Land Act, 1939

Land Bonds retained as a guarantee deposit.

10.—(1) Sub-section (3) of section 21 of the Land Act, 1931 , is hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted as follows, that is to say:—

(a) the dividends on land bonds for the time being retained as a guarantee deposit under the said section 21 and section 54 of the Land Act, 1933 , shall be retained with such land bonds and be available for the payments required by law (including this section) to be made thereout;

(b) notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing paragraph of this sub-section, the Judicial Commissioner may, on the application to him in the prescribed manner of any person claiming to be entitled to the dividends on any land bonds so retained, make such order as to the payment of the said dividends or otherwise as the justice of the case may require;

(c) where the Judicial Commissioner makes an order under the said section 21 releasing a guarantee deposit, he shall by such order release the dividends retained in pursuance of this section with the land bonds comprising such guarantee deposit.

(2) Where excess land bonds within the meaning of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936 , have been issued in respect of an estate and the funds lodged to the credit of that estate have been allocated (whether wholly or partly) and a guarantee deposit has been retained under section 21 of the Land Act, 1931 , as amended by section 54 of the Land Act, 1933 , the following provisions shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the said section 21 or any other enactment, that is to say:—

(a) if the amount of the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit is greater than the amount of the excess land bonds so issued, the Land Commission shall transfer from the said guarantee deposit to the adjustment account mentioned in the said section 11 of the Land Act, 1936 , an amount of land bonds equal to the amount of the excess land bonds so issued;

(b) if the amount of the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit is equal to or less than the amount of the excess land bonds so issued, the Land Commission shall transfer all the land bonds in the said guarantee deposit to the said adjustment account and the vendor or other person liable shall pay to the Land Commission in money the nominal value of an amount of land bonds equal to the difference (if any) between the amount of the excess land bonds so issued and the amount of the land bonds so transferred;

(c) paragraphs (b), (c), (d), and (e) of sub-section (2) of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936 , shall apply and have effect in relation to land bonds transferred to the said adjustment account under this sub-section in like manner as they apply and have effect in relation to land bonds transferred to the said adjustment account under the said section 11 ;

(d) where land bonds are transferred under this section from a guarantee deposit to the said adjustment account, if the cash in such guarantee deposit is more than the interest accrued on the land bonds so transferred from the date of the issue thereof to the last day for payment of dividends thereon before the said transfer, the Land Commission shall transfer to the said adjustment account so much of such cash as is equal to such interest, but, if the cash in such guarantee deposit is equal to or less than the said interest, the following provisions shall have effect that is to say:—

(i) the Land Commission shall transfer the whole of such cash to the said adjustment account, and

(ii) the balance (if any) of the said interest shall be met by the sale of all or a sufficient amount of the land bonds (if any) in such guarantee deposit not required to be transferred to the said adjustment account under the preceding paragraphs of this sub-section and by transfer of the net proceeds of such sale to the said adjustment account, and

(iii) any portion of the said interest remaining undischarged shall be paid by the vendor or other person who shall have received the dividends on the land bonds transferred under this sub-section from such guarantee deposit.

(3) Where excess land bonds within the meaning of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936 , have been issued in respect of an estate and the funds lodged to the credit of that estate have been allocated (whether wholly or partly) and either no guarantee deposit has been retained under section 21 of the Land Act, 1931 , as amended by section 54 of the Land Act, 1933 , or the guarantee deposit so retained is exhausted, the nominal amount of such excess land bonds shall be paid to the Land Commission in money by the vendor or other person liable.

(4) Where the vendor or other person is required by this section to pay to the Land Commission in money the nominal value or amount of any land bonds, such vendor or other person shall, with the said money, pay to the Land Commission in money a sum equal to the interest on the said land bonds from the date of the issue thereof to the date of the payment of the said money into the land bond fund in pursuance of the next following sub-section of this section.

(5) Money payable to the Land Commission under paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of this section (exclusive of so much of such money as represents interest on land bonds from the date of issue thereof to the last day for the payment of dividends thereon) shall be paid into the land bond fund and shall be disposed of as if it were money paid by a tenant-purchaser in redemption of a purchase annuity payable in respect of an advance made by the issue of land bonds, and thereupon the advance and the State contribution corresponding to the land bonds in respect of which the said money was so payable to the Land Commission shall be written off and cancelled by the Land Commission.

(6) In addition to the provisions mentioned in sub-section (2) of section 38 of the Land Act, 1933 , the provisions of section 11 of the Land Act, 1936 , and of this section shall apply to an order made under the said section 38.