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The Minister may by order amend or revoke an
order under this section.
Section 7 requires any person who carries on, or
is employed in connection with, the business of
letting goods, whether under hire-purchase agree
ments or otherwise, or selling goods by credit-sale
agreements whenever so required by the Minister,
to furnish to the Minister any books, documents,
records, particulars, or information in that person's
power or control which the Minister may require for
enabling him to exercise his functions under this
Part of this Act.
Sections 8 and 9, dealing with authorised officers,
state that the Minister may appoint such and so many
of his officers as he thinks fit to be authorised officers.
An authorised officer may, for the purpose of
obtaining any information which the Minister may
require for enabling him to exercise his functions
under this Part of this Act, at all reasonable times
enter premises at which the business of letting goods,
whether under hire-purchase agreements or other
wise, or selling goods by credit-sale agreements is
carried on and subject to the production of his
warrant of appointment, do any one or more of the
following things :—
(a)
inspect the business,
(V)
require
the person who carries on such
business and any person employed in connec
tion therewith to produce to him any books,
documents or records relating to such business
which are in that person's power or control
and to give him such information as he may
reasonably require in regard to any entries
in such books.
(c)
inspect any copy or take extracts from such
books, documents or records,
(d)
require such person to give to him any
information he may reasonably require in
regard
to
the persons carrying on such
business (including, in particular, in the case
of an unincorporated body of persons,
information in regard to
the membership
thereof and of its committee of management
or other controlling authority) or employed
in connection therewith, and in regard to the
business.
No one shall be required to answer any question
or to give any evidence
tending
to criminate
himself.
Any person who obstructs or impedes an author
ised officer in the exercise of his powers under this
section or does not comply with any requirement
shall be guilty of an offence.
Under section 10
no authorised officer shall
disclose information available to him by virtue of
the powers of obtaining information conferred on
him by this Part of this Act; save
(a)
a communication made by him in the execution
of his duties under this Part of this Act,
(V)
the disclosure of information for the purpose
of legal proceedings under this Part of this Act.
By section 11 a person who contravenes (whether
by act or omission) any provision of an order
under this Part of this Act for the time being in
force shall be guilty of an offence ;
this also applies
to every person who aids, abets, or assists another
person, or conspires with another person, to commit
an offence ;
section 12 provides that authorised
officials of companies and unincorporated bodies
may be liable to penalties.
By section 13 every person who commits an
offence under this Part of this Act shall on summary
conviction thereof be liable to a fine not exceeding
one hundred pounds or, at the discretion of the
court, to imprisonment for six months or to both
such fine and imprisonment.
By section 14 proceedings in relation to an offence
under this Part of this Act may be brought and
prosecuted by
the Minister
for
Industry and
Commerce,
and
summary proceedings
for
an
offence under this Part of this Act may be instituted
within twelve months from the date of the offence.
Section 15 makes further provisions relating to
postponed orders for specific delivery of goods to
and to consequent execution orders when varied.
By section 16 notwithstanding section
6
of the
1946 Act, a provision in an agreement made hence
forth whereby an owner of a motor vehicle which
has been let under a hire-purchase agreement or a
person acting on his behalf is
(a)
authorised to enter' premises (other than a
house used as a dwelling or any building
within the curtilage thereof) for the purpose
of taking possession of the motor vehicle, or
(H)
relieved from liability for any such entry shall
be valid.
In this section " motor vehicle" means any
mechanically propelled vehicle constructed for use
on roads for the carriage of persons or goods and
includes a tractor.
Section 17 states that, where,
(a)
goods are let under a hire-purchase agreement,
(b)
the owner recover possession thereof or an
order is made by the court under paragraph
(a)
of subsection (4) of section 13 of the
Principal Act for the specific delivery thereof
to the owner,
then, the liability of a guarantor under a contract of
guarantee in relation to the agreement shall not
exceed the amount, if any, which the hirer would
have been liable to pay under section 5 of the 1946
Act if he had determined the agreement under that
section at the time of the recovery or the making of
the order, as the case may be, and shall then cease.