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PRICE CONTROL ACT (CHAPTER 142)

LAWS OF BRUNEI

CHAPTER 142

PRICE CONTROL ACT

S 50/74

1984 Ed. Cap. 142

Amended by

S 48/99

S 6/00

REVISED EDITION 2002

(1st June 2002)

Section

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1. Citation.

2. Interpretation.

3. Appointment of the Price Controller and other officers.

3A. Establishment of National Advisory Council for Consumer Protection.

3B. Maximum prices and charges.

4. Control of movement, export and import dealing in specifiedgoods.

5. Controller may order display of prices on any goods or class ofgoods.

6. (Repealed) .

7. Prohibition against a greater quantity of a controlled article than required for ordinary use.

8. Prohibition against selling greater quantities of controlledarticle than required for ordinary use.

9. Power of Controller to deal with hoarding.

9A. Powers of entry, search etc.

9B. General powers of Price Controller.

10. Power of Controller to obtain information.

10A. Compounding of offences.

10B. Offences.

11. Regulations.

12. Attempts and abetments.

13. Penalties.

SCHEDULE — MATTERS IN REGARD TO WHICH THE MINISTER MAY, INTER ALIA, MAKE REGULATIONS IN RESPECT OF THIS ACT

______________________________

PRICE CONTROL ACT

An Act to provide for the control of the marketing and movement of goods and foodstuffs and for matters incidental thereto

Commencement: 13th March 1974

Citation.

1. This Act may be cited as the Price Control Act.

Interpretation.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“controlled article” means any goods or classes of goodsdeclared to be controlled articles under section 4 (a) ;

“goods” includes any foodstuff of any kind, type, quality orbrand of foodstuff, all chattels personal other than things in actionand money;

“foodstuff” means any animal live or dead, and any substance orcommodity, which is used as food by man or which is used for feeding any animalwhich serves some purpose for the use of man, whether as food or otherwise orwhich ordinarily enters into the composition or preparation of human food or thefood of any such animal;

“Controller” means the person appointed as Price Controller under the provision of section 3(1);

“maximum price” means the maximum price at which under theprovisions of this Act, goods may be sold;

[S 48/99]

“person or persons” includes any trader, manufacturer, producer,commission agent, clearing and forwarding agent and auctioneer;

“Price Inspector” means any person appointed under section 3(2) as a Chief Price Inspector, Senior Price Inspector, Price Inspector and Assistant Price Inspector and may include any Police Officer not below the rank of Inspector or so gazetted for the purposes of this Order;

[S 48/99]

“price-controlled goods” means goods in respect of whichmaximum prices have been fixed under section 3B and includes services for whicha maximum price has been fixed;

[S 48/99; S 6/00]

“Officer of Customs” has the same meaning as in the Customs Act (Chapter 36);

“sell” with its grammatical variations and cognate expressionsincludes an agreement to sell and an offer to sell, shall be deemed to includethe exposing of goods for sale, the publishing of a price list, the furnishing of a quotation, or any other act or notification whatsoeverby which willingness to enter into any transaction of sale is expressed;

“selling price” means the actual net price charged to the purchaser of the goods concerned, less all discounts or otherallowances;

“trader” includes any person who carries on the business of selling goods and any person carrying on business in the course of which hesupplies goods for the purpose of, or in the pursuance of a contract made by him for work, labour and materials.

Appointment of the Price Controller and other officers. [S48/99]

3. (1) The Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan andYang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, may appoint a Price Controller, a DeputyPrice Controller and such Assistant Price Controllers as he may think fit.

(2) The Minister may appoint such Chief Price Inspectors, Senior Price Inspectors and Price Inspectors for such areas as he may think fit.

Establishment of National Advisory Council for ConsumerProtection.

[S 48/99]

3A. The Minister, with the approval of His Majesty the Sultan and YangDi-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, may establish a National AdvisoryCouncil for Consumer Protection to consist of a Chairman and 8 otherrepresentatives from the Government, the public sector and otherorganisations as deemed fit and appropriate to advise the Price Controller onquestions relating to the exercise of all or any of the powers conferred uponhim by sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10.

Maximum prices and charges. [S 48/99]

3B. (1) The Price Controller may by order published in the Gazette —

(a) fix the maximum price, which may include charges fordelivery, for the sale of any goods, either by declaring the maximum sale priceor by prescribing that the sale price of the goods shall not exceed the pricewhich they cost the seller plus a stated sum or a stated percentage of that costprice, or by prescribing the manner in which the maximum sale price of the goodsshall be ascertained;

(b) fix the maximum charge that may be made by any person for anyservice in relation to the supply, repair, maintenance, packing, carriage orstorage of goods, which shall include the provision of such materials as may bespecified in the order;

(c) fix the maximum price, or prescribe the manner in which the maximum price shall be ascertained, of any second-hand goods, whether for sale bypersons who trade in these goods, or by the private owners of these goods;and

(2) Under this section, the Price Controller may fix a maximum price orcharge for service in respect of any goods for one area which differs from themaximum price or the charge for services fix for another area in respect of likeor similar goods.

Control of movement, export and import dealing in specified goods.

4. The Controller, with the prior approval of the Minister, may byorder published in the Gazette —

(a) declare any goods or classes of goods to be controlledarticles;

(b) prohibit, regulate or control the movement, import or export ofcontrolled articles;

(c) prohibit absolutely or subject to conditions the purchase, sale orbarter of any controlled article for the purpose of resale in or export from anyarea specified without his written permission;

(d) restrict the sale of any price controlled goods either by anyindividual or generally by all persons dealing in the article in any manner inwhich he deems fit;

(e) limit the wholesale or retail dealing in any controlled article topersons holding a licence or permit issued under this Act, or rules madethereupon;

(ea) require any person to submit to him samples of anycontrolled articles;

[S 48/99; S 6/00]

(f) prescribe such forms as he may think necessary inconnection with the matters referred to in paragraphs (a) to (f) of this section.

Controller may order display of prices on any goods or class ofgoods.

5. The Controller may by order published in the Gazette fromtime to time require any person who sells by retail any goods or class of goodsspecified in the order to exhibit clearly and conspicuously in such manner asmay be prescribed, the price demanded by him for the sale of such goods and anyperson failing to comply with such order shall be guilty of an offence.

6. (Repealed).

[S 48/99]

Prohibition against a greater quantity of a controlled article than required for ordinary use.

7. (1) The Controller may, by order published in the Gazette , impose such restrictions and conditions so that no person shall after the date of publication of an order in that behalf, acquire any controlled article so that the quantity of the controlled article in his possession or under his control at any one time exceeds the quantity required for ordinary use and consumption in his household or establishment during such period as may be specified in that order.

(2) In any proceedings for breach of this section the burden ofshowing what quantity of any controlled article is so required shall rest uponthe person charged.

Prohibition against selling greater quantities of controlled article thanrequired for ordinary use.

8. No person shall sell any controlled article to a purchaser where hehas reasonable grounds for believing (whether on account of the quantity of thecontrolled article sold or any other circumstances) that the quantity of thatarticle which may lawfully be acquired under section 7 by the purchaser or someother person will by reason of the sale be exceeded.

Power of Controller to deal with hoarding.

9. If the Controller has reason to believe that any person iscommitting an offence under sections 7 and 8, he may —

(a) take possession in such manner as he deems fit of anycontrolled article in respect of which he has reason to believe such an offenceis being committed; or

(b) give such orders and directions and take such measures inrelation to supplies of that controlled article as may appear to him necessaryor expedient in order that any controlled article may be placed on themarket.

Powers of entry, search etc. [S 48/99]

9A. (1) The Price Controller, the Deputy Price Controller, anyAssistant Price Controller, any person authorised in writing by any of them, anyChief Price Inspector or any police officer not below the rank of Inspector may—

(a) seize any price controlled goods in respect of which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence against this Act has been committed together with any receptacle, package, conveyance, vessels not exceeding 200 tons net registered tonnage, vehicle or aircraft in or on which the same may have been found or which have been used in connection with the offence (in this section referred to as “accompanying appliances”) or which he considers necessary to establish the commission of that offence and may detain such goods and accompanying appliances pending the commencement of any proceedings against any person for the offence;

(b) enter and inspect any premises in the occupation or under thecontrol of any person carrying on any trade or business in which price controlled goods are sold and seize any book, account, document or otherthing found in the premises which may furnish evidence of the commission of anoffence against this Act;

(c) examine any book, account or other document relating to the tradeor business of any such person and require a copy thereof or of the records ofany transaction duly certified by that person, and may further require that anysuch book, account or other document be deposited at the office of the PriceController for examination; and where the same are in a language other than Malay or English languages may, if he is satisfied that such person canprovide or obtain a translation thereof in either of those languages, requiresuch a translation; or

(d) require any person to submit to him samples of any pricecontrolled goods in which he deals.

(2) Where any price controlled goods have been seized undersubsection (1) (a) , then —

(a) if within 30 days of the seizure no proceedings arecommenced against any person for an offence alleged to have been committed inrelation to those goods, the goods and accompanying appliances shall be returnedto the person from whom they were seized if he can be found and, if otherwise,shall be disposed of as may be directed by a Magistrate; or

(b) if within 30 days of the seizure any such proceedings arecommenced against any person, the goods and accompanying appliances shallbe liable to forfeiture or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Court maydirect:

Provided that where any goods which have been seized under subsection(1) (a) are of a perishable nature they may be sold by the order of thePrice Controller and this subsection shall apply to the disposal of the proceedsof the sale in the same manner as it would have applied to the disposal of thosegoods if they had not been sold.

(3) Any police officer may, either of his own motion or oninformation received from the Price Controller or any other person, arrestwithout warrant upon reasonable suspicion of having committed an offence againstthis Act, if such person refuses to furnish his name or address or there arereasonable grounds for believing that he has furnished a false name or addressor that he is likely to abscond.

(4) For the purpose of this section, the expression “price controlled goods” shall include any goods or class of goods in respect of which the Price Controller has prescribed marks or labels to be displayed under section 9(1).

[S 6/00]

General powers of Price Controller. [S 48/99]

9B. (1) The Price Controller may, with the approval of the Minister,by order published in the Gazette, prescribe marks or labels to bedisplayed by retailers, wholesalers, importers, manufactures and producersrelating to any price controlled goods or to any other goods or class of goodsin such manner as may be specified in the order, indicating the quality, grade,weight, price, place of origin or date of manufacture of such goods and such other information relating to such goods as the Price Controller mayrequire.

(2) The Price Controller may —

(a) in any particular case, determine what constitutes a wholesale or a retail transaction;

(b) require by notice in writing any person carrying on any trade orbusiness to furnish orally or in writing and in such form as may be required,any information in relation to the trade or business; and

(c) prescribe the place in which any price controlled goods shall bestored.

Power of Controller to obtain information.

10. The Controller or any person authorised by him in writing in that behalf may by writing under his hand or by notification in the Gazette require any person or all persons, to furnish him or such official as may be specified in that requirement with any information called upon to be produced in a full and accurate manner and shall produce any records or any documents as may be required in that behalf relating to any goods in his or their possession or under his or their control.

Compunding of offences. [S 48/99]

10A. (1) The Price Controller and the Deputy Price Controllermay compound any offence against this Act, which is prescribed to be a compoundable offence, by accepting from the person reasonably suspected ofhaving committed such offence a sum of money to be fixed by him not exceeding$500.

[S 6/00]

(2) Upon payment made, the person reasonably suspected of having committedsuch offence, if in custody, shall be discharged, any properties seized shall bereleased and no further proceedings shall be taken against such person orproperty in respect of such offence.

Offences. [S 48/99]

10B. Any person who —

(a) sells price controlled goods at the price of performs or offersto perform any service in relation to any price controlled goods or hires oroffers to hire any price controlled goods at a charge which exceeds the maximumprice or charge fixed therefor by the Price Controller under section 3B shall beguilty of an offence against this Act;

(b) knowingly purchases or offers to purchase any pricecontrolled goods or who knowingly pays or offers to pay for a service a chargewhich exceeds the maximum charge therefor shall be guilty of an offence againstthis Act;

(c) carries on a business in the course of which price controlledgoods are normally sold and who has in his possession a stock of such goods who—

(i) falsely denies that he has such goods in his possession;

or

(ii) refuses, except with the permission of the Price Controller, to sell such goods in reasonable quantities, shall be guilty of an offence against this Act:

Provided that it shall be a defence to a charge under sub-paragraph

(ii) that the purchaser was unable or unwilling to make immediate payment of the price of the goods in cash.

Regulations.

11. (1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, make regulations for the purposes of carrying out this Act either generallyor for any particular part or provision.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section regulations may provide for any of the mattersmentioned in the Schedule.

Attempts and abetments.

12. (1) Any person attempting to commit or abetting in any way thecommission of an offence against this Act shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) The expression “attempting to commit” and “abetting the commission of” an offence used in subsection (1) shall have the same meaning as that used in the Penal Code (Chapter22).

Penalties.

13. (1) Any person, who commits an offence against this Act shall beguilty of an offence: Penalty, a fine of $5,000 and imprisonment for 2 years,and in the case of a second or subsequent offence to a fine of $20,000 and toimprisonment for 5 years.

(2) Where any person or persons is convicted of an offence, the court by which he is so convicted may, in addition to any other penalty, make an order debarring him or any firm of which he is a partner or any corporation of which he is an officer, from carrying on business for such period as the court may determine. Any person who fails to comply with any such order shall be guilty of an offence: Penalty, a fine of $20,000 and imprisonment for 5 years.

(3) A conviction for any offence under this Act may be had before the Courtof a Magistrate which shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any otherwritten law, have jurisdiction to pass any sentence provided in this Act or anyrules made thereunder for such offence.

SCHEDULE

(section 11(2))

MATTERS IN REGARD TO WHICH THE MINISTER MAY, INTER ALIA, MAKE REGULATIONS IN RESPECT OF THIS ACT

1. The maintenance of such books, registers, returns or forms.

2. Right of entry upon premises.

3. Right to examine records.

4. Obligation to give information to the Price Controller or delegatedauthority.

5. Right to seize any article in relation to evidence necessary toestablish the commission of an offence.

6. The right to dispose of any perishable article seized asevidence.

7. The issue of licences or permits.

8. The delegation of authority.

9. Declare the penalties for any offence against the rules.

10. The list of compoundable offences.

[S 48/99]