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Chapter VII.
Supplemental Provisions.
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Agreed charges by transport undertakers for the carriage of merchandise.
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102.—(1) Where—
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(a) a transport undertaker agrees with a trader for the carriage of any of his merchandise at certain rates and subject to certain conditions (which said rates and conditions are in this section referred to as agreed charges), and
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(b) the agreed charges are, on the application of the transport undertaker, approved by the Minister under this section,
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then, so long as the agreed charges are operative, the transport undertaker may, notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding Chapters of this Part or in any other enactment, make as respect the trader the agreed charges.
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(2) The following provisions shall apply in relation to an application to the Minister for his approval of agreed charges, that is to say:—
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(a) the application shall contain particulars of the agreed charges,
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(b) the applicant shall publish, in accordance with the directions of the Minister, notice of the application and particulars as to the time and manner in which objections may be made to the Minister in respect of the application by any traders who consider that their businesses will be detrimentally affected if the Minister approves of the agreed charges and the agreed charges are made,
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(c) the Minister may, if he thinks fit, refer the application to the Advisory Committee for their report,
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(d) the Minister, after consideration of the application, any objections duly made in relation to the application, and, in case he has referred the application to the Advisory Committee, their report and advice, may, subject to paragraph (e) of this subsection, approve or refuse to approve of the agreed charges,
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(e) the Minister shall not approve of the agreed charges unless he is satisfied that they represent a reasonable commutation of the rates and charges otherwise ordinarily applicable to the applicant's carryings of the merchandise of the trader concerned.
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(3) Where the Minister approves of agreed charges he shall fix the date on which they are to come into operation and the period for which they are to remain in operation, and the agreed charges shall come into operation accordingly and shall remain in operation only for the period so fixed unless continued for any further period or periods by the Minister who is hereby authorised in that behalf.
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(4) Where agreed charges as between a transport undertaker and a trader have been approved by the Minister, the Minister may, on his own initiative or on the application made, within twelve months after such approval, by any other trader who satisfies the Minister that the applicant's business has been detrimentally affected by the agreed charges and after considering any representations made by the transport undertaker and, in case he has referred (which he is hereby authorised to do) the application to the Advisory Committee, their report and advice, by order fix on the same basis as the agreed charges the charges (including the conditions to be attached thereto) to be made by the transport undertaker for the carriage of such merchandise of the applicant as the Minister may determine, and shall by the order fix the period (which shall not exceed that for which the agreed charges are to remain in operation) during which the order is to remain in operation, and such order shall authorise, notwithstanding anything contained in the previous Chapters of this Part or in any other enactment, and oblige the transport undertaker to make while the order is in force charges for the carriage of merchandise of the applicant in accordance with the terms of the order.
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(5) The transport undertaker concerned shall cause particulars of any agreed charges or charges fixed by order under subsection (4) of this section to be available for public inspection at the head office of the transport undertaker and such other places as the Minister may require.
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(6) If a transport undertaker fails to comply with subsection (5) of this section the transport undertaker shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five pounds and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding five pounds for every day on which the offence is continued.
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(7) In this section the expression “transport undertaker” means any body being—
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(a) a railway company,
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(b) the Company, or
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(c) a canal undertaker.
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