Control of Essential SuppliesAct 1973

Control of Essential Supplies Act 1973 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to provide for the control and rationing of essential supplies. [14 December 1973] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Control of Essential Supplies Act 1973. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “animal” includes birds, reptiles, fish and every kind of vertebrate animal and the young thereof, and the eggs of birds, reptiles and fish; “article” includes every kind or description of thing or commodity; “controlled article” means any article or food, or any kind or type of article or food, which has been declared to be a controlled article by an order under section 5, and includes a rationed article; “Controller” means the officer appointed to be Controller of Supplies under section 3 and includes a Deputy Controller of Supplies, an Assistant Controller of Supplies and any person to whom the Controller has delegated any of his or her powers, duties or functions in accordance with section 13, to the extent of that delegation; “food” includes any animal, whether alive or dead, and any substance or commodity which is used as food by man, or which is used for feeding any animal which serves some purpose for the use of man, whether as food or otherwise, or which ordinarily enters into the composition or preparation of human food or of the food of any such animal; “licensed premises” means any premises in respect of which a licence issued under section 7 is in force; “offence under this Act” includes any contravention of or failure to comply with any order or regulation made under this Act and any contravention of or failure to comply with the terms and conditions of any licence or permit issued or authority granted under this Act or the regulations made thereunder and any failure to comply with any request or direction lawfully made or given thereunder; “officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960; “rationed article” means any article or food, or any kind or type of article or food, which has been declared to be a rationed article by an order made under section 5; “retail dealing” includes every sale of any article or food other than wholesale dealings; “sell” includes barter or exchange; “senior officer of customs” has the meaning given by the Customs Act 1960; “supplies” includes every kind and type of article or food; “supplies officer” means any officer appointed under section 3; “wholesale dealing” means any sale of any article or food in whatever quantity for resale in the same form or state or as part of a manufactured product. Appointment of officers 3. The Minister may appoint by name or office a Controller of Supplies, Deputy Controllers of Supplies, Assistant Controllers of Supplies and any other officers that the Minister considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act. Responsibilities of officers 4.—(1) The Controller must, subject to the Minister’s general direction and control, perform the duties and exercise the rights and powers imposed and conferred upon him or her by this Act. (2) The Deputy Controllers of Supplies, Assistant Controllers of Supplies and all other officers appointed under section 3 are under the direction and control of the Controller. (3) All officers appointed under section 3 are deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871. Declaration of controlled and rationed articles 5. The President may, by order in the Gazette, declare any article or food to be a controlled article or to be a rationed article or both. Regulations 6.—(1) The Minister may make regulations generally for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act. (2) Without limiting the powers conferred by subsection (1), any regulations made under this section may provide for — (a) prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to prescribed conditions, the purchase or sale of any controlled article without the Controller’s written permission; (b) prohibiting, regulating or controlling the import or export of any controlled article; (c) prohibiting, regulating or controlling the movement of any controlled article; (d) limiting wholesale or retail dealing in any controlled article to persons that hold licences or permits therefor as the regulations may prescribe; (e) restricting the sale of any controlled article either by any individual or generally by all persons dealing in the article in any manner as the Minister may consider fit; (f) prohibiting, restricting or otherwise regulating or controlling the manufacture or production of any controlled article either generally or as regards form, shape, quantity, quality, constituents or otherwise; (g) regulating and controlling the rationing of any rationed article and, without prejudice to such general power, providing for the registration of all or any persons, or any class or classes of persons, for the purposes of the rationing and for the issue of registration cards, ration cards and other ration documents; (h) appointing enumerators to enumerate the public for the purposes of registration and rationing; (i) regulating the distribution or use of any controlled article; (j) requiring controlled articles to be kept only at places that the Controller may direct and prescribing the manner in which controlled articles are to be stored; (k) limiting the quantity of any controlled article which may be acquired or held by any person; (l) providing for the keeping of books of accounts and other records relating to any trade or business in the course of which controlled articles are sold, and prescribing the manner in which the books or records must be disposed of or preserved; (m) prescribing the period and fees to be paid in respect of the issue or renewal of any licence to sell controlled articles; (n) providing for exemption from all or any of the provisions of this Act or any regulations made under this Act; and (o) prescribing any forms that the Minister may think necessary for use in connection with any of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (n). (3) All regulations made under this section must be published in the Gazette and must be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication and if — (a) notice of a motion is given for a sitting day of Parliament not later than the first available sitting day after one month from the date the regulations are so presented; and (b) a resolution is passed pursuant to the motion to annul the regulations or any part of the regulations from a specified date, the regulations or that part of the regulations (as the case may be) become void from that date, but without affecting the validity of anything previously done thereunder, or the making of new regulations.