No. 24/1927:

TARIFF COMMISSION (PROCEEDINGS) REGULATIONS, 1927.

TARIFF COMMISSION (PROCEEDINGS) REGULATIONS, 1927.

WHEREAS it is enacted by section 3 of the Tariff Commission Act, 1926 (No. 40 of 1926), (hereinafter referred to as " the Act ") that the Tariff Commission (hereinafter referred to as " the Commission ") shall make regulations for the governance of its proceedings :

NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission in exercise of the powers conferred upon it by the said section of the Act and of every and any other power it in this behalf enabling hereby makes the following regulations :—

1. The quorum necessary to constitute a sitting of the Commission shall be any two members.

2. The Interpretation Act, 1923 (No. 46 of 1923), applies to the interpretation of these regulation sin like manner as it applies to the interpretation of an Act of the Oireachtas.

3. Upon an application being referred to the Commission by the Minister for Finance under sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Act, the Commission shall inform the applicants that their application has been so referred to it and shall request them to submit their case in accordance with regulations 8 and 9 hereunder.

4. When the applicants' case has been so submitted, the Commission shall fix the fee payable by the applicants under subsection (1) of section 4 of the Act and shall inform the applicants of the amount of the fee so fixed by sending to them the notice in the behalf prescribed by the Tariff Commission (Collection of Fees) Regulations, 1927.

5. When the fee fixed in respect of any application has been paid, the Commission shall publish in the " Iris Oifigiúil " and the daily Press a notice stating the names and addresses of the applicants, the class or description of goods in respect of which the application is made and whether the application is for the imposition, modification, abolition or renewal of a customs duty. This notice shall also set out the substance of sub-section (3) of section 2 of the Act and of regulation 6 hereunder.

6. Persons desiring to be herd by the Commission in accordance with sub-section (3) of section 2 of the Act shall furnish to the Commission, in the manner prescribed by regulation 9 hereunder, a statement that they claim to be heard under the said sub-section, and the grounds on which they base such claim, together with the names of the witnesses they propose to call and a full statement of the evidence proposed to be given by each of such witnesses.

7. The Commission shall publish in the daily Press advertisements announcing the hour, date and place fixed for the hearing of any application and shall, in addition, communicate the same information by letter to the applicants and to any persons whom the Commission has decided to hear under sub-section (3) of section 2 of the Act, such advertisement to be published and such letters to be posted seven clear days before the date fixed for the hearing.

8. Every case submitted under these Regulations to the Commission by applicants shall be drafted with reference to the several aspects of the application upon which the Commission is required to report in accordance with sub-section (2) of section 2 of the Act and the Schedule thereto, and shall include a list of the witnesses whom the applicants propose to call in support of the application and a full statement of the evidence proposed to be given by each of such witnesses.

9. Every case, statement of evidence, and other document furnished under these Regulations to the Commission by any party to any proceedings before the Commission shall be in typescript or print and furnished in quintuplicate.

10. Except by special leave of the Commission, no witness may be called by any party unless a statement of the evidence proposed to be given by him has been previously furnished to the Commission in accordance with these Regulations.

11. Every document delivered to the Commission in accordance with regulation 9, shall be available for inspection in the office of the Commission both by the persons who have made the application to which the document relates and by persons entitled under sub-section (3) of section 2 of the Act to be heard by the Commission in connection with such application.

Provided that, if any person when delivering a document to the Commission furnishes in writing reasons why, in his opinion, the whole or any portion of such document should not be available for inspection, the Commission may, if it thinks fit, withhold the whole document or any such portion of it from inspection.

12. Persons required by the Commission to attend for viva voce examination or cross-examination shall be given notice of he date on which their attendance is required by the posting to them of a notice at least four clear days before such date; but such notice may be dispensed with in the case of persons attending a sitting of the Commission to whom verbal notice may be given that their attendance will be required on any subsequent day.

13. Upon request made by any party to the proceedings before it the Commission may exclude the public, including other parties, from the sitting at which the matters to which such request relates are being considered, but may at its discretion readmit the public at any time.

14. The Commission may, if it thinks fit, allow any party to the proceedings before it to be represented by a counsel, solicitor, accountant or otherwise; and the counsel, solicitor, accountant or other person so appearing may examine the party whom he represents and any witness called by such party, but shall not examine or cross-examine any other party or witness.

15. These Regulations may be cited as the Tariff Commission (Proceedings) Regulations, 1927.

Dated this 2nd day of March, 1927.

(Signed), J. J. McELLIGOTT,

J. B. WHELEHAN.

JOSEPH H. HINCHCLIFF.