Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act 1916
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1916 c. 105 |
Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1916
(5 & 6 Geo. 5.) CHAPTER 105.
An Act to amend the Trading with the Enemy Acts.
[27th January 1916]
Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
1 Power to deal with businesses of persons, &c. of enemy nationality or associations.
(1) Where it appears to the Board of Trade that the business carried on in the United Kingdom by any person, firm, or company is, by reason of the enemy nationality or enemy association of that person, firm, or company, or of the members of that firm or company or any of them, or otherwise, carried on wholly or mainly for the benefit of or under the control of enemy subjects, the Board of Trade shall, unless for any special reason it appears to them inexpedient to do so, make an order either—
(a ) prohibiting the person, firm, or company from carrying on the business, except for the purposes and subject to the conditions, if any, specified in the order; or
(b ) requiring the business to be wound up.
The Board of Trade may at any time revoke or vary any such order, and may, in any case where they have made an order prohibiting or limiting the carrying on of the business, at any time, if they think it expedient, substitute for that order an order requiring the business to be wound up.
(2) Where the Board of Trade make any such order they may at the same time or at any time subsequently appoint a controller to control and supervise the carrying out of the order and, if the case requires, to conduct the winding up of the business, and in any case where it appears expedient to the Board of Trade, the Board may, as occasion requires, confer on the controller such powers as are exercisable by a liquidator in a voluntary winding-up of a company (including power in the name of the person, firm, or company, or in his own name, and by deed or otherwise, to convey or transfer any property, and power to apply to the High Court or a judge thereof to determine any question arising in the carrying out of the order), or those powers subject to such modifications restrictions or extensions as the Board think necessary or convenient for the purpose of giving full effect to the order, and the remuneration of and costs, charges, and expenses incurred by the controller, and any remuneration payable and costs, charges, and expenses incurred in connection with the supervision or inspection of the business, whether before or after the passing of this Act, to such amount as may be approved by the Board, shall be defrayed out of the assets of the business, and shall be charged on such assets in priority to any other charges thereon.
In England and Wales an official receiver may, if the Board of Trade think fit, be appointed controller.
(3) The distribution of any sums or other property resulting from the realisation of any assets of the business, whether those assets are realised as the result of an order requiring the business to be wound up or as the result of an order prohibiting or limiting the carrying on of the business, shall be subject to the same rules as to preferential payments as are applicable to the distribution of the assets of a company which is being wound up, and those assets shall, so far as they are available for discharging unsecured debts, be applied in discharging such debts due to creditors who are not enemies in priority to the unsecured debts due to creditors who are enemies; and any balance, after providing for the discharge of liabilities, shall be distributed amongst the persons interested therein in such manner as the Board of Trade may direct:
Provided that any sums or other property which had a state of war not existed would have been payable or transferable under this section to enemies, whether as creditors or otherwise, shall be paid or transferred to the custodian under the Trading with the Enemy Amendment Act, 1914 , to be dealt with by him in like manner as money paid to him under that Act.
(4) Where there are assets of the business in enemy territory, the controller shall cause an estimate to be prepared of the value of those assets and also of the liabilities of the business to creditors, whether secured or unsecured, in enemy territory, and of the claims of persons in enemy territory to participate in the distribution of any balance available for distribution, and such liabilities and claims shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to have been satisfied out of such assets so far as they are capable of bearing them, and the balance (if any), of such liabilities and claims shall alone rank for payment out of the other assets of the business. A certificate by the controller as to the amount of such assets, liabilities claims and balance shall be conclusive for the purpose of determining the sums available for discharging the other liabilities and for distribution amongst other persons claiming to be interested in the business:
Provided that nothing in this provision shall affect the rights of creditors of and other persons interested in the business against the assets of the business in enemy territory.
(5) The Board of Trade may, on application for the purpose being made by a controller appointed under this section, after considering the application and any objection which may be made by any person who appears to them to be interested, grant him a release, and an order of the Board releasing the controller shall discharge him from all liability in respect of any act done or default made by him in the exercise and performance of his powers and duties as controller, but any such order may be revoked on proof that it was obtained by fraud or by suppression or concealment of any material fact.
(6) If any person contravenes the provisions of any order made under this section be shall be guilty of a misdemeanour punishable and triable in like manner as the offence of trading with the enemy, and section one of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 1914 , shall apply accordingly.
(7) Where an order under this section has been made as respects the business carried on by any person, firm, or company, no bankruptcy petition or petition for sequestration or summary sequestration against such person or firm, or petition for the winding up of such company, shall be presented, or resolution for the winding up of such company passed, or steps for the enforcement of the rights of any creditors of the person, firm, or company taken, without the consent of the Board of Trade, but the Board of Trade may present a petition...
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