Declaration Of Assets And Liabilities Law

Declaration Of Assets And Liabilities Law

A LAW TO COMPEL CERTAIN SPECIFIED CATEGORIES OF PERSONS TO MAKE PERIODIC DECLARATIONS OF THEIR ASSETS AND LIABILITIES IN AND OUTSIDE SRI LANKA ;TO PROVIDE FOR REFERENCE TO BE MADE TO EACH DECLARATIONS BY APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES AND FOR INVESTIGATIONS TO BE CONDUCTED UPON THE RECEIPT OF ANY COMMUNI-CATION AGAINST A PERSON TO WHOM THIS LAW APPLIES; TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES FOR NON-DECLARATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES AND FOR FALSE DECLARATIONS; AND TO PROVIDE FOR MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO.

BE It enacted by the National State Assembly of the Republic of Sri Lanka as follows :-

Short title and date of operation.

1. This Law may be cited as the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law, No. 1 of 1975, and shall come into operation on such date as may be appointed by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette, hereafter in this Law referred to as the ” appointed date ‘.

Application of this Law.

2.

(1) The provisions of this Law shall apply to every person belonging to any one of the following classes or descriptions of persons :

(a) members of the National State Assembly ;

(b) Judges and other state officers appointed by the President or by the Cabinet of Ministers, and staff officers in Ministries and Government Departments ;

(c) Chairmen, Directors, members of the Boards and staff officers of public corporations ;

(d) elected members and staff officers of local authorities ; and

(e) such categories of other officers as may be specified by regulations.

(2) A person to whom the provisions of this Law apply by virtue of the operation of the preceding provisions of this section, is hereafter in this Law referred to as a ” person to whom this Law applies “.

Duty of persons to whom this Law applies to make declaration of assets and liabilities.

3.

(1) Every person to whom this Law applies shall, within three months after the appointed date, make, in such form as may be prescribed, a declaration, hereinafter in this Law referred to as a. “declaration of assets and liabilities”, of all-

(a) his assets and liabilities ;

(b) the assets and liabilities of his spouse ; and

(c) the assets and liabilities of each of his children,

as on such date as’ may be prescribed by resolution of the National State Assembly.

(2) Where a person who on the appointed date is not a person to whom this Law applies becomes thereafter a person to whom this Law applies, he shall, within three months of the date on which the becomes a person to whom this Law applies, make a declaration of assets and liabilities as on the last mentioned date.

(3) The declaration of assets and liabilities that person is required to make under subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall, unless such person ceases to be a person to whom this Law applies, be made periodically in every fifth year after the first declaration of assets and liabilities or at such shorter periodic intervals as the National State Assembly may by resolution determine.

To whom declaration of assets and liabilities are to be made.

4. The declaration, of assets and liabilities shall be made in the following manner :-

(a) to the President-

(i) by the Speaker of the National State Assembly,

(ii) by Ministers and Deputy Ministers,

(iii) by Judges and other state officers appointed by the President ;

(b) to the Speaker of the National State Assembly, by all other members of the National State Assembly not referred to in paragraph (a) ;

(c) to the Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers, by Judges appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers, state officers constituting Labour Tribunals under the Industrial Disputes Act, and by other state officers the principal duty or duties of whose office is or are the performance of functions of a judicial nature ;

(d) to the Secretary to the Ministry-

(i) by Heads of Government Departments,

(ii) by Chairmen and Directors of public corporations,

(iii) by staff officers in the Ministry ;

(e) to the Head of the Department, by staff officers of such Department ;

(f) to the Chairman of the Corporation, by staff officers in such Corporation ;

(g) to the Secretary to the Ministry in charge of the subject of Local Government, by Mayors and Chairmen of local authorities ;

(h) to the Commissioner of Local Government by other elected members of local authorities ;

(i) to the Director of Local Government Service, by staff officers of local authorities who are members of the Local Government Service ; and

(j) to the persons specified by regulations made by the Minister, by officers of the categories specified by such regulations.

Power to refer to declaration of assets and liabilities.

5.

(1) Any person, body or authority responsible for the appointment promotion, transfer or secondment, of a state officer or employee of a public corporation or local authority, shall for such purpose, have the right to call for and refer to any declaration of assets and liabilities of such, state officer or employee.

(2) The Attorney-General, the ‘Director of Public Prosecutions, the Bribery Commissioner, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and the Head of the Department of Exchange Control shall have the right to call for and refer to any declaration of 1 assets and liabilities.

Power of Bribery Commissioner to call for additional information.

6. The Bribery Commissioner may, at any time, call for such additional information as he may require from any person who has made a declaration of assets and liabilities under this Law, and utilize such information or the declaration made under this Law for the performance of his functions under the Bribery Act.

Procedure regarding written communications by any person and prohibition of public statements.

7.

(1) Any person may, by a communication in writing signed by him and addressed to an appropriate authority, draw the attention of such authority to any recent acquisitions of wealth or property or to any recent financial or business dealings or to any recent expenditures by any person to whom this Law applies, which to the knowledge of the person making such communication is not commensurate with the known sources of wealth and income of such person to whom this Law applies.

(2) Upon receipt of a written communication under subsection (1), the appropriate authority, if he is satisfied that such communication is genuine and. that the communication discloses material upon which an investigation ought to be made, shall make such investigation as may be necessary for the purpose of deciding upon all or, any of the) following matters :

(a) prosecution or other suitable action under the provisions of the Bribery Act or the law relating to Exchange Control or Inland Revenue ; or

(b) prosecution under this or any other law, and where such appropriate authority finds that a written communication received by him should be dealt with by any other appropriate authority, he may forward such communication to such other authority.

(3) Any appropriate authority, upon deciding to investigate the material in any communication received under this section, may call for and examine the declaration of assets and Liabilities made under this Law, and may summon and question or cause to be summoned and questioned the person making the communication and shall cause investigations to be made and concluded as expeditiously as possible and in any case before the lapse of a period of six months from the date of the receipt of such written communication.

(4) Save as provided in subsection (1), it shall be an offence for any person to make a public statement concerning a person to whom this Law applies alleging that such person has made recent acquisitions of wealth or property, or recent, financial or business dealings, or Incurred recent expenditures not commensurate with the known sources of wealth and income of such person, or to make any such public statement in respect of any investigation being made by an appropriate authority upon a written communication made by him under the provisions of subsection (1),

(5) Any person who commits an offence under the provisions of subsection (4) shall, upon conviction after trial by a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding on thousand rupees or to a term of imprisonment of either description not exceeding one year, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(6) In this section, ” appropriate authority” shall mean the Attorney-General, the Director of Public Prosecutions. the Bribery Commissioner, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the Head of the Department of Exchange Control and the Principal Collector of Customs.

Preservation of secrecy and oath of secrecy.

8.

(1) Except in the performance of his duties under this Law, a person shall preserve and aid in preserving secrecy with regard to all matters relating to the affairs of any person to whom this Law applies, which may come to his knowledge’ in the performance of his duties under this Law, and shall not communicate any such matter to any person other than the person to whom such matter relates, or suffer any unauthorized person to have access to any papers or records which come into his possession in the performance of his duties under this Law

(2) Every person who is required to preserve and aid in preserving secrecy under the provisions of subsection (1) shall take and subscribe before a Justice of the Peace an oath of secrecy in such form as may be prescribed.

(3) Any person required to preserve and aid in preserving secrecy under the provisions of subsection (1) shall not be required to produce in any court any declaration of assets and liabilities or any other document relating thereto, or to divulge or communicate to any court any matter or thing coming to his notice in the performance of his duties under this Law, except as may be necessary for proceedings instituted or to be instituted under, or for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of, this Law or the Bribery Act, the Exchange Control Act, the Inland Revenue Act, No. 4 of 1963, or the Customs Ordinance.

(4) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall be guilty of an offence and shall, upon conviction after trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand rupees or to a term of imprisonment of either description not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Offences.

9.

(1) A person-

(a) who fails without reasonable cause to make any declaration of assets and liabilities which he is required to make under section 3 ; or

(b) who makes any false statement in any such declaration ; or

(c) who fails without reasonable cause to give such additional information as the Bribery Commissioner may require under this Law; or

(d) who otherwise contravenes any provisions of this Law,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall, unless any other penalty is otherwise provided, on conviction after trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) A person who is convicted of an offence under paragraph (a) of subsection (1) shall within a period of fourteen days after the date of conviction, or in the event of an appeal against such conviction, within a period of fourteen days after the date of affirmation of such conviction, make the declaration of assets and liabilities referred to in section 3. The provisions of section 3 and the provisions of the, other preceding sections of this Law shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to any declaration of assets and liabilities made by such person under this sub-section in like manner and to the same extent as they apply to any declaration of assets and liabilities made under section 3.

(3) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction after trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment and to a further fine of fifty rupees for each day of continuation of that offence,

(4) Where any person has been convicted by a court of any offence under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1), it shall be the duty of the court to bring the fact of such conviction to the notice of the person to whom such convicted person was bound to make the declaration of assets and liabilities under this Law.

(5) No prosecution for any offence under this Law shall be instituted except with the prior sanction of the Attorney-General.

Regulations.

10.

(1) The Minister may make regulations-

(a) relating to any matter required by this Law to be prescribed ;

(b) specifying categories of officers for the purpose of paragraph (e) of section 2 (1) and the person to whom each such category of officers shall make the declaration of assets and. liabilities ; and

(c) in respect of all matters necessary for carrying out the provisions or giving effect to the principles of this Law.

(2) No regulation made by the Minister shall have effect until it is approved by the National State Assembly and notification of such approval is published in the Gazette.

This Law to prevail over other laws.

11. Where the provisions of this Law are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of any other law the provisions of this Law shall prevail.

Interpretation.

12. In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires-

” assets and liabilities ” means assets and liabilities in and outside Sri Lanka, and includes movable and immovable property ;

“child ” means-

(a) a child who Is unmarried and under eighteen years of age; or

(b) a child who is eighteen years of age or over but is dependent on his or her parent or parents, and includes a step-child or a child who has been adopted under the Adoption-of Children Ordinance ;

” Commissioner of Local Government ” includes any Deputy Commissioner of Local Government and any Assistant Commissioner of Local Government;

” local authority ” means any Municipal Council, Urban Council, Town Council or Village Council ;

” prescribed ” means prescribed by regulation ;

” public corporation ” means any corporation, board or oilier body which was or is established by or under any written law other than the Companies Ordinance with capital partly wholly provided by the Government by way of grant, loan or other form, and includes all ” scheduled institutions within the meaning of the Bribery Act and such other institutions or bodies of persons as may be prescribed by regulations under section 10 ;

“staff officer ” means-

(a) in the case of any employee of the Government or a local authority, any officer holding any office the initial of the salary scale of which is not less than Rs. 6,720 per annum; and

(b) in the case of any employee of a public corporation any officer holding any office the initial of the salary scale of which is not less than Rs. 7,200 per annum.