European Union (Requirements for Credit Transfers and Direct Debits in Euro) Regulations 2013

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 132/2013
• Year: 2013

CONTENTS

Regulation

PART 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Purpose of these Regulations

PART 2

ENFORCEMENT OF SEPA REGULATION

4. Bank to be competent authority for purposes of SEPA Regulation and these Regulations

5. Bank’s power to give directions

6. Bank’s power to appoint authorised officers

7. Powers of authorised officers

8. Warrant required to enter premises in certain cases

9. Offences to obstruct authorised officer in exercise of officer’s powers

10. Liability of directors and others for offences committed by corporate bodies or on behalf of unincorporated bodies

11. Penalties for offences under this Part

12. Prosecution of offences

13. Infringements of SEPA Regulation

PART 3

COMPLAINT AND OUT-OF-COURT REDRESS PROCEDURES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES

14. Jurisdiction of Financial Services Ombudsman

15. Complaints to Financial Services Ombudsman

16. Bank to inform complainant about available out-of-court redress procedure

17. Financial Services Ombudsman required to co-operate with competent authorities of other Member States

18. Existence of complaints procedure not to affect right to bring legal proceedings

PART 4

MISCELLANEOUS

19. Bank to issue guidelines

20. Bank not precluded from investigating matters concerning alleged infringements of SEPA Regulation

21. Consequential amendments of Central Bank Act 1942

S.I. No. 132 of 2013

EUROPEAN UNION (REQUIREMENTS FOR CREDIT TRANSFERS AND DIRECT DEBITS IN EURO) REGULATIONS 2013

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 19th April, 2013.

I, MICHAEL NOONAN, Minister for Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving full effect to Regulation (EU) No. 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 20121 , hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY PROVISIONS

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Requirements for Credit Transfers and Direct Debits in Euro) Regulations 2013.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 15th March 2013.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Bank” means Central Bank of Ireland;

“Financial Services Ombudsman” means the person holding office as such under Part VIIB of the Central Bank Act 1942 (No. 22 of 1942);

“payment service provider” means—

(a) a payment service provider falling under any of the categories referred to in Article 1(1), or

(b) a legal or natural person referred to in Article 26,

of Directive 2007/64/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 20072 but excludes the bodies which are listed in Article 2 of Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 20063 benefiting from a waiver under Article 2(3) of the first mentioned Directive;

“payment service user” means a natural or legal person making use of a payment service in the capacity of payer or payee, or both;

“relevant records” means records of information, however compiled, recorded or stored, and includes—

(a) any book, a register and any other document containing information, and

(b) any disc, tape or other article from which information is capable of being produced in any form capable of being reproduced visually or aurally,

relating to the business of a payment services provider;

“search warrant” means a search warrant issued under Regulation 8;

“SEPA” means the single euro payments area;

“SEPA Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 establishing technical and business requirements for credit transfers and direct debits in euro and amending Regulation (EC) No 924/20091.

(2) A word or expression used in the SEPA Regulation and also these Regulations has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the SEPA Regulation.

Purpose of these Regulations

3. The purpose of these Regulations is to supplement the SEPA Regulation as regards its application to the State.

PART 2

ENFORCEMENT OF SEPA REGULATION

Bank to be competent authority for purposes of SEPA Regulation and these Regulations

4. (1) The Bank is the competent authority in the State for the purposes of the SEPA Regulation and these Regulations.

(2) The Bank shall monitor compliance with the SEPA Regulation effectively and take all necessary measures to ensure compliance.

Bank’s power to give directions

5. (1) Where the Bank considers it necessary to do so in the interests of the proper and orderly supervision of payment services, it may give a direction in writing to a payment service provider for the purpose of securing effective compliance with the SEPA Regulation.

(2) A direction under paragraph (1)—

(a) takes effect on the date, or on the occurrence of the event, specified in the direction, and

(b) ceases to have effect on the earlier of—

(i) the date, or the occurrence of the event, specified in the direction for the purpose, or

(ii) the end of the period of 12 months immediately following the day on which the direction took effect.

(3) A payment service provider to whom a direction is given under paragraph (1) shall comply with the direction within such reasonable period as may be specified in the direction.

(4) If a direction under this Regulation is not or has not been complied with or is, in the opinion of the Bank, unlikely to be complied with, the Bank may apply to the High Court in a summary manner for an order enforcing the direction.

(5) At the hearing of an application made under paragraph (4), the High Court may make such order as it considers appropriate in the circumstances (including an order dismissing the application).

(6) A decision under this Regulation to give a direction to a payment service provider is an appealable decision for the purposes of Part VIIA of the Central Bank Act 1942 (No. 22 of 1942).

Bank’s power to appoint authorised officers

6. (1) The Bank may, in writing, appoint persons as authorised officers for the purposes of monitoring compliance with the SEPA Regulation.

(2) The Bank may, at any time in writing, revoke the appointment of an authorised officer appointed under this Regulation.

(3) Subject to paragraph (2), the appointment of an authorised officer under this Regulation may be for a specified or an indefinite period or for a specified purpose.

(4) The Bank shall provide every authorised officer with a certificate of appointment as such.

(5) An appointment made under this Regulation ceases—

(a) if the Bank revokes the appointment, at the time of revocation,

(b) if the person appointed dies, at the time of death,

(c) if the appointment is for a specified period, at the end of that period,

(d) if the appointment is for a specified purpose, on the completion of that purpose, or

(e) if the person appointed is, when appointed, an officer of the Bank, when the person ceases to be such an officer.

Powers of authorised officers

7. (1) An authorised officer may do all or any of the following for the purpose of monitoring compliance with the SEPA Regulation:

(a) enter premises at which the officer reasonably believes that a payment service provider is carrying on, or has carried on, business as such or where relevant records are kept;

(b) search and inspect the premises, and any relevant records kept on the premises;

(c) secure for later inspection any part of the premises in which relevant records are kept or in which the officer reasonably believes relevant records are kept;

(d) require a person who carries on the business of a payment service provider, and any person employed in connection with such a business, to produce to the officer relevant records, and if any of those records are in a non-legible form to reproduce them in a legible form, or to give the officer such information as the officer reasonably requires regarding entries in them;

(e) inspect and take copies of relevant records...