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The Euro Adoption Act, 2006 (Bill No. 70)

A BILL

entitled

AN ACT to provide for measures connected with and ancillary to the adoption of the euro as the currency unit of Malta

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows>-
PART I Preliminary

Title and commencement.

Interpretation.

1. (1) The title of this Act is the Euro Adoption Act, 2006.
(2) This Act shall come into force on such date as the Minister may appoint by notice in the Gazette, and different dates may be so appointed for different provisions and different purposes of the Act.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires>-
“Authority” or “Authorities” means any government department or entity, any public officer or employee within any government department or entity or any body established by law which the Prime Minister may designate from time to time for any one or more purposes of this Act<
“euro” means the currency unit of the European Union as defined in Council Regulation (EC) 974#98 of the 3 May 1998 on the introduction of the euro<
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Finance< “prescribe” means prescribe by order or by regulations made
under this Act<
“regulations” includes an order made under this Act< “Statute” means the Protocol on the Statute of the European
System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank annexed to the Treaty<
“the Treaty” has the same meaning assigned to it by the
European Union Act.
PART II
Powers of the Minister
3. (1) The Minister may make regulations for facilitating the adoption of the euro and generally for the purpose of carrying into operation any of the provisions of this Act and of the Treaty and the Statute in respect of the adoption of the euro, and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Minister may make regulations>
(i) to prescribe a period or periods where it shall be mandatory to display prices both in euro and in Maltese lira<
(ii) to regulate the display of prices, and the conversion of amounts appearing in invoices, receipts, statements and other similar documents, in euro at any time when the euro is not yet the currency of Malta<
(iii) to limit or prohibit the imposition of charges for converting Maltese lira into euro<
(iv) to provide for the conversion of the value of shares and equity securities in companies and in other legal persons into euro<
(v) to provide for administrative procedures, penalties and, or fines, including daily fines for as long as the act or omission persists, in case of infringement of provisions or regulations made
C 477

Power to make regulations.

C 478
under this Act and to designate the Authority or Authorities that shall be entitled to conduct the said procedures and impose the said penalties or fines>
Provided that in prescribing administrative penalties and, or fines in any regulations made under this Act, the Minister>
(a) shall in all cases provide for the right to be heard to be respected before any administrative penalty and, or fine is imposed<
(b) shall not prescribe any administrative fine that is less than three hundred liri or exceeds one thousand five hundred liri for any administrative infringement that may be prescribed and an administrative fine of not less than thirty five liri and not exceeding two hundred liri for each day during which such administrative infringement persists after notice of the said infringement has been given to the person accused of or found to have committed such infringement, as such regulations may prescribe<
(c) shall not provide for the suspension of any trading or other licence as an administrative penalty for a period in excess of fifteen days<
(d) shall in all cases, and without prejudice to the right of the Minister to reconsider the imposition of any administrative fine or penalty, provide for a right of appeal from the decision to impose an administrative penalty and, or fine to the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) as constituted in terms of article 41(6) of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure subject to such procedures and fees as the Minister may prescribe<
(e) may provide for the enforcement pending appeal of any administrative penalty and, or fine subject to the power of the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) to suspend or vary the conditions of such enforcement<
(f) may provide that an administrative fine imposed in terms of regulations made under this Act shall constitute an executive title for all the effects and the purposes of any law<
(g) may provide for powers of search and entry into premises, for powers to demand information and for obligations to give demanded information and for the
imposition, where he deems appropriate, of obligations of confidentiality in respect of information obtained<
(h) may provide for the issuing of orders for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the provisions of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder<
(i) may provide for periods of prescription in respect of administrative offences against this Act or any regulations made thereunder which may not exceed two years<
(vi) to comply with any regulation, directive, decision, recommendation or other act or direction of the European Union in respect of the euro currency<
(vii) to implement any international obligation of Malta or any international obligation which Malta intends to assume in respect of the euro currency<
(viii) to provide on any other matter related to the implementation, regulation or supervision of euro adoption.
4. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of the European Union Act the Prime Minister may, for the purpose of ensuring that any other law properly reflects the adoption of the euro as the currency of Malta and that Malta’s Treaty and international obligations related to, or arising out of the adoption of the euro as the currency of Malta are implemented, by order prescribe that any other law be amended for the said purposes and that such amendment shall have effect immediately subject to the provisions of article 11 of the Interpretation Act which shall apply to any such order.
(2) The Prime Minister may also by order repeal any law or any provision thereof the purposes and functions of which are deemed to have been superseded by reason of the adoption of the euro as the currency unit of Malta.
(3) Orders made in relation to the amendment of primary laws and subsidiary legislation for the conversion of monetary amounts from the Maltese lira to the euro may be made in the Maltese language only, or in the English language only where any such legislation or schedule thereof is published in the English language only.
(4) In this article the term “monetary amounts” includes an amount specified in numerals, words or symbols or in a combination of numerals, words and symbols, howsoever expressed in the amending
C 479

Power to amend laws.

C 480

Delegation of

Authority.

order even if they appear in a different manner than in the primary or subsidiary legislation.
(5) When in referring to any conversion of a monetary amount there are corresponding grammatical variations of words importing the singular, the plural, the masculine or the feminine, such words may also be altered, if the sense so requires and notwithstanding nothing being said in the amending order, so as to be interpreted as the plural, the singular, the feminine or the masculine respectively both in the order published in any one or both languages, and in the laws and regulations, if any, in the language version other than that which shall have been published.
5. The Minister may designate one or more Authorities in Malta to ensure compliance with this Act and, or investigate any infringement of this Act and different authorities may be designated for different purposes or fields of application of this Act.

Objects and Reasons

The objects and reasons of this Bill are the establishment of the legal framework and mechanics to provide for the adoption of the euro as the currency of Malta and for the replacement of the Maltese lira by the euro on such a date as may be established in agreement between the Government of Malta and the Council of the European Union.

Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment ta’ l-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta — Published by the Department of Information (doi.gov.mt) — Valletta

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press

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