Agricultural Credit Act, 1929

State liability for dividends on the capital of the Corporation.

7.—(1) Subject and without prejudice to the provisions of this Act in relation to the application of profits of the Corporation, the Corporation shall pay to its members dividends at the fixed rate of five per cent. per annum on the amount of its capital for the time being paid up and such dividends shall be paid by the Corporation half-yearly on such dates as shall be appointed for the purpose by the directors with the approval of the Minister.

(2) If, on any of the days appointed under this section for the payment of half-yearly dividends, the Corporation has not any or sufficient moneys available and applicable for payment of the dividends so payable on such day on all the shares of the Corporation which are on that day held by persons other than the Minister, the Corporation shall forthwith certify to the Minister the sum which with the moneys (if any) so available and applicable is required to pay such dividend on all such shares and upon receipt of such certificate the Minister shall pay to the Corporation the amount so certified by the Corporation and the moneys so paid to the Corporation shall be forthwith applied by the directors in or towards payment of the said dividends on such shares.

(3) If and when the Corporation is wound up the Minister shall be entitled in such winding-up to be paid out of the assets of the Corporation after the creditors of the Corporation have been paid in full the difference between the following sums, that is to say:—

(a) the aggregate of all moneys paid (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the Minister to the Corporation under section 7 of the Principal Act or under this section for the purpose of paying dividends on shares not held by the Minister, together with the aggregate deficiency below five per cent. per annum of the sums paid (whether before or after the passing of this Act) by the Corporation to the Minister in respect of dividends on shares for the time being held by him, together with the aggregate of all moneys theretofore paid by the Minister under any guarantee given by him under section 15 of the Principal Act, and

(b) the aggregate of all bonuses or extra dividends paid by the Corporation on B shares.

All moneys paid to the Minister under this section in the winding-up of the Corporation shall be paid into the Exchequer.

(4) This section shall come into force immediately on the division of the capital of the Corporation into A shares and B shares under the authority in that behalf conferred by this Act, and upon this section coming into force section 7 of the Principal Act shall be repealed as on and from the 5th day of April, 1928 (being the day on which the Corporation commenced business) and this section shall be deemed to have come into force on and shall have effect as on and from the said 5th day of April, 1928 and so much of the moneys advanced under sub-section (2) of the said section 7 by the Minister to the Corporation before the coming into force of this section as were so advanced for the purpose of the payment in whole or in part of dividends on shares held by the Minister and were applied in such payment shall for the purposes of this Act and of the accounts of the Corporation be deemed never to have been so advanced and so much of the said dividends as were paid with such moneys shall for the purposes aforesaid be deemed never to have been paid.