PART I | 1. This Act may be cited as the Control of Essential Supplies Act. |
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 whatsoever; |
| “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 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 same meaning as in the Customs Act [Cap. 70]; |
| “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 same meaning as in the Customs Act; |
| “supplies” includes every kind and type of article or food whatsoever; |
| “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. |
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| 3. The Minister may appoint by name or office a Controller of Supplies, Deputy Controllers of Supplies, Assistant Controllers of Supplies and such other officers as he may consider necessary or expedient for the purposes of this Act. |
| Responsibilities of officers |
4.—(1) The Controller shall, subject to the general direction and control of the Minister, perform the duties and exercise the rights and powers imposed and conferred upon him by this Act.| (2) The Deputy Controllers of Supplies, Assistant Controllers of Supplies and all other officers appointed under section 3 shall be under the direction and control of the Controller. |
| (3) All officers appointed under section 3 shall be deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224). |
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| Declaration of controlled and rationed articles |
| 5. The President may, by order published in the Gazette, declare any article or food to be a controlled article or to be a rationed article or both. |
6.—(1) The Minister may make regulations generally for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), any regulations made under this section may provide for —| (a) | prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, the purchase or sale of any controlled article without the written permission of the Controller; | | (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 such persons as shall hold such 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 such places as 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 account 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 shall 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 thereunder; and | | (o) | prescribing such forms as he may think necessary for use in connection with any of the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (n). |
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| (3) * All regulations made under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication and if a resolution is passed pursuant to a motion notice whereof has been given for a sitting day not later than the first available sitting day of Parliament next after the expiry of one month from the date when the regulations are so presented annulling the regulations or any part thereof from a specified date, the regulations or such part thereof, as the case may be, shall thereupon become void as from that date but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of new regulations. |
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