Co-operative Societies Rules

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Co-operative Societies Act

(Chapter 62, Section 95)

Co-operative Societies Rules

R 1

REVISED EDITION 1990

(25th March 1992)

[1st January 1980]

Citation

1. These Rules may be cited as the Co-operative Societies Rules.

Reserve fund

2. The reserve fund maintained by a society under section 70 of the Act shall be used —

(a)	to meet unforeseen losses;
(b)	to provide a margin beyond the liabilities of the society so as to ensure its ability to pay the liabilities in full in the event of dissolution; and
(c)	to enable the society by reason of the income derived from the reserve fund to reduce the rate of interest on loans granted to members without causing a reduction in the rate of dividend on share capital or subscription capital.

Central Co-operative Fund

3.—(1) There shall be established a trust fund to be known as the Central Co-operative Fund which shall be under the control of the Minister.

(2) The purposes of the Central Co-operative Fund shall be as laid down in section 71(7) of the Act.

Central Co-operative Fund Committee

4.—(1) For the purpose of advising the Minister on the administration of the Central Co-operative Fund, there is hereby established a committee which shall be known as the Central Co-operative Fund Committee and which shall consist of a Chairman and 4 other members appointed by the Minister.

(2) The Committee shall keep or cause to be kept proper accounts and other records in respect of the administration of the Central Co-operative Fund and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of that Fund are correctly made and properly authorised.

(3) The members of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall hold office for a term of 3 years and shall, at the end of their term of office, be eligible for reappointment.

(4) The Minister may, at any time, revoke any appointment made by him under paragraph (1) without assigning any reason.

(5) If a vacancy arises for whatever reason in respect of a member of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee appointed during his term of office, the Minister may appoint another person to fill his vacancy until the expiry of his term of office.

(6) A meeting of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall be convened by the chairman as often as necessary but not less frequently than once in every year.

(7) At every meeting of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee, a quorum shall consist of 3 members, and decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes of all members of the Committee present and voting, except that the chairman shall have a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.

(8) Subject to paragraph (7), the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall not be precluded from holding any meeting or acting in any matter merely by reason of any vacancy in its membership.

(9) Subject to these Rules, the Central Co-operative Fund Committee may adopt its own procedure in relation to Committee meetings.

Administration of Central Co-operative Fund

5.—(1) Contributions to the Central Co-operative Fund shall be made by every society in accordance with section 71 of the Act.

(2) Subject to section 66(1)(g) of the Act, contributions to the Central Co-operative Fund may also be made from voluntary donations.

(3) Every withdrawal from the Central Co-operative Fund shall —

(a)	be made by cheque signed by any two members of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee whom the Committee may from time to time authorise in that behalf, except that in the case of any withdrawal in excess of $20,000, one of the signatories shall be the chairman; and
(b)	be supported by the relevant voucher or vouchers certified by the chairman.

(4) The Central Co-operative Fund shall be deposited in any bank registered under the Banking Act [Cap. 19] or invested in such investments or securities as are for the time being authorised for the investment of trust funds.

(5) The Central Co-operative Fund shall, at all times, be kept with a credit balance, and under no circumstances shall it be overdrawn.

(6) All investments and properties purchased out of the Central Co-operative Fund shall be vested in the name or names of —

(a)	such society as the Minister may appoint;
(b)	such trustees or trust corporation as the Minister may appoint; or
(c)	such fund manager as the Central Co-operative Fund Committee or the trustees appointed under sub-paragraph (b) may appoint or the nominee of such fund manager.

(7) Such investments and properties shall not be mortgaged or charged by way of security for the repayment of money borrowed, sold, transferred, assigned, leased or otherwise disposed of without the authority of the Minister except that this paragraph shall not apply to any investment vested in the name of any fund manager appointed under paragraph (6)(c) or the nominee of such fund manager.

(8) Subject to paragraph (9), the moneys deposited in a bank in accordance with paragraph (4) and the income derived from any investments or properties purchased out of the Central Co-operative Fund may be used by the Central Co-operative Fund Committee for the purposes specified in section 71(1) of the Act and for any expenditure incurred in the administration of the Central Co-operative Fund.

(9) The total amount of the disbursements from the Central Co-operative Fund made pursuant to paragraph (8) in any financial year shall not exceed $750,000 without the prior approval of the Minister.

(10) As soon as practicable after the close of each financial year, the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall submit to the Minister through the Registrar an annual report on the application of the Central Co-operative Fund.

(11) The Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall whenever required by the Registrar to do so furnish the Registrar with such information relating to the administration and application of the Central Co-operative Fund as the Registrar may require.

Audit of Central Co-operative Fund

6.—(1) The accounts of the Central Co-operative Fund shall be audited by an auditor (referred to in these Rules as the auditor) appointed by the Central Co-operative Fund Committee.

(2) The audit fees shall be paid out from the Central Co-operative Fund.

(3) As soon as practicable after the close of the financial year, the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall prepare or cause to be prepared and submit the financial statements in respect of that year to the auditor who shall audit and report on them.

(4) The auditor shall inspect and audit the accounts and other relevant records in respect of the Central Co-operative Fund and shall forthwith draw the attention of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee to any irregularity disclosed by the inspection and audit that is, in the opinion of the auditor, of sufficient importance to justify his so doing.

(5) The auditor shall report —

(a)	whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Central Co-operative Fund; and
(b)	such other matters arising from the audit as he considers should be reported.

(6) The auditor shall state in his report whether —

(a)	proper accounting and other records have been kept;
(b)	the receipt, expenditure and investment of moneys in respect of the Central Co-operative Fund have been in accordance with the provisions of the Act and these Rules.

(7) The auditor may at any other time report to the Central Co-operative Fund Committee upon any matters arising out of the performance of the audit.

(8) The auditor shall at all reasonable times have full and free access to all accounting and other records relating to the financial transactions of the Central Co-operative Fund.

(9) After the close of each financial year, the chairman of the Central Co-operative Fund Committee shall, as soon as the accounts have been audited, cause a copy of the statements of accounts to be submitted to the Minister through the Registrar together with a copy of any reports made by the auditor on the accounts.

Dividend

7. No society shall pay a dividend on paid-up shares or subscription capital exceeding 10% per annum without the sanction of the Registrar.

Duties of officers of a society

8.—(1) Except as otherwise provided in the by-laws of the society, the chairman of a society shall preside at all general meetings and at all meetings of the committee of management. This duty shall be carried out by the vice-chairman in the absence of the chairman, or, in the absence of both the chairman and the vice-chairman, by any other person elected by a majority of those present at that meeting.

(2) The duties of the secretary shall be as specified in the by-laws of the society and shall include the following duties:

(a)	to maintain, correctly and up-to-date, all the records, papers and registers of the society;
(b)	to keep an inventory of the property belonging to the society;
(c)	to sign on behalf of the committee of management and conduct its correspondence;
(d)	to summon and attend the general meetings and meetings of the committee of management and to record the proceedings of such meetings in a minute-book; and
(e)	to conduct the ordinary business of the society and perform all the duties entrusted to him by the committee of management.

(3) The duties of the treasurer shall be as specified in the by-laws of the society and shall include the following duties:

(a)	to take charge of all financial transactions of the society, including all moneys received by the society from a bank, members or others and to make disbursements in accordance with the directions of the committee of management;
(b)	to prepare or cause to be prepared all the receipts, vouchers and documents required by the by-laws or called for by the committee of management; and
(c)	to be responsible for the proper and punctual keeping of all the accounts and books of accounts of the society.

(4) The duties of the manager shall be as specified in the by-laws of the society and shall include the following duties:

(a)	to manage the business and property of the society;
(b)	to attend all meetings of the society and of the committee of management and to carry out all the instructions of the committee; and
(c)	to record or cause to be recorded the whole of the transactions of the society in the books prescribed for that purpose.

(5) When a manager is appointed, the duties of the secretary or the treasurer may be modified or altered in accordance with the duties assigned by the committee of management to the manager.

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