Section 9

Any person who occupies or uses any premises as an unregistered factory shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a fine not exceeding $500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 days or to both for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

An application for the registration of a factory shall be in the appropriate form set out in the First Schedule and shall, not less than two months before the operation of the factory, be submitted to the Chief Inspector together with a layout plan of the factory and such other particulars as the Chief Inspector may require.

The Chief Inspector shall, upon receipt of such application and on being satisfied that the premises are suitable for use as a factory of the nature stated in the application, cause the factory to be registered and shall, on payment of the prescribed fee, issue to the occupier a certificate of registration in the form set out in the Second Schedule.

A certificate of registration shall, unless otherwise stated on the certificate or revoked by the Minister pursuant to this Act, expire at the end of one year from the date of its issue.

The Chief Inspector may instead of issuing a certificate of registration under subsection (3) issue to the occupier a permit in the form set out in the Second Schedule in respect of the whole or any specified part of the premises to be valid for a period stated in the permit, and subject to such conditions as the Chief Inspector may specify.

The Chief Inspector may, on payment of the prescribed fee, renew a certificate of registration or extend the period of a permit.

Where the Chief Inspector is satisfied that there has been a contravention of any condition subject to which a permit has been issued in respect of any factory he may, by giving not less than one month’s notice in writing to the occupier of the factory, cancel the permit and on the expiration of the notice the permit shall, subject to subsection (8), cease to be in force.

An occupier of a factory or proposed factory who is aggrieved by the refusal of the Chief Inspector to register any premises as a factory or to renew the registration of any premises as a factory, or by the cancellation of a permit in respect of a factory, may, within 21 days after the refusal or cancellation is notified to him, appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final.

Where an appeal under subsection (8) is instituted in respect of a registered factory then pending the determination of the appeal the registration of the factory shall continue to remain in force.

Where any person other than the person named in a certificate or permit as the occupier of a factory becomes the occupier thereof the person so named in the certificate or permit shall serve on the Chief Inspector a written notice of the change of occupancy within 14 days after such change and if no such notice is served the person named in the certificate or permit shall be deemed to be the occupier of the factory and shall be subject to all provisions of this Act.

Where in any registered factory there is a change in the nature of the work carried on for which the premises have been registered, or where there is any structural change or any change in the layout of the factory, the occupier shall, not less than one month before the commencement of the change, give written notice thereof to the Chief Inspector and if the occupier fails to do so he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $3,000.

Where it appears to the Minister that, in the case of temporary factories of any class or description, it is unnecessary to apply this section he may, if he thinks fit, by order exempt the temporary factories from this section.