Rubber Dealers Act - Singapore Statutes Online

Rubber Dealers Act

(CHAPTER 279)

(Original Enactment: Ordinance 27 of 1921)

REVISED EDITION 1985

(30th March 1987)

An Act to control dealings in rubber.

[28th November 1921]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Rubber Dealers Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —

“licence” means a licence granted under this Act, and “licensee” means the person to whom a licence is granted;

“licensed dealer” means a licensee holding a licence to purchase rubber;

“licensing officer” means any Collector of Land Revenue;

“purchase” means purchase of specific rubber pursuant to any contract or agreement providing for completion by delivery of the rubber but does not include purchase of unascertained rubber by description by means of a forward contract;

“rubber” includes marketable rubber prepared from the leaves, bark or latex of any rubber plant, and the latex of any such plant, whether fluid or coagulated, in any stage of the treatment to which it is subjected during the process of conversion into marketable rubber, but does not include any manufactured article wholly or partly made of rubber;

“rubber plant” includes any of the following plants:

(a)	Hevea brasiliensis (Para rubber);
(b)	Manihot glaziovii (Ceara rubber);
(c)	Castillos elastica;
(d)	Ficus elastica (Rambong);
(e)	any other plant which the Minister by notification in the Gazette declares to be a rubber plant for the purposes of this Act;

“treat”, with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means to subject to any process whatsoever.

Prohibition of purchase, treatment or storage except under licence

3. No person shall purchase, treat or store rubber unless he has been duly licensed in that behalf by a licensing officer.

Licence to purchase rubber

4.—(1) A licence to purchase rubber (referred to in this Act as a licence to purchase) shall include the right to keep a place or places for the treatment and also for the storage of rubber, and shall be in such form as may be prescribed.

(2) The fee payable for such licence shall be $600, but no such licence shall be granted until the applicant therefor has made a deposit of $1,000 to be returned as hereinafter provided.

(3) The deposit shall be by cash paid to the Land Office, or by delivery at the Land Office of a receipt from any bank in Singapore appointed by the Minister to receive the deposit evidencing the payment of that amount to the credit of the Government with that bank.

(4) Interest allowed by the bank on the amount referred to in such a receipt shall be payable to the depositor.

General licence to treat and store rubber

5.—(1) A licence to treat and store rubber or a licence to store rubber, when the rubber to be treated and stored or to be stored, as the case may be, consists wholly or partly of rubber which is not grown or produced on land in the occupation of the licensee, shall confer the right to keep a place or places for the treatment and also for the storage of rubber, and shall be in such form as may be prescribed.

(2) The fee payable for such licence shall be $200.

Licence to treat and store rubber produced on licensee’s land

6.—(1) A licence to treat and store rubber solely grown or produced on land in the occupation of the licensee shall confer the right to keep a place or places for the treatment and also for the storage of rubber so grown or produced. The licence shall be in such form as may be prescribed and may be issued as a separate document or may, if so prescribed, be entered in, endorsed on or affixed to the certificate of registration issued under section 15.

(2) The fee payable for such licence shall be $3.

Duration of licence

7.—(1) Every licence shall expire on 31st December of the year in respect of which it is granted and shall be valid only for the place or places and purpose specified therein.

(2) No licence shall be assignable, or shall confer any rights upon any person by reason of his being the executor or administrator of the person to whom the licence was granted.

Refusal to grant and revocation of licence

8.—(1) A licensing officer may in his discretion refuse to grant a licence or to renew any licence which has expired, and may revoke any licence already granted.

(2) Any person aggrieved by such refusal or revocation may appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.

Provisions with regard to partners

9.—(1) Two or more persons carrying on business in partnership shall not be obliged to obtain more than one licence appropriate to the circumstances in respect of which the licence is granted, and a licence to two or more persons shall not be determined by the death or retirement from business of any one or more of the partners.

Responsibility of partners

(2) When a licence is granted to two or more persons carrying on business in partnership, every such person shall be liable for the acts and omissions of the other or others of them, unless the person charged with liability for the acts or omissions of his partner proves to the satisfaction of the court that he acted bona fide and in no way directly or indirectly contributed to the breach of the provisions of the Act with which his partner is charged.

Words to be painted on certain licensed premises

10. Every holder of a licence —

(a)	to purchase rubber;
(b)	to treat and store rubber, which consists wholly or partly of rubber not grown or produced on land in the occupation of the holder of the licence; or
(c)	to store rubber, which consists wholly or partly of rubber not grown or produced on land in the occupation of the holder of the licence,

shall cause the words “Licensed to purchase rubber” or the words “Licensed to treat and store rubber” or the words “Licensed to store rubber”, as the case may be, to be painted in conspicuous letters in the English and Malay languages upon his licensed premises.

Duties of licensee

11.—(1) Every licensee shall allow at all times the inspection of his licensed premises by any Magistrate or any Land Office bailiff or any police officer not below the rank of inspector or by any other person authorised thereto in writing by a licensing officer.

(2) No licensee shall take delivery of any rubber at any place other than his licensed premises.

(3) Every licensee shall, on demand produce for the inspection of any such officer as is mentioned in subsection (1), all rubber on his premises.

(4) Any such officer may enter any licensed premises and search any such premises if he has reason to believe that all the rubber on the premises has not been produced for inspection, in breach of subsection (3).

Books of account

12.—(1) Every licensee mentioned in section 10 shall keep books of account in which shall be entered day by day the following particulars concerning all purchases, deliveries, sales, shipments and other consignments of rubber;

(a)	the date of purchase, delivery, sale or consignment;
(b)	the name and address of the seller, consignor, purchaser or consignee;
(c)	the weight and description of the rubber purchased, delivered, sold or consigned;
(d)	the price, in cases of purchase or sale;
(e)	in the case of rubber grown or produced on land in Singapore, the mukim number or name and lot number of the land on which the rubber was grown or produced:

Provided that the particulars mentioned in paragraph (e) shall not be required to be so entered in respect of deliveries, sales, shipments or other consignments by a licensed dealer.

(2) Every licensee shall, on demand produce for the inspection of any such officer as is mentioned in section 11, all books kept by him under this section and allow copies to be made thereof.

(3) Every such book shall be preserved by the licensee for one year from the date of its last being used for the making of an entry therein.

Written authority for sale or consignment

13.—(1) No licensed dealer shall purchase any rubber except upon delivery to him by the vendor of a written authority for the sale thereof.

(2) No forwarding agent shall receive any rubber except upon delivery to him by the consignor of a written authority for the despatch thereof.

(3) No person shall receive rubber for treatment or for storage or for sale on commission except upon delivery to him of a written authority for the receipt thereof.

(4) Such written authority shall contain —

(a)	the signature and chop, if any, of a licensed dealer and the number of his licence; or
(b)	the signature and chop, if any, of the person in lawful occupation of the land on which the rubber was grown or produced, or of his duly authorised agent, together with the mukim number or name and lot number of that land, and the distinguishing number or letter of the certificate of registration relating thereto prescribed by section 15.

(5) Every person who receives a written authority as prescribed by this section shall preserve it and shall on demand produce it for the inspection of any such officer as is mentioned in section 11.

Written memorandum from purchaser to vendor

14.—(1) Every licensed dealer shall deliver to every person from whom he purchases any rubber a written memorandum bearing his signature or chop and the number of his licence and setting forth —

(a)	the date of the purchase;
(b)	the name of the vendor; and
(c)	the weight and description of the rubber purchased.

(2) Such memorandum shall be preserved by the vendor and shall be produced by him on demand for the inspection of any such officer as is mentioned in section 11.

Cultivation of rubber to be registered

15.—(1) Every person who cultivates rubber shall at such time or times and in such manner as may be prescribed give notice of the cultivation to a Collector of Land Revenue, and shall furnish to that Collector of Land Revenue the particulars in the prescribed form and any other particulars relating to the cultivation required by the Collector of Land Revenue.

(2) The Collector of Land Revenue shall thereupon enter in a register to be kept by him for the purposes of this Act, or include in any suitable register already kept by him for other purposes, the information so furnished, making separate entries for the respective lots of land on which rubber is so cultivated, and shall deliver to the cultivator a certificate under his hand of such registration bearing a distinguishing number or letter to identify the entry to which it relates. The certificate shall be in the prescribed form.

(3) After the first registration under this section of the cultivation of rubber on any land, the Collector of Land Revenue may at his discretion in any subsequent year, instead of making a fresh entry in the register of the cultivation of rubber on that land and issuing a fresh certificate in respect thereof, register the continued cultivation of rubber on that land by endorsement under his hand on the previous entry in the register relating to that land and on the certificate corresponding thereto.

(4) The certificate prescribed by this section shall be preserved by the person to whom it is delivered under subsection (2) and shall be produced by him on demand for the inspection of any such officer as is mentioned in section 11.

Penalty

(5) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (4) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50, and, in the case of continued contravention of subsection (1), to a fine of $10 for every day during which the contravention continues.

Return of deposit

16.—(1) Every applicant for, and every holder of, a licence to purchase rubber shall on demand be entitled to receive from a licensing officer an order on the Accountant-General authorising the return of any deposit made under section 4(2).

(2) No deposit shall be returned to any licensed dealer until after the expiration of one month from the date on which his licence expired or was otherwise determined, or while any legal proceedings under this Act are pending against him.

(3) All moneys deposited under section 4(2) by any licensed dealer shall at all times be liable to be applied in satisfaction or part satisfaction of any fine imposed upon him under this Act.

Penalty for breach of this Act

17. Except as provided in section 15, any person who commits any offence under this Act, or who makes default in complying with any obligation imposed on him by this Act, shall be liable on conviction before a District Court to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Rules

18.—(1) The Minister may make rules for —

(a)	the purpose of further securing the effectual control of the sale, purchase, storage and disposal of rubber and the prevention of fraud in connection therewith;
(b)	prescribing the forms of books of account to be kept; and
(c)	generally carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Penalty for breach of rules

(2) Any person who commits any breach of any such rule shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $100, and, when the breach is a continuing one, to a further fine not exceeding $10 for every day during which the breach continues.

Power to exempt from this Act

19. The Minister may grant to any person or class of persons total or partial exemption from all or any of the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder subject to such conditions and restrictions as he thinks fit, and may likewise declare, subject to any like conditions or restrictions, that any provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder shall not apply to any part of Singapore:

Provided that any such grant by the Minister shall be presented to Parliament at the next meeting thereof, and shall not come into force until it has been approved by Parliament either at that or at a subsequent meeting.

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