CHAPTER
339
PRICE CONTROL |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Establishment of Prices Commission. |
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Minister may delegate functions. |
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Minister may authorise purchase, sale, etc., of
goods. |
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Restriction on disclosure of information. |
Provisions relating to offences. |
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SCHEDULE - Constitution and procedure of the Prices
Commission. |
CHAPTER 339 |
PRICE CONTROL |
An Act to
provide for the control and regulation of the price of goods and services and
for matters incidental thereto or connected therewith. | 13 of 1971
7 of 1972
E.L.A.O., 1974
1 of 1984
25 of 1995
3 of 2000
S.I. 128/2001 |
[Assent 19th July,
1971]
[Commencement 30th July, 1971] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Price Control Act. | Short title. |
2. For the purposes of this Act- | Interpretation. |
"Commission"
means the Prices Commission established under section 4; |
"goods"
includes all kinds of goods, produce, wares, merchandise, substances and
animals. |
"Government"
means the Government of The Bahamas; |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for Consumer Protection; |
"section"
means section of this Act; |
"services"
includes all professional, technical and other services made available to
members of the public for fee or reward, but does not include any services
rendered to an employer by an employee under a contract of service
or any telecommunications services, as defined in the Telecommunications Act. |
3. (1) The Minister may make regulations for all or any
of the following purposes, that is to say, for maintaining, controlling or
regulating the supply of goods or services so as to- | Regulations. |
(a) secure a
sufficiency of goods and services essential to the well being of the community,
their equitable distribution and their availability at fair prices; and |
(b) ensure
generally that the resources available to the community are used in a manner
calculated to serve the interest of the community. |
(2) Without
prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, any regulations
made thereunder may- |
(a) regulate
the distribution, purchase or sale of goods or any class or description of
goods; |
(b) control the
prices at which services or any class or description of services may be
provided or made available and at which goods or any class or description of
goods may be sold, whether by wholesale or retail; |
(c) provide
that any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any such regulation
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to- |
(i) a
fine not exceeding five thousand dollars; or |
(ii) imprisonment
for a term not exceeding twelve months; |
(d) provide for
matters incidental or supplementary to the purposes set out in this section. |
4. (1) For the purposes of this Act there is hereby
established a Prices Commission. | Establishment of Prices Commission. |
(2) The provisions
of the
Schedule shall have effect with respect to the constitution of the Commission
and otherwise in relation thereto. |
5. The function of the Commission shall be to advise
and assist the Minister on matters relating to the control of prices of goods
and services in The Bahamas and otherwise in relation to the exercise of his
functions under the provisions of this Act. | Function of Commission. |
6. The Minister may by instrument in
writing delegate to the Commission or to a public officer any of his functions
under this Act other than the making of regulations, either generally or in
relation to a specified district in The Bahamas, and any such delegation- | Minister may delegate functions. |
(a) may be made
subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister thinks fit; |
(b) while in
force shall not prevent the discharge by the Minister of the function thereby
delegated; and |
(c) may at any
time be revoked by the Minister. |
7. (1) The Commission may of its own motion or in
consequence of a complaint made by any person in respect of the prices charged
for goods or for the supply of services, make investigation into such prices or
into any other matter relating to the functions delegated to it by the Minister
and shall report the result of any such investigation to the Minister. | Power to investigate. |
(2) The Commission
may, where it thinks it expedient for the purpose of any investigation under
subsection (1) of this section, by notice in writing signed by the chairman of
the Commission- |
(a) require any
person to attend at a time and place specified in the notice and to give
evidence to the Commission; |
(b) require any
person to produce at a time and place specified in the notice, to the
Commission or to any public officer authorised by the Commission for the
purpose, any documents specified or described in the notice, being documents
which are in his custody or under his control and relate to any matter relevant
to the investigation; |
(c) require any
person carrying on or employed in connection with carrying on any trade or
business or with the supply of services to furnish to the Commission such
estimates, returns or other information as may be specified or described in the
notice and specify the time, manner and form in which any such estimates,
returns or information are to be furnished. |
(3) A person upon
whom a notice under subsection (2) of this section is served shall- |
(a) be bound to
comply with the notice; |
(b) be
entitled, when appearing before the Commission, to the same rights and
privileges as a witness enjoys before a court of law; |
(c) in the
discretion of the Commission, be paid such expenses, including travelling
expenses, at such rates as may be prescribed. |
(4) Any person
who- |
(a) without
reasonable excuse, refuses or fails to do anything duly required of him by
notice under subsection (2) of this section; |
(b) being a
witness at an investigation under subsection (1) of this section, leaves the
investigation without the permission of the Commission; |
(c) being a
witness at such an investigation, refuses, without sufficient cause, to answer
any question put to him by or with the permission of the Commission or wilfully
obstructs or interrupts the proceedings of the Commission; |
(d) wilfully
alters, suppresses or destroys any document which he is required to produce by
notice under the said subsection (2) of this section; or |
(e) in
furnishing any estimate, return or other information required of him by a
notice under the said subsection (2) of this section, makes any statement which
he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement
which is false in a material particular, |
shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. |
(5) A person shall
not be convicted for failing or refusing to attend before the Commission unless
the notice requiring him so to attend was served on him at least seven days
before the day on which he was required to attend. |
8. The Minister may, if he thinks it necessary or expedient
for any of the purposes specified in section 3, by order authorise such person
as he may designate in the order as agent for the Government to purchase on its
behalf, whether within or without The Bahamas, for resale or other disposal to
members of the public such categories of goods as may be specified in the order
and in such order may make such provisions for supplementary or incidental
matters as he may consider necessary for the purposes thereof. | Minister may authorise purchase, sales, etc., of
goods. |
9. (1) Any person authorised by the Minister in writing
for the purpose or any police officer may at any reasonable time enter upon and
inspect any premises at which goods are sold, offered for sale, stored or
warehoused or services are provided or made available to members of the public,
where such goods or services, as the case may be, are for the time being
controlled by regulations made under subsection (1) of section 3, with a view
to securing compliance therewith and for controlling the prices charged for such
goods and services. | Entry on premises. |
(2)
Any person or police officer entering upon any premises pursuant to the
authority conferred by subsection (1) may seize, remove and detain for so long
as may be necessary for the purposes of any examination, investigation or
trial, any goods by means of or in relation to which he reasonably believes any
provision of this Act or any regulations made thereunder has been contravened. |
(3) Any person who
assaults, resists or disturbs any person authorised under this Act to enter and
inspect any premises, while that person is acting in the execution of his duty
under this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars. |
10. Any person who obtains information by virtue of
any of the provisions of this Act or any regulation made thereunder and,
without the written permission of the Minister, discloses that information
otherwise than in the discharge of his functions under this Act or any such
regulation or for the purposes of any criminal proceedings, shall be guilty of
an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
one thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or
to both such fine and imprisonment. | Restriction on disclosure of information. |
11. (1) Where a person is convicted of an offence
under this Act or any regulation made thereunder- | Provisions relating to offences. |
(a) if such
person is a body corporate, every person who at the time of the commission of
the offence was a director or officer of the body corporate shall be deemed to
be guilty of the offence unless he proves that it was committed without his
knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent it; |
(b) the court
may make such order as to the forfeiture of any goods in relation to which the
offence was committed as the court thinks fit. |
(2)
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a prosecution for a
summary offence under this Act or any regulation made thereunder may be
commenced at any time within three years from the time when the matter to which
the information relates arose. |
(3) A prosecution
for an offence under subsection (4) of section 7 or under section 10 shall not
be commenced except by or with the consent of the Attorney-General. |
12. The expenses incurred in carrying this Act into
operation shall be defrayed out of moneys provided by Parliament. | Expenses. |
SCHEDULE (Section 4(2)) |
CONSTITUTION AND
PROCEDURE OF THE PRICES COMMISSION |
1. The
Commission shall consist of the following persons to be appointed by the
Minister- | Constitution of Commission. |
(a) chairman,
who shall hold office for a period of three years or such shorter period as may
be specified in his instrument of appointment; |
(b) five
persons, not being public officers, who shall be selected from a list of three
names submitted by each of such organisations as the Minister may determine; |
(c) three
public officers selected from among the personnel of such Ministries or
Departments of Government as the Minister may determine. |
2. The
members of the Commission subject to the provisions of this Schedule, shall
hold office for a period not exceeding three years and shall be eligible for
reappointment. | Term of office of members. |
3. If at
any meeting of the Commission the chairman is absent, the members present shall
elect one of their number to be chairman at that meeting. | Members to elect acting chairman in absence of
chairman. |
4. If any
vacancy occurs in the membership of the Commission, such vacancy shall be filled
by the appointment thereto by the Minister of another, person, who shall,
subject to the provisions of this Schedule, hold office for the remainder of
the period for which the previous member was appointed. | Filling of vacancies. |
5. (1) Any
member of the Commission other than the chairman may at any time resign his
office by instrument in writing addressed to the chairman, who shall forthwith
cause it to be forwarded to the Minister; and from the date of the receipt by
the chairman of such instrument such member shall cease to be a member of the
Commission. | Resignation. |
(2) The chairman
may at any time resign his office by instrument in writing addressed to the
Minister, and from the date of the receipt by the Minister of such instrument,
the chairman shall cease to be chairman or a member of the Commission. |
6. The
Minister may, if he thinks it expedient so to do, at any time revoke the
appointment of the chairman or any other member of the Commission. | Revocation of appointments. |
7. The
names of the members of the Commission as first constituted and every change in
the membership thereof shall be published in the Gazette. | Publication of membership. |
8. (1) The
Commission shall meet at such times as may be necessary or expedient for the
transaction of its business, and such meetings shall be held at such places and
times and on such days as the Commission may determine. | Procedure of Commission. |
(2)
A quorum of the Commission shall be five. |
(3) Subject to the
provisions of this Schedule, the Commission may regulate its own proceedings. |
9. The
Commission may appoint and employ, at such remuneration and on such terms and
conditions as it thinks fit, but subject to the prior approval of the Minister
in each case, an administrator, who shall be secretary to the Commission, and
such other officers, servants and agents as it thinks necessary for the proper
discharge of its functions: | Officers, servants and agents. |
Provided that
nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the assigning to the Commission, to act
as such an officer, servant or agent of the Commission, of any public officer. |
10. There
shall be paid to the chairman and each member of the Commission, not being a
public officer, such remuneration (if any) whether by way of honorarium, salary
or fees, and such allowances (if any) as the Minister may determine. | Remuneration of members. |