Petroleum Supply Act

The Act applies to import, export, re-export, transport, processing, supply, storage, distribution, wholesale and retail sale and sale to industrial consumers of petroleum products and related activities and installations in Uganda; it also states applicability to all persons, government departments and agencies and public corporations.

The Act facilitates the Uganda National Oil Company, or another person nominated by the Minister with Cabinet approval, to import all petroleum products listed in Schedule 3 destined for the Ugandan market.

This section defines terms used in the Act (for example: "code of practice", "Commissioner", "Committee", "consumer price index", "currency point", "distribution", "emergency petroleum supply plan", "environmental impact assessment", "licence", "licensee", "licensed oil marketing companies", "Minister", "national standard", "national strategic stocks", "order", "permit", "person", "petroleum", "petroleum products", "petroleum supply operations", "specifications", "supply chain", "throughput", and "working stock").

The Minister is given specific functions under this Act, including responsibility for implementation, initiating legislation and regulations, promoting regional trade and supply diversity, approving an emergency petroleum supply plan, appointing committee members, and performing other functions provided by the Act.

The Commissioner must perform specified functions including supervising enforcement, advising the Minister on petroleum matters, operating a licensing system, handling permits and licences, maintaining a national petroleum information system, monitoring supply-chain operations and prices, promoting competition, managing inquiries and complaints, maintaining strategic petroleum stocks, and carrying out other functions conferred by law or the Minister.

Members are appointed for three years (eligible for one re-appointment); members may resign in writing; the Minister may remove members for specified causes; the Minister shall appoint replacements for vacancies (with an exception when remaining term is under six months).

The Committee must perform several functions including advising the Minister, developing proposals, coordinating and reviewing emergency supply plans, supporting implementation, advising on taxes, mediating disputes, and carrying out acts assigned under the Act or by the Minister.

Schedule 2 applies to meetings of the Committee and other matters set out in that Schedule.

The Committee may appoint one or more subcommittees to assist it and may assign functions to them; the Committee must determine a subcommittee's procedure; Section 14 applies to determination of allowances to members of such subcommittees.

Members of the Committee (and persons attending meetings) may be paid sitting and other allowances which the Minister may approve.

Establishes the Technical Petroleum Committee, specifies it shall consist of a Chairperson and eight other members, and states that the members are appointed by the Minister from persons with petroleum-related qualifications and expertise.

The Minister must appoint the Chairperson and other Committee members, subject to eligibility and consultation rules; certain appointed members must not be public officers.

The Commissioner is Secretary to the Committee, must attend or be represented at its meetings but may not vote; the Committee may, by majority vote, dispense with the Commissioner's attendance when considering matters concerning the Commissioner personally.

The Committee must elect from specified members a Deputy Chairperson and a Deputy Secretary; the Deputy Chairperson and Deputy Secretary must perform the Chairperson's and Secretary's functions respectively when those officers are absent.

Persons must obtain a petroleum construction permit before carrying out construction or major modifications to supply-chain installations or facilities, and must obtain a petroleum operating licence before performing petroleum supply operations; the Minister must make regulations under section 42 to define "major modification."

Applicants must submit a prescribed written application and pay a prescribed fee to the Commissioner for permits or licences; applicants must obtain additional authorisations when required by law; the Commissioner may grant or reject applications, must not impose terms unauthorised by the Act, and must pay collected fees into the Consolidated Fund.

The Commissioner may, with the applicant's agreement and at the applicant's expense, employ local or international experts to evaluate permit or licence applications; if no agreement is reached about selection or compensation of an expert, the Commissioner may reject the application.

The Commissioner must, at the end of each month, send the Committee a list of all permit and licence applications received that month and the action taken, and must not disclose application information classified as confidential without the applicant's prior consent.

Permits are valid for five years or until the completion and acceptance of the work (whichever is earlier) and may be extended for five years on payment of the prescribed fee; licences are valid for a period not exceeding twenty-five years, and are renewable subject to conditions and payment of the prescribed fee.

A permit or licence held by a holder must not be assigned or transferred to another person without prior written approval of the Commissioner and payment of the prescribed fee, except as regulations provide.

The Commissioner may suspend or revoke a petroleum permit or licence for contraventions relating to occupational health, public safety or the environment, or for other reasons provided by the Act.

The Government must, at its expense, maintain the national strategic stocks.

All installations and operations for establishing and maintaining strategic stocks must comply with the provisions of this Act, subject to section 33.

Holders of permits or licences must keep required records, provide reports and information to the Commissioner when required, maintain an address in Uganda, and notify the Commissioner of that address and any changes.

The Commissioner or an authorised person may enter and inspect petroleum-related premises during regular business hours and may inspect records and stop and search vehicles; inspections must be conducted with a representative of the operator present.

Every licensee must, at their expense, maintain minimum working stocks of petroleum products as prescribed by regulations.

Establishes the National Petroleum Information System; Commissioner to organise, maintain and publish aggregated data; licensees must submit periodic reports and other prescribed information; confidentiality exception for licensee-qualified proprietary data.

The Commissioner must establish and maintain a central petroleum registry to monitor the supply chain; the registry must form part of the Information System and include comprehensive records of permits, licences and related holder and operations information.

Uganda National Oil Company Limited must import and supply petroleum products for the Ugandan market to licensed oil marketing companies; any person (Ugandan or foreign) may participate in supply chain activities; the Minister may, with Cabinet approval and under exceptional circumstances, nominate another person to import and supply products.

Participants in the petroleum supply chain must not form cartels, control prices, create artificial shortages, or engage in restrictive trade practices that impede the free market for petroleum products in Uganda.

Licensees with unused facility capacity may negotiate access and tariffs in good faith; interested persons must hold or have applied for the required licence and prove ability to pay and meet agreed financial and technical conditions.

The Commissioner must develop and implement a programme to gradually adopt and adapt international petroleum standards with the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the Committee; the Uganda National Bureau of Standards must adopt and declare adapted international standards as national standards; the Minister may temporarily approve international standards when they have not been formally adopted after consultation.

The Commissioner is required to act as the lead agency for environmental impact assessments and audits, prepare classifications and guidelines (with consultation), inform the Committee periodically, and coordinate with the National Environment Management Authority to assist permit or licence holders in meeting environmental, public health and safety requirements.

Section Emergency petroleum supply plan Section In order to respond to interruptions in, or serious distortions of, the petroleum supply occasioned by accidents, political disturbances, natural disasters or similar events or by the

Certain acts by any person in relation to petroleum supply operations (including refusing to produce documents or furnishing false information, endangering the market, obstructing the Commissioner, disclosing confidential information, or failing to comply with orders) constitute offences.

Directors, managers, secretaries or similar officers and agents of a body corporate, partners in unincorporated firms, and employers can be held liable for offences or contraventions under the Act; directors/partners/agents have a defence if they prove lack of knowledge and that they took all necessary steps to prevent the act.

Certain persons may start civil proceedings or, where applicable, file a criminal complaint against permit or licence holders for offences under this Act after complaining to the Commissioner and feeling aggrieved by the Commissioner's response.

The Committee may conduct non-binding mediation of disputes between permit or licence holders (or between them and the Commissioner); it may request appearances, information and investigations; it must submit a written opinion within sixty days unless extended; proceedings are confidential unless parties and the Committee agree otherwise; the Committee must set mediation procedure and (with Ministerial approval) prescribe fees which the Commissioner collects and pays into the Consolidated Fund.

A person aggrieved by a decision of the Commissioner or an authorised officer may, within 21 days of notification, request in writing that the Minister review the decision; the Minister may within 45 days confirm, set aside or vary the decision and must give written reasons for the review decision.

Any person aggrieved may, within thirty days (or within thirty days after the expiry of the section 39(2) period if the Minister fails to decide), apply to the High Court for judicial review.

A member of the Committee, a public officer, or a person acting under direction of the Committee or the Minister shall not be personally liable for acts or omissions done in good faith in performing functions vested by the Committee, the Minister, or this Act.

Gives the Minister power to make regulations establishing a petroleum fee, requires the Minister to make regulations under subsection (1), requires collection of the fee by the Commissioner monthly into the Consolidated Fund, and sets out penalties for contraventions.

The Minister may amend Schedule 1 by statutory instrument with Cabinet approval; the Minister may amend Schedule 2 by statutory instrument.

Part IV's provisions on permits and licences replace corresponding provisions in the External Trade Act and the Trade (Licensing) Act insofar as they relate to petroleum products.