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection, business carried on before the day of the coming intooperation of the said provisions shall be disregarded and where business has been so carried on that day shall be regarded as the day of commencement of business.

(c) Where the applicant has not carried on business throughout the period specified in paragraph (a) as the period to which the certificate should relate, the provisions of that paragraph shall be sufficiently complied with if the certificate relates to part of the period (being the part during which business was carried on) and it is proved to the satisfaction of the District Justice that business was not carried on except during that part of the period.

(d) In this subsection references to the business of auctioneer and to the business of house agent shall be construed as referring only to business to carry on which the applicant is required to be licensed under this Act.

(4) (a) The District Justice may, at his discretion, grant an application for a certificate of qualification notwithstanding that, because of failure to comply with the provisions of the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1967, relating to the keeping of accounts and to the opening and keeping of client accounts, the applicant is unable to furnish the certificate required by subsection (3) of this section, provided that the applicant proves to the satisfaction of the District Justice—

(i) that he is, at the time of the application, complying with the said provisions and has taken all necessary steps to comply with them for the future;

(ii) that no client has suffered or is liable to suffer loss in respect of any transactions during the period when the said provisions were not complied with; and

(iii) that, in relation to the business of auctioneer or the business of house agent (as the case may be) and any other business in which he may be engaged, he is solvent.

(b) Proof of the matters mentioned in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) of paragraph (a) shall in all cases include a certificate signed by an accountant in relation to the said matters and the District Justice may require additional evidence (including oral evidence by the accountant) to be adduced.

(c) A certificate for the purposes of paragraph (b) shall not be deemed to be insufficient by reason only of the fact that—

(i) an interval has elapsed between the issue of the certificate and the time of the application: provided that the interval does not exceed one month, or

(ii) the certificate, in so far as it relates to paragraph (a) (ii), indicates only that the accountant has no reason to believe that a client has suffered or is liable to suffer loss,

or by reason of both such facts.

(5) (a) The Minister may by order make such modification as he may think necessary in relation to the period to which the certificate signed by an accountant and mentioned in subsection (3) of this section shall relate, but any such modification shall not relieve an applicant from the requirement (imposed in certain cases by the said subsection (3)) to furnish a certificate relating to a period beginning on a day not later than the day immediately following the end of the period to which the last such certificate furnished by the applicant, or a certificate of the kind mentioned in subsection (4) (b) of this section, relates.

(b) The Minister may by order revoke or amend an order under this subsection.

(6) (a) The Minister may make regulations prescribing—

(i) the nature and extent of the examination to be made by an accountant of the books andaccounts of an auctioneer or house agent and of any other relevant documents, with a view to the giving of a certificate for the purposes of subsection (3) or a certificate for the purposes of subsection (4) (b), and

(ii) the form of such certificate,

and different regulations may be made in respect of the two types of certificate mentioned in subparagraph (i).

(b) Notwithstanding that an auctioneer or house agent has, during the period to be covered by a certificate required for the purposes of subsection (3), complied with the relevant provisions of the Auctioneers and House Agents Act, 1967, an accountant shall not issue a certificate for the purposes of that subsection if at the time of his examination matters come or have come to his notice from which it appears to him that the auctioneer or house agent is not solvent.

(7) Any person who acts as an accountant for the purposes of this section when not qualified in the manner indicated in paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) (as the case may be) of the following subsection shall be guilty of an offence and on summary conviction thereof shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £100.

(8) In this section ‘accountant’ means—

(a) where the auctioneer or house agent is a company, a person who is qualified for appointment as auditor of that company,

(b) in any other case, a person (not being a body corporate or the applicant or a partner or employee of the applicant) who fulfils either—

(i) the condition mentioned in paragraph (a), or

(ii) the condition mentioned in paragraph (b), of section 162 (1) of the Companies Act, 1963 , for appointment as auditor of a company and is not disqualified under section 162 (2) of that Act for being so appointed.”