Investment Limited Partnerships Act, 1994

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PART V

Powers of the Bank

Maintenance of records and powers of authorised persons.

25.—(1) Every general partner and custodian shall keep at an office or offices within the State such books and records (including accounts) as may be specified from time to time by the Bank in the due discharge by the Bank of its statutory functions and shall notify the Bank of the address of every office at which such book or record is kept for the purposes of this Act.

(2) (a) An appropriate person duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Bank (in this section referred to as “an authorised person”) may, for the purpose of the performance by the Bank of its statutory functions and upon production of his authorisation, at all reasonable times, inspect and take copies of or extracts from, and make such enquiries as he may consider in relation to—

(i) the books and records kept pursuant to this Act by the general partner or custodian, and

(ii) any books of account relating to the general partner and custodian, and

(iii) any other document relating to the business of the investment limited partnership,

for those purposes enter any office to which subsection (1) relates and any other place where he reasonably believes any books, records or other documents as aforesaid are kept.

(b) A person who has in his power, possession or procurement any books, records or other documents aforesaid shall—

(i) produce them at the request of an authorised person and permit him to inspect and take copies of or extracts from them,

(ii) at the request of an authorised person, give any information which may be reasonably required with regard to them, and

(iii) give such other assistance and information to an authorised person as is reasonable in the circumstances.

(c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) shall apply to every general partner and custodian of an investment limited partnership and the provisions of those paragraphs, other than subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) shall apply to—

(i) every associated undertaking of the general partner or custodian, and

(ii) any other person associated with the investment limited partnership,

where an inspection of the accounts or other records is, in the opinion of the Bank, materially relevant to the proper appraisal of the business of an investment limited partnership during any period in respect of which an inspection or proposed inspection of the investment limited partnership relates.

(d) The Bank may direct that the expenses of and incidental to an authorised person carrying out functions under this section shall be defrayed by the person to whom this section applies and in respect of whom the section is operated.

(3) Books and records kept pursuant to this section shall be in addition to books or records required to be kept by or under any other enactment, and shall be retained for at least such period as the Bank may specify in respect of such book or record.

(4) (a) In this section, section 26 and section 27 —

“appropriate person” means—

(i) an officer of the Bank, or

(ii) in relation to any particular inspection (including a proposed inspection), any other person who in the opinion of the Bank possesses appropriate qualifications or experience to carry out the inspection, or any part thereof, to which this section relates;

“associated undertaking” means, as appropriate—

(i) a holding company of the general partner or custodian,

(ii) a subsidiary company of the general partner or custodian,

(iii) a company which is a subsidiary of a body corporate where the general partner or custodian concerned is also a subsidiary of a body corporate, but neither company is a subsidiary of the other,

(iv) in the case of a general partner or custodian any other body corporate that is not a subsidiary of the general partner or custodian but in respect of which the company is beneficially entitled to more than 20 per cent. in nominal value of either the allotted share capital or of the shares carrying voting rights (other than voting rights which arise only in specified circumstances) in that other body corporate,

(v) a partnership in which the general partner or custodian has an interest and whose business is, or at the relevant time was, in the opinion of the Bank, materially relevant to any inspection of the general partner or custodian being carried out or proposed to be carried out under this section;

“holding company” and “subsidiary company” have the meanings given to them by section 155 of the Companies Act, 1963 .

(b) References in this section to books, records or other documents or to any of them, shall be construed as including any document or information kept in a non-legible form (by the use of electronics or otherwise) which is capable of being reproduced in a legible form and all the electronic or other automatic means, if any, by which such document or information is so capable of being reproduced to which the person whose books, records or other such documents are inspected for the purposes of this Regulation, has access.

(5) Any person who is required to provide an authorised person with books, records or other documents under this section, or to give any information to an authorised person, and who fails to do so, or who knowingly provides an authorised person with information which is false, shall be guilty of an offence.