Prices (Amendment) Act, 1972

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Number 20 of 1972

PRICES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1972

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Number 20 of 1972

PRICES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1972

AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE PRICES ACTS, 1958 AND 1965. [24th July, 1972]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act—

“the Principal Act” means the Prices Act, 1958 ;

“the Acts” means the Prices Acts, 1958 and 1965.

(2) References in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment, including this Act.

Application of Acts to certain commodities and services previously excluded.

2.—(1) The Acts shall apply in relation to—

(a) activities carried on by railway undertakings and road transport undertakings, and

(b) prices for commodities, the prices for which are, or may be, controlled, regulated, or specified either under any other enactment or any instrument made thereunder, or in discharge of any statutory power, duty or function, and

(c) charges for services, the charges for which are, or may be, controlled, regulated, or specified either under any other enactment or any instrument made thereunder, or in discharge of any statutory power, duty or function, and

(d) charges for services wholly or partly of a professional character and remuneration under a contract of service for work wholly or partly of a professional character, and

(e) charges for services rendered in connection with insurance,

and, accordingly, in paragraph (a) of section 5 of the Principal Act “an air” is hereby substituted for “a railway, road, air” and paragraphs (b), (c) and (g) and “or insurance” in paragraph (h) of the said section 5 are hereby repealed.

(2) (a) A power—

(i) under any enactment, other than the Acts, or under any instrument made under such an enactment, or

(ii) arising in pursuance of a statutory power, duty or function,

to control, regulate or specify the price of a commodity or the charge for a service that is vested in a person other than the Minister of State in whom any such power under the Acts in relation to the commodity or service is vested shall not be exercised without the consent of that Minister.

(b) This subsection shall not apply in relation to a power vested in the Government or to any power to control, regulate or specify charges that is exercisable by statutory instrument made under—

(i) the Electoral Acts, 1923 to 1963,

(ii) the Seanad Electoral (University Members) Act, 1937 ,

(iii) the Presidential Elections Act, 1937 ,

or

(iv) the Referendum Act, 1942 .

Inquiry into and control of certain additions to prices.

3.—The Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in Part IIIA after section 22E (inserted by the Prices (Amendment) Act, 1965 ) of the following section:

“22F. (1) (a) The Minister may inquire into the amounts by which the prices at which any specified commodity is sold in the course of business by persons engaged in trade or commerce, being importers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers or retailers of that commodity or any other specified class of such persons, exceed the prices at which that commodity is bought by those persons and may by order fix the maximum such amounts, and different amounts may be fixed in relation to different classes of such persons.

(b) Amounts referred to in paragraph (a) may be specified in an order under this subsection in such manner (including the setting out of provisions by means of which they may be ascertained) and by reference to such matters as the Minister may think appropriate.

(2) (a) The Minister may by order fix the maximum amount which may be added to the prices of or charges for commodities or services in respect of any tax on those commodities or services by persons accountable to the Revenue Commissioners for that tax and the Minister may fix different such amounts for different commodities or services or for different classes of such persons or for both, or may fix different such amounts in respect of different quantities, measured by value, of a commodity or commodities or a service or services sold or rendered by such person.

(b) Amounts may be specified in an order under this section in such manner (including the setting out of provisions by means of which they may be ascertained) and by reference to such matters as the Minister thinks appropriate.”.

Application of Acts to interest and other charges under hire-purchase and credit-sale agreements.

4.—(1) The Acts shall apply in relation to interest charged and any other charges made under hire-purchase agreements or credit-sale agreements in connection with the letting or sale of goods under such agreements and any letting or sale under a hire-purchase agreement or a credit-sale agreement shall be deemed, for the purposes of those Acts, to be a service and the making of a hire-purchase agreement or a credit-sale agreement by an owner of goods and another person shall be deemed, for those purposes, to be a rendering of a service by the owner to the other person.

(2) In this section “hire-purchase agreement” and “credit-sale agreement” have the same meanings as in the Hire-Purchase Acts, 1946 and 1960.

Miscellaneous amendments of Principal Act.

5.—(1) Section 18 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (c) after “the State” of “or to a particular class of person”.

(2) Section 19 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) the substitution of “or rendering any service” for “specified in the Third Schedule to this Act”,

(b) the substitution for “in a specified manner the retail price charged by him for that commodity” of the following:

“in a specified manner—

(a) the retail price (stated as a single amount and inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the commodity) charged by him for that commodity, or

(b) the charge (stated as a single amount and inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the service) charged by him for that service,

as the case may be”, and

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(2) (a) The Minister may from time to time by order—

(i) require that where, for the purposes of or in connection with the sale by retail by a person of a commodity, the retail price of the commodity is stated orally by the person or by a servant or agent of the person or is stated on the commodity or on any container or wrapper in which the commodity is packed or on a ticket or label attached to the commodity or to such container or wrapper or in a catalogue or advertisement or in a notice or other document (other than an invoice), the price so stated shall be stated as a single amount inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the commodity, and

(ii) require that where, for the purposes of or in connection with the rendering of a service by a person, the charge for the service is stated orally by the person or by a servant or agent of the person or is stated in any catalogue or advertisement or in a notice or other document (other than an invoice) the charge so stated shall be stated as a single amount inclusive of any charge made by the person for any tax payable in respect of the service.

(b) (i) Where a statement (other than an oral statement) to which an order under paragraph (a) of this subsection applies is not in conformity with the provisions of the order, the person selling by retail the commodity to which the statement relates or, as the case may be, rendering the service to which the statement relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 22 of this Act, to have contravened the provisions of the order.

(ii) Where an oral statement to which an order under the said paragraph (a) applies is not in conformity with the provisions of the order, the person who made the statement shall be deemed for the purposes of the said section 22, to have contravened the provisions of the order.”.

(3) Section 22 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (b) after “display” of “or renders a service for a greater charge than that shown in any such list,”.

(4) Section 22A (1) (inserted by the Prices (Amendment) Act, 1965 ) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) by order require persons engaged in selling commodities, rendering services or carrying out (other than under a contract of service) work or a process to notify the Minister of any increase they propose to make in the prices at which they sell the commodities or the charges which they make for rendering the services or carrying out the work or process, as the case may be, and require the notification to be given to the Minister not later than such time before the increase takes effect as may be specified in the order,”.

(5) Section 22C (2) (inserted by the Prices (Amendment) Act, 1965 ) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion in paragraph (c) after “the State” of “or to a particular class of person,”.

(6) Section 23 (1) of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the insertion after “thinks fit” of “and such and so many other persons as he thinks fit”.

Transfer of functions under Acts.

6.—(1) The Government may by order, whenever they so think proper, transfer from any Minister of State having charge of a Department of State to any other Minister of State having charge of a Department of State any power, duty or function that—

(a) relates to any specified commodity, specified service (including a service wholly or partly of a professional character), specified work or specified process, and

(b) is vested in the first-mentioned Minister of State by or under the Acts or by or under the Acts and an order under this section.

(2) An order under subsection (1) of this section may make all such adaptations of enactments and documents as shall appear to the Government to be consequential upon anything done by them under the said subsection (1).

(3) The Government may by order revoke or amend an order under this section, including an order under this subsection.

(4) Whenever a power, duty or function is transferred by order under this section to a Minister having charge of a Department of State, the administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of the power, duty or function shall be deemed to be allocated to the said Department of State and the order may make all such transfers of officers and property and do all such other things as shall be incidental to or consequential on such allocation of administration and business.

Dissolution of Prices Advisory Committees Panel.

7.—(1) The Prices Advisory Committees Panel is hereby dissolved.

(2) The Second Schedule to the Principal Act shall have effect as if—

(a) the following paragraphs were substituted for paragraphs 1 and 2:

“1. (1) Where a person who is a member of an Advisory Committee becomes a member of either House of the Oireachtas, he shall, upon his becoming entitled, under the Standing Orders of that House, to sit therein, cease to be a member of that Advisory Committee.

(2) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein shall be disqualified from being a member of an Advisory Committee.

2. A person who is a member of an Advisory Committee shall be disqualified from being and shall cease to be a member of that Advisory Committee if he—

(a) is adjudged bankrupt or makes a composition with his creditors, or

(b) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to suffer imprisonment or penal servitude, or

(c) ceases to be ordinarily resident in the State.”,

(b) in paragraph 3 “from persons who, at the time of appointment, are members of the Panel” were deleted,

(c) in paragraph 4 (2) (c) “person” were substituted for “member of the Panel”,

(d) paragraph 5 (2) (b) were deleted,

(e) in paragraph 6 “a person to fill the vacancy” were substituted for “to fill the vacancy a person who is for the time being a member of the Panel” and

(f) in paragraph 8 (b) “from the Panel” were deleted.

Increase of penalties under Principal Act.

8.—The following section is hereby substituted for section 26 of the Principal Act:

“Every person who commits or is deemed to have committed an offence under any section of this Act shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £100 (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a fine not exceeding £10 for every day on which the offence is continued, but not exceeding £100 in total) or, at the discretion of the court, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £500 (together with, in the case of a continuing offence, a fine not exceeding £50 for every day on which the offence is continued) or, at the discretion of the court, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both such fine and such imprisonment.”.

Duration of price stabilisation orders.

9.—(1) Section 22A (inserted by the Prices (Amendment) Act, 1965 ) is hereby amended by the substitution for subsections (3) and (4) of the following subsection:

“(3) The Government may by order amend or revoke an order made by the Government under this section, including this subsection.”.

(2) If, at the passing of this Act, there is in force an order made by the Government under the said section 22A (not being an order expressed to remain in force for a period of less than six months), the order shall, subject to any amendment thereof by order under subsection (3) (inserted by this section) of that section, continue in force until such time as it is revoked by order under the said subsection (3).

Offences in relation to advisory committees.

10.—The Second Schedule to the Principal Act shall have effect as if the following subparagraph were substituted for subparagraph (4) of paragraph 12:

“(4) If any person—

(a) on being duly summoned before an Advisory Committee makes default in attending, or

(b) being in attendance as a witness refuses to take an oath legally required to be taken by him, or to produce any document in his power or control legally required to be produced by him, or to answer any question to which that Advisory Committee may legally require an answer, or

(c) does any thing which if that Advisory Committee were a court of justice having power to commit for contempt of court, would be contempt of such court,

that person shall be guilty of an offence and sections 26 to 28 of this Act shall apply in relation to the offence as if it were an offence under a section of this Act.”.

Short title and collective citation.

11.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Prices (Amendment) Act, 1972.

(2) The Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Prices Acts, 1958 to 1972.