Finance Act, 1940

Savings certificates.

30.—(1) In order to remove doubts it is hereby declared and enacted as follows, that is to say:—

(a) the Savings Certificates Rules, 1926, made by the Minister for Finance on the 3rd day of December, 1926, shall be and be deemed always to have been valid and effective;

(b) all Certificates of the first issue issued under the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926, or deemed by those Rules to have been issued thereunder, shall be deemed to have been lawfully issued and the extensions made by the Minister for Finance in the years 1928 and 1933 respectively of the period of such Certificates shall be deemed to have been lawful and effective;

(c) the introduction by the Minister for Finance in the year 1931 of the second issue of Certificates and the issue in that year and subsequent years of such Certificates shall be deemed to have been lawful, and the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926, shall be deemed to apply and always to have applied, with the necessary modifications, to such Certificates;

(d) the introduction by the Minister for Finance in the year 1933 of the third issue of Certificates and the issue in that year and subsequent years up to the passing of this Act of such Certificates shall be deemed to have been lawful, and the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926, shall be deemed to apply and always to have applied, with the necessary modifications, to such Certificates;

(e) it shall be lawful for the Minister for Finance to continue, after the passing of this Act, to issue Certificates of the third issue, and the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to all such Certificates so issued;

(f) the reduction made by the Minister for Finance in the year 1933 of the maximum holding of Savings Certificates from five hundred unit Certificates to three hundred and fifty unit Certificates shall be and be deemed always to have been valid and effective and shall be deemed to have been made by way of amendment of the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926.

(2) The Minister for Finance may, whenever he so thinks proper, make rules (in addition to the Savings Certificates Rules, 1926) in relation to the issue of Savings Certificates and may by such rules make provision for any matter or thing relating to Savings Certificates for which it appears to him to be expedient to make provision by rules and, in particular, may by such rules amend, vary, or revoke (wholly or partially) the said Savings Certificates Rules, 1926.

(3) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to disputes arising between the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs and the holder of, or a person claiming to be entitled to, a Savings Certificate as to the ownership of such Certificate or the amount repayable in respect thereof, that is to say:—

(a) every such dispute shall be referred to and determined by the Registrar of Friendly Societies;

(b) on any such dispute being so referred, the said Registrar may proceed in the matter ex parte subject to his giving to the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs notice in writing of his intention so to do;

(c) on the hearing of any such dispute the said Registrar shall be entitled to receive evidence (whether oral or written), to administer oaths to witnesses, to summon witnesses, to require the production of documents, and to read and examine all documents produced to him;

(d) the award of the said Registrar on any such dispute shall be final and binding on all parties;

(e) no award of the said Registrar on any such dispute shall be chargeable with any stamp duty;

(f) the Minister for Finance may by order, if he so thinks fit, direct that there shall be charged by the said Registrar a fee or fees in respect of every such dispute heard and determined by him, and the said Minister may by any such order prescribe the amount of such fees, the persons by whom such fees shall be paid, and the manner in which such fees shall be collected and paid;

(g) the Minister for Finance may, at any time, by order amend or revoke any order made by him under the next preceding paragraph of this sub-section or under this paragraph;

(h) every fee paid in pursuance of an order made by the Minister for Finance under this sub-section shall be paid into or disposed of for the benefit of the Exchequer in such manner as the said Minister shall direct, and the Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply to any such fee.