Exchange control act, 1954

Act Number30
Enactment Date09 December 1954


Number 30 of 1954.


EXCHANGE CONTROL ACT, 1954.


ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Section

1.

Short title.

2.

Commencement and duration.

3.

Interpretation.

PART II.

Dealings in Gold and Foreign Currency.

4.

Dealings in gold and foreign currency.

PART III.

Payments.

5.

Restrictions on payments to persons resident outside the scheduled territories.

6.

Restrictions on payments to persons resident in the scheduled territories.

7.

Payments, etc., by authorised dealers.

PART IV.

Securities.

8.

Issue of securities.

9.

Transfer of securities, annuities and policies of assurance.

10.

Issue of bearer certificates and coupons.

11.

Substitution of securities and certificates outside the scheduled territories.

12.

Payment of capital moneys outside the scheduled territories.

13.

Duties of persons keeping registers.

14.

Deposit of securities.

PART V.

Import and Export.

15.

Restrictions on import.

16.

Restrictions on export.

17.

Payment for exports.

PART VI.

Enforcement.

18.

Application of the Customs Acts.

19.

Search and seizure.

20.

Offences, prosecutions and punishments.

21.

Continued non-compliance.

22.

Summary proceedings.

PART VII.

Miscellaneous.

23.

Collection of debts.

24.

Restriction on certain loans.

25.

Permissions.

26.

Directions.

27.

Exemptions.

28.

Delegation.

29.

Service.

30.

Regulations.

31.

Additional authorised dealers and authorised depositaries.

32.

Application to the State.

33.

Expenses and disposal of moneys received.

34.

Repeal and transitional provisions.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

Authorised Dealers.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Authorised Depositaries.

THIRD SCHEDULE.

Reserved Securities.


Acts Referred to

Finance Act, 1938

No. 25 of 1938

Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951

No. 17 of 1951

Supplies and Services (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1946

No. 22 of 1946


Number 30 of 1954.


EXCHANGE CONTROL ACT, 1954.


AN ACT TO CONFER POWERS, AND IMPOSE DUTIES AND RESTRICTIONS, IN RELATION TO GOLD, CURRENCY, PAYMENTS, SECURITIES, DEBTS, AND THE IMPORT, EXPORT AND TRANSFER OF PROPERTY, AND FOR PURPOSES CONNECTED WITH THE MATTERS AFORESAID. [9th December, 1954.]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I.

Preliminary and General.

Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Exchange Control Act, 1954.

Commencement and duration.

2.—(1) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.

(2) This Act shall continue in operation until the 31st day of December, 1958, and shall then expire.

Interpretation.

3.—In this Act—

“authorised dealer” means a person specified in the First Schedule or prescribed under section 31;

“authorised depositary” means a person specified in the Second Schedule or prescribed under section 31;

“authorised officer” means an immigration officer or a member of the Garda Síochána;

“bearer certificate” means a certificate of title to securities by the delivery of which, with or without endorsement, title to the securities is transferable;

“certificate of title” means any document (not being a receipt by an authorised depositary for a document deposited) recognising or conferring or containing evidence of title or rights (whether actual or contingent) to securities and, in the case of any such document with coupons (whether attached to the document or on separate coupon sheets), includes any coupons which have not been detached;

“country of origin” means, in the case of natural products, the country where the goods were produced and, in the case of manufactured products, the country where they were transformed into the condition in which they were introduced into the State (packing, repacking, sorting or blending being regarded as not constituting transformation);

“coupon” means a coupon representing dividends or interest on a security;

“foreign currency” means any currency or notes other than currency or notes issued by the Government or under the law of any part of the scheduled territories, and any reference to foreign currency includes, except in so far as the context otherwise requires, a reference to any right to receive foreign currency in respect of any credit or balance at a bank;

“gold” means gold coin or gold bullion;

“the Minister” means, subject to section 28, the Minister for Finance;

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations;

“register” means any book, file or index in which securities are registered;

“registered” includes inscribed;

“reserved securities” means securities specified in the Third Schedule;

“the scheduled territories” means—

(a) the State,

(b) Northern Ireland, Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, and

(c) such other territories as may be prescribed;

“securities” means shares, stocks, bonds, debentures, debenture stock, units under a unit trust scheme or shares in an oil royalty;

“specified currency” has the meaning assigned to it in section 4;

“unit trust scheme” means any arrangement made for the purpose, or having the effect, of providing for persons having funds available for investment, facilities for the participation by them, as beneficiaries under a trust, in profits or income arising from the acquisition, holding, management or disposal of any property whatsoever;

“unit” means, in relation to a unit trust scheme, a right or interest which may be acquired under the scheme.

PART II.

Dealings in Gold and Foreign Currency.

Dealings in gold and foreign currency.

4.—(1) Except with the permission of the Minister, a person, other than an authorised dealer, shall not buy or borrow any gold or foreign currency from, or sell or lend any gold or foreign currency to, any person other than an authorised dealer.

(2) The buying, borrowing, selling or lending of gold or foreign currency by an authorised dealer shall be subject to such directions as may be given by the Minister under section 26.

(3) (a) Every person who is entitled to sell, or procure the sale of, any foreign currency to which this subsection applies, and is not an authorised dealer, shall offer it, or cause it to be offered, for sale to an authorised dealer at such price as may for the time being be determined by the Minister, unless the Minister permits his retention and use thereof or he disposes thereof to any other person with the permission of the Minister.

(b) The foreign currency to which this subsection applies is such foreign currency (in this Act referred to as “specified currency”) as may be prescribed.

PART III.

Payments.

Restrictions on payments to persons resident outside the scheduled territories.

5.—Except with the permission of the Minister, a person shall not—

(a) make, or commit himself to make, any payment to or by the order of or on behalf of any person resident outside the scheduled territories, or

(b) place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person so resident.

Restrictions on payments to persons resident in the scheduled territories.

6.—Except with the permission of the Minister, a person shall not—

(a) place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person resident in the scheduled territories by the order of or on behalf of any person resident outside those territories, or

(b) make, or commit himself to make, any payment to a person resident in the scheduled territories, or place, or promise to place, any sum to the credit of any person so resident as consideration for or in association with—

(i) the receipt by any person of a payment made outside the scheduled territories, the acquisition by any person of property which is outside the scheduled territories, the performance outside the scheduled territories of any service, or the importation into the State or any other of the scheduled territories of goods of a country of origin not being in the scheduled territories, or

(ii) the transfer to any person, or the creation in favour of any person, of a right (whether present or future, and whether actual or contingent) to receive a payment outside the scheduled territories, to acquire property which is outside the scheduled territories, to have performed outside the scheduled territories any service, or to import into the State or any other of the scheduled territories goods of a country of origin not being in the scheduled territories.

Payments, etc., by authorised dealers.

7.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an authorised dealer may, in accordance with a direction given by the Minister under section 26—

(a) make, or commit himself to make, payments to or by the order of persons resident outside the scheduled territories or place, or promise to place, sums to the credit of such persons, or

(b) effect any other transaction in the normal course of banking business.

PART IV.

Securities.

Issue of securities.

8.—Except with the permission of the Minister, a person shall not issue any security to a person who is resident outside the scheduled territories or who is a nominee of a person so resident.

Transfer of securities, annuities and policies of assurance.

9.—(1) Except with the permission of the Minister, a person shall not transfer—

(a) any security, annuity or policy of assurance, or any...

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