Non-Resident Traders Act 1983

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AT 26 of 1983

NON-RESIDENT TRADERS ACT 1983

Non-Resident Traders Act 1983 Index


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NON-RESIDENT TRADERS ACT 1983

Index Section Page

1 Licensing of non-resident traders ................................................................................. 5
2 Refusal of licence ............................................................................................................ 6
3 Revocation of licence ...................................................................................................... 6
3A Notice of changes ............................................................................................................ 6
4 Appeals ............................................................................................................................ 7
5 Licence fees ...................................................................................................................... 7
5A Licence fees (cont) ........................................................................................................... 8
6 Production of licences, etc ............................................................................................. 8
6A Enforcement powers, etc................................................................................................ 8
7 Agents ............................................................................................................................... 8
7A Advertisements ............................................................................................................... 8
8 Regulations ...................................................................................................................... 9
9 Register ............................................................................................................................. 9
10 Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 10
11 Savings and transitional provision ............................................................................. 10
12 Amendments ................................................................................................................. 10
13 Short title ........................................................................................................................ 11
SCHEDULE 1 13

EXEMPTED CLASSES OF NON-RESIDENT TRADERS 13
SCHEDULE 1A 13

ENFORCEMENT 13
SCHEDULE 2 18

AMENDMENT OF CERTAIN ENACTMENTS 18
SCHEDULE 3 18

ENDNOTES 19

TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 19
Index Non-Resident Traders Act 1983


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TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 19
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 19

Non-Resident Traders Act 1983 Section 1


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c i e
NON-RESIDENT TRADERS ACT 1983

Received Royal Assent: 23 November 1983
Passed: 13 December 1983
Commenced: 1 April 1984
AN ACT
to revise the law relating to non-resident traders; and for connected
purposes.
GENERAL NOTE:
The maximum fines in this Act are as increased by the Fines Act
1986 and by the Criminal Justice (Penalties, Etc.) Act 1993 s 1.
1 Licensing of non-resident traders

(1) Any non-resident trader who carries on business in the Island otherwise
than under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence
issued by the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading (in this Act called ‘the
Board’), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a
fine not exceeding £5,000 or to both.1

(2) An application for a licence shall be in the prescribed form and shall be
submitted to the Board not less than 21 days (or such shorter period as
the Board may allow) before the licence is to take effect.2

(2A) When the Board receives an application for a licence it shall cause a copy
of the application to be delivered to the Department of Economic
Development, and that Department may use the information contained
in the application in aid of its functions under the Control of Employment
Act 2014.3

(2B) A licence shall be in such form as is prescribed and may contain such
reasonable conditions and limitations as the Board considers to be
appropriate in the circumstances.4

(3) Any person who, for the purpose of procuring a licence under this
section for himself or for any other person —
(a) makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material
particular; or
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(b) recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material
particular,
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to a fine not
exceeding £5,000, or to both.
(4) Proceedings for an offence under subsection (3) may be commenced at
any time within the period of 3 years after the commission of the offence.
2 Refusal of licence

The Board —
(a) shall refuse to issue a licence under section 1 to any person unless
it is satisfied that that person is a fit and proper person to be
issued with such a licence and if acting on behalf of or in
association with another person, that that person is a fit and
proper person to be issued with such a licence;
(aa) shall refuse to issue such a licence to any person unless it is
satisfied that —
(i) such person, and
(ii) if that person is acting on behalf of or in association with
another person, such other person,
has carried on the business of selling goods by retail, whether in
the Island or elsewhere, for an aggregate of at least 6 months
during the year immediately preceding the application;5

(ab) may, before determining whether or not to issue such a licence,
require the applicant to furnish additional information and such
information shall, if the Board so requires, be in such form or
verified in such manner as it may specify;6

(b) may, before determining whether or not to issue such a licence,
refer the application for the licence to the Chief Constable for his
comments.
3 Revocation of licence

The Board may revoke a licence issued under section 1 if —
(a) the holder of the licence, after being granted the licence, is
convicted of an offence under this Act; or
(b) the Board is satisfied on information obtained after the licence is
granted that the holder of the licence is not a fit and proper person
to hold such a licence.
3A Notice of changes

(1) If, at any time between the making of an application for a licence and —
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(a) if a licence is granted, the expiry of the licence; or
(b) if a licence is not granted the final determination of the
application,
there is any change in the information furnished to the Board by the
applicant or, as the case may be, the licence-holder, whether in the
application form or under section 2(ab), the non-resident trader shall
notify the Board of such change within 3 days.

(2) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
£2,500.7

4 Appeals

(1) Any person who is aggrieved by —
(a) the refusal of the Board under section 2(a) to issue a licence to him
under section 1; or
(b) the revocation by the Board under section 3 of such a licence,
may appeal to the High Bailiff in the prescribed manner against such
refusal or, as the case may be, revocation within such period, and subject
to such conditions, as may be prescribed.
(2) The High Bailiff may, on any appeal under subsection (1), dismiss the
appeal or may, where the Board refused to issue the licence by virtue of
section 2(a), or revoked the licence by virtue of section 3, allow the
appeal and, in that event, the Board shall comply with the decision of the
High Bailiff.
(3) The High Bailiff on hearing an appeal under this section, may make such
order in respect of costs as he may consider just.
(4) The decision of the High Bailiff on an appeal under this section shall be
final except on a question of law.
(5) Any person who appeals from a decision of the High Bailiff on a
question of law shall apply for a case to be stated for the opinion of the
Staff of Government Division in accordance with the Petty Sessions and
Summary Jurisdiction Act 1927 and the provisions of that Act shall apply
accordingly.
5 Licence fees

There shall be payable in respect of every licence issued under section 1, £1,500
for the first three days for which the licence is valid, and £300 for each
succeeding consecutive day, or such fee as may be prescribed in respect of that
licence.8

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5A Licence fees (cont)

All licence fees paid under this Act shall form part of the General Revenue.9

6 Production of licences, etc

(1) A non-resident trader shall, when carrying on business, display or cause
to be displayed in a prominent position at his place of business a valid
licence issued under section 1.
(2) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
£1,000.
6A Enforcement powers, etc

Schedule 1A shall have effect with respect to the enforcement of this Act and the
related matters mentioned in that Schedule.10

7 Agents

(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), a person resident in the Island shall be
deemed to be a non-resident trader for the purposes of this Act if he acts
as an agent (whether for an undisclosed principal or not).
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to an agent if the Board has exempted that
agent or that agent’s principal from the provisions of that subsection.
(3) This section shall not apply to a person resident in the Island who acts on
behalf of any person mentioned in Schedule 1 or exempted under
section 8(1)(b).
(4) In this section, ‘agent’ means a person resident in the Island who acts on
behalf of another person who is not resident in the Island for the purpose
of the sale of that other person’s goods by that other person’s authority,
express or implied.
7A Advertisements

(1) No person shall publish or cause to be published an advertisement to
which this section applies.
(2) This section applies to any advertisement —
(a) of any goods as being goods available for sale by; or
(b) which relates or refers, whether directly or indirectly, to,
a non-resident trader who is not the holder of a licence under section 1
on the date on which the advertisement is published or caused to be
published.
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(3) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
£2,500.
(4) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, subject to
subsection (5), it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove —
(a) that the commission of the offence was due to reliance on
information supplied to him by another person; and
(b) that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due
diligence to avoid the commission of the offence by himself or any
person under his control.
(5) If in any such case the defence provided by subsection (4) involves the
allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the reliance on
information supplied by another person, the person charged shall not,
without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless,
within a period ending 7 clear days before the hearing, he has served on
the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or
assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in his
possession.
(6) In this section, ‘advertisement’ means any form of representation,
whether oral, printed or broadcast, which is made in order to promote
the sale of goods by a non-resident trader.11

8 Regulations

(1) The Board may make regulations generally for giving effect to this Act
and, in particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing, such regulations may —
(a) prescribe anything which is required to be, or may be, prescribed
under this Act, but so that no fees may be prescribed except after
consultation with the Treasury;12

(b) without prejudice to Schedule 1, exempt any class of persons from
the operation of this Act.
(2) Before making any regulations under sub-section (1), the Board shall
have consultations with such organisations as it considers will represent
interests which may be affected by the regulations.
(3) Regulations under subsection (1) shall not have effect until they have
been approved by Tynwald.
9 Register

(1) The Board shall establish and maintain a register of all persons granted
licences under this Act which shall be open to public inspection at times
which shall be prescribed.
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(2) The register shall contain such matters as may be prescribed.
(3) A copy of an entry in the register certified by the secretary of the Board
to be a true copy of that entry shall be evidence, unless the contrary is
proved, of the facts stated therein.
10 Interpretation

In this Act —
“the Board
” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1(1);
“non-resident trader
” means, subject to section 7, a trader who is not a resident
trader;
“place of business
” includes any place at which a non-resident trader sells,
offers for sale or solicits orders for goods;
“rate
” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(l) of the Rating and Valuation
Act 1953;
“resident trader
” means a trader who is —
(a) resident in the Island; or
(b) resident in any part of the United Kingdom and has a permanent
establishment in the Island within the meaning of the Double
Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (United Kingdom) Order 1955;
or
(c) resident outside the Island and the United Kingdom and has a
permanent establishment in the Island which is equivalent to the
permanent establishment referred to in paragraph (b);
“trader
” means any person who, in the course of his business, sells or exposes
or offers for sale or seeks orders for the sale of any goods in the Island.
11 Savings and transitional provision

(1) This Act shall not apply to the classes of non-resident traders specified in
Schedule 1.
(2) Any certificate or licence issued under any enactment repealed by this
Act shall, so long as the certificate remains in force, be deemed to be a
licence issued under section 1.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Markets Act 1736, a non-resident
trader shall require a licence under this Act before he may commence
business at any fair or market to which that Act refers.
12 Amendments

(1) The enactments mentioned in Schedule 2 shall be amended in accordance
with that Schedule.
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(2) [Repealed]13

13 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Non-Resident Traders Act 1983, and shall come
into operation on such day as the Governor in Council may by order appoint.14

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Schedule 1

EXEMPTED CLASSES OF NON-RESIDENT TRADERS

Section 8(1)(b) and 11(1)
1. Commercial travellers and other persons selling to or seeking orders for goods
from —
(a) persons who are dealers therein and who buy to sell again; or
(b) persons, who purchase such goods for use (other than resale) in
their own businesses.
2. Persons who sell goods in a trade exhibition approved by the Board.
3. Any person selling, or exposing for sale, goods on behalf of a charitable or social
organisation approved by the Board and authorised by that organisation to sell, or
expose for sale, those goods.
4. Any person who has premises in the Island from which goods are ordinarily
sold by retail throughout at least 2 months of the year and in respect of which that
person pays a rate (the proof wherof shall lie on him) to the local authority for the
district in which such premises are situate.
5. Any person who sells or offers for sale or seeks orders for the sale of any goods
in the course of a bonafide mail order business.
Schedule 1A
15

ENFORCEMENT

Section 6A
PART I – ENFORCEMENT POWERS ETC.

Enforcement by injunction
1. If it appears to the Board in any particular case —
(a) that an offence under this Act has been committed by any
person; and
(b) that criminal proceedings for the offence are unlikely to
discourage him from committing further offences under this Act,
the Board may, with the consent of the Attorney General, apply to the High Court for
an injunction restraining that person from doing such acts (being acts constituting an
offence under this Act) as are specified in the application.
Schedule 1A
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(2) On an application under this section the Court may make such order,
and grant such further relief, as appears to it to be just and equitable in all the
circumstances of the case.
Disclosure of information
2. (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), any person who discloses any information
which was obtained by the Board, an authorised officer or any other person in
consequence of the exercise by any person of any power conferred by this Schedule,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(2) Sub-paragraph (1) does not apply to a disclosure of information if —
(a) the information has been disclosed in any civil or criminal
proceedings, or
(b) the disclosure is made for the purpose of facilitating the exercise
of any function of the Board, the Treasury or the Isle of Man
Financial Services Authority under any enactment (including this
Act), or16

(c) in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for
the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings.
(3) A person committing an offence under this paragraph is liable on
summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine
not exceeding £5,000, or to both.
Power to enter
3. (1) Subject to the following provisions of this Schedule, an authorised officer
may at any reasonable hour and on production, if required, of his credentials exercise
any of the powers conferred by the following provisions of this paragraph.
(2) The officer may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been
any contravention of any provision of this Act, or of regulations under this Act, enter
any premises other than premises occupied only as a person’s residence.
(3) If the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there has been
any such contravention, he may —
(a) for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been any such
contravention, require any person carrying on a business, or
employed in connection with a business, to produce any records
relating to the business;
(b) take copies of, or of any entry in, any records so produced.
(4) The officer may seize and detain any records which he has reasonable
grounds for believing may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence in
respect of any such contravention, but shall inform the person from whom they are
seized that the records have been so seized.
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Search warrants
4. (1) If the High Bailiff is satisfied by written information on oath that there
are reasonable grounds for believing that any records which an authorised officer has
power to inspect under paragraph 3 are on any premises and that their inspection is
likely to disclose evidence that there has been a contravention of any provision of this
Act, or of regulations under this Act, and that —
(a) admission to the premises has been or is likely to be refused and
notice of intention to apply for a warrant under this paragraph
has been given to the occupier, or
(b) an application for admission, or the giving of such a notice would
defeat the object of the entry, or
(c) the premises are unoccupied, or
(d) the occupier is temporarily absent and it might defeat the object of
the entry to await his return,
the High Bailiff may by warrant under his hand authorise any authorised officer to
enter the premises, if need be by force.
(2) A warrant under this paragraph shall continue in force for a period of
7 days.
Supplemental provisions
5. (1) An officer entering any premises by virtue of paragraph 3 or a warrant
under paragraph 4 may take with him such other persons as may appear to him to be
necessary.
(2) On leaving any premises which a person is authorised to enter by
paragraph 3 or a warrant under paragraph 4, that person shall, if the premises are
unoccupied or the occupier is absent, leave the premises as effectively secured against
trespassers as he found them.
Obstruction
6. (1) Any person who —
(a) intentionally obstructs an authorised officer who is acting in
pursuance of this Schedule, or
(b) intentionally fails to comply with any requirement made of him
by an authorised officer under paragraph 3(3), or
(c) without reasonable cause fails to give any authorised officer who
is so acting any other assistance or information which the officer
may reasonably require of him for the purposes of the exercise of
the officer’s functions under this Schedule,
Schedule 1A
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shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
£5,000.
(2) Any person who, in giving any information which is required of him by
virtue of sub-paragraph (1)(c) —
(a) makes any statement which he knows is false in a material
particular, or
(b) recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material
particular,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on information to a fine, or on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000.
7. [Repealed]17

PART II – FORFEITURE AND SEIZURE OF GOODS

Forfeiture and detention of goods
8. (1) The Board may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction for an order for
the forfeiture of any goods on the grounds that a non-resident trader has exposed or
offered for sale or sought orders for the sale of those goods in contravention of
section 1(1).
(2) On an application under this paragraph the court may make an order for
the forfeiture of the goods only if it is satisfied that there has been a contravention of
section 1(1).
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this paragraph by a court
of summary jurisdiction may appeal against that order or decision to the High Court
and the High Court shall have the power in relation to that appeal to make such order
as it thinks fit.
(4) On making an order under this paragraph a court of summary
jurisdiction may direct that the goods to which the order relates —
(a) shall be released, to such person as the court may specify, on
condition that the person —
(i) does not sell or expose or offer for sale or seek orders for
the sale of those goods to any person otherwise than in
accordance with this Act; and
(ii) complies with any order to pay costs or expenses
(including any order under paragraph 11) which has been
made against that person in the proceedings for the order
for forfeiture; or
(b) shall be destroyed in accordance with such directions as the court
may give.
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(5) This paragraph is without prejudice to proceedings for an offence under
section 1(1).
Seizure and detention of goods
9. An authorised officer may seize and detain any goods which he has reasonable
grounds for suspecting may be liable to be forfeited under paragraph 8.
Appeals against detention of goods
10. (1) Any person having an interest in any goods which are for the time being
detained under paragraph 9 by an authorised officer may apply to a court of summary
jurisdiction for an order requiring the goods to be released to him or to another person.
(2) On an application under this paragraph an order requiring goods to be
released may be made only if the court is satisfied —
(a) that proceedings —
(i) for an offence under section 1(1); or
(ii) for the forfeiture of the goods under paragraph 8,
have not been brought or, having been brought, have been concluded without the
goods being forfeited; and
(b) where no such proceedings have been brought, that more than 6
months have elapsed since the goods were seized.
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section by a court of
summary jurisdiction, or by a decision of such a court not to make such an order, may
appeal against that order or decision to the High Court; and an order so made may
contain such provision as appears to the court to be appropriate for delaying the
coming into force of the order pending the making and determination of any appeal
(including any application under section 109 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1989
(statement of case)) and the High Court shall have the power in relation to the appeal
to make such order as it thinks fit.
Recovery of expenses of enforcement
11. (1) This paragraph shall apply where a court —
(a) convicts a person of an offence under section 1(1); or
(b) makes an order under paragraph 8 for the forfeiture of any goods.
(2) The court may (in addition to any other order it may make as to costs or
expenses) order the person convicted or, as the case may be, any person having an
interest in the goods to reimburse the Board for any expenditure which has been or
may be incurred by the Board —
(a) in connection with any seizure or detention of the goods by or on
behalf of the Board; or
Schedule 2
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(b) in connection with any compliance by the Board with directions
given by the court for the purposes of any order for the forfeiture
of the goods.
PART III – GENERAL

Interpretation
12. In this Schedule, “authorised officer
” means an officer of the Board who has
been authorised in writing for the purposes of the enforcement of this Act.
Schedule 2

AMENDMENT OF CERTAIN ENACTMENTS

Section 12(1)
[Sch 2 amended by Shops Act 1985 Sch 2, and amends the following Acts —
Pedlars and Street Traders Act 1906 q.v.
Chapmen’s Act 1971 q.v.
Price Marking Act 1976 q.v.]
Schedule 3
18

Non-Resident Traders Act 1983 Endnotes


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ENDNOTES

Table of Legislation History

Legislation Year and No Commencement






Table of Renumbered Provisions

Original Current






Table of Endnote References

1
Subs (1) amended by SD579/98. 2
Subs (2) substituted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s
1. 3
Subs (2A) inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 1
and amended by SD155/10 Sch 2 and by Control of Employment Act 2014 Sch 2. 4
Subs (2B) inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s
1. 5
Para (aa) inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 2. 6
Para (ab) inserted by Non-Resident Traders Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 2. 7
S 3A inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 3. 8
S 5 amended with exception for certified tourist events by SD107/95. 9
S 5A inserted by Treasury Act 1985 Sch 2. 10
S 6A inserted by Non-Resident and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 4. 11
S 7A inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 s 5. 12
Para (a) amended by Treasury Act 1985 Sch 2. 13
Subs (2) repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1992 Sch 2. 14
ADO (whole Act) 1/4/1984 (GC54/84). 15
Sch 1A inserted by Non-Resident Traders and Chapmen (Amendment) Act 1996 Sch. 16
Para (b) amended by SD2015/0090 as amended by SD2015/0276. 17
Para 7 repealed by Police Powers and Procedures Act 1998 Sch 5. 18
Sch 3 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1992 Sch 2.