Travel Agents Bill

“Board” means the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board established under section 3 of the Tourist Promotion Board Act (Cap. 205);

“Committee” means the Compensation Fund Committee established under section 13;

“Compensation Fund” means the Compensation Fund established under section 13;

“licence” means a licence issued under this Act;

“licensee” means any person who holds a licence granted to him or on his behalf.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring any executor, administrator, trustee, liquidator, official receiver, trustee in bankruptcy of a bankrupt estate, trustee under a composition or scheme of arrangement or under a deed of arrangement or under a deed of assignment, committee of the estate or person of a mentally ill person, or manager of the property of an incapable person, for the purpose of performing his functions, exercising his powers or carrying out his duties as such, to hold a licence.

Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection (1), it shall not be lawful for any of the persons referred to in that section for whom is vested the management of the business of any travel agent to carry on that business at any time after the expiration of three months from the date on which the management of that business was so vested, unless that person holds a licence.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as relieving any person from the obligation to take out a licence under any written law for the performance of any function, the exercise of any power or the carrying out of any duty for which a licence shall have been required if this Act has not been passed or to pay the fee payable in respect of any such licence.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the Official Assignee performing his duties as the trustee in bankruptcy of the property of a bankrupt to hold a licence.

Subject to the provisions of this section, a person carries on the business of a travel agent if that person —

An individual does not carry on the business of a travel agent by reason only of carrying on in the course of his employment any activity referred to in subsection (1).

A person does not carry on the business of a travel agent in respect of any activity referred to in —

A person does not carry on the business of a travel agent by reason only of holding himself out as, or advertising that he is, willing to carry on any activity to which paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (3) applies.

No person shall carry on the business of a travel agent unless he is the holder of a licence granted to him or on his behalf.

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Any person who desires to obtain a licence shall make an application to the Board in such form as the Board may require.

Upon receiving an application under subsection (1) the Board shall consider the application and may grant a licence, with or without conditions, or refuse to grant a licence.

The Board shall refuse to grant a licence if —

The Board may at any time vary or revoke any of the existing conditions of a licence or impose conditions or additional conditions thereto.

The Board shall, prior to taking any action under subsection (4), notify its intention to take such action to the licensee concerned and shall give the licensee an opportunity to submit reasons why the conditions of his licence should not be so varied or revoked.

Where a licence is subject to conditions the licensee shall comply with those conditions.

Any person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Board under this section may, within one month of being notified of the decision of the Board, appeal against such decision to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final.

Every licensee shall exhibit his licence or a certified copy thereof in a conspicuous place at his principal place of business and at every branch where the licensee carries on the business of a travel agent.

Any person —

The Board may by order revoke a licence —

The Board shall, before revoking any licence under the provisions of subsection (1), give the licensee concerned notice in writing of his intention to do so, specifying a date, not less than twenty-one days after the date of the notice, upon which such revocation shall take effect and calling upon the licensee concerned to show cause to the Board why his licence should not be revoked.

When the Board has revoked a licence under the provisions of subsection (1) it shall forthwith inform the licensee concerned by notice in writing of such revocation.

The person whose licence has been revoked may, within fourteen days after the receipt of the notice referred to in subsection (3), or such extended period of time as the Minister may allow, appeal in writing against such revocation to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final.

An order of revocation shall not take effect until the expiration of a period of fourteen days after the Board has informed the licensee concerned of the order.

If within that period the licensee concerned gives due notice of appeal to the Minister the order shall not take effect unless the order is confirmed by the Minister or the appeal is for any reason dismissed by the Minister or is withdrawn.

Where an order of revocation becomes effective under section 11, the licensee concerned shall forthwith cease to carry on the business of a travel agent.

The provisions of subsection (1) shall not prejudice the enforcement by any person of any right or claim against the licensee concerned or by the licensee concerned of any right or claim against any person arising out of or concerning any matter or thing done prior to the revocation of the licence.

The Board shall establish and keep a Compensation Fund which shall be administered by a Compensation Fund Committee on behalf of the Board.

The Committee shall consist of such number of members as the Minister sees fit to appoint.

The assets of the Compensation Fund shall be the property of the Board but shall be kept separate from all other property and shall be held in trust for the purposes set out in this section.

The Compensation Fund shall consist of —

All the moneys from time to time forming part of the Compensation Fund and all investments of the Compensation Fund may be applied for —

The Board may require any person who is licensed or applies for a licence to carry on the business of a travel agent to pay to the Compensation Fund such amounts as the Committee may from time to time determine and to furnish such security as the Board may require for the payment of any further amounts as the Board may require in the future.

Any security required shall be given in the manner and form approved by the Board and may, subject to that approval, be by bond, guarantee or any other method.

Where it is proved to the satisfaction of the Committee that any person has sustained loss in consequence of —

Any grant made by the Committee under this section may be made directly to the person who has suffered loss or to any other person who would be arranging for assistance for the person who has suffered the loss.

In making any payments under this section, the Committee may in its discretion restrict payments out of the Compensation Fund to such person or classes of persons as the Committee thinks fit.

The Committee may appoint such other sub-committees as it deems fit for the purpose of carrying out its work under the provisions of this Part and may delegate to the sub-committee or the members thereof any power, authority or discretion conferred on the members of the Committee.

Any such delegation may at any time in like manner be rescinded or varied.

The Committee may at any time remove any member of the sub-committee appointed by it under this section and may fill any vacancy in the sub-committee howsoever arisen.

Any licensee who —

Nothing contained in this section shall be so construed as to limit or in any way affect the provisions of any other written law.

Any police officer, and any officer of the Board duly authorised in writing in that behalf by the Board, may without warrant arrest any person whom he reasonably suspects to have committed an offence under this Act.

Any police officer, and any officer of the Board duly authorised in writing by the Board, arresting a person under subsection (1) may search such person and take possession of all articles found on him which there is reason to believe were used in connection with the offence:Provided that no female shall be searched except by a female.

Every person so arrested shall be taken to the offices of the Board or a police station.

Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, any person, who at the time of the commission of such offence was a director, secretary, manager or other officer of the company or who was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that the offence was committed without his consent or connivance and that he exercised such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his function in that capacity and to all the circumstances.

Any person who would have been guilty of an offence if anything had been done or omitted to be done by him personally shall be guilty of such offence and shall be liable to the same penalty if such thing had been done or omitted to be done by his partner, agent or servant in the course of partnership business or in the course of his employment, as the case may be, unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or consent and that he took all reasonable precautions to prevent the doing or omission to do such thing.

Nothing in subsection (2) shall relieve any partner, agent or servant from any liability for an offence.

A person shall not disclose any information obtained by him in connection with the administration or execution of this Act, unless the disclosure is made —

Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

The Board may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations generally for the carrying out of the provisions of this Act and, without prejudice to such general power, may make regulations for all or any of the following purposes: —

Such regulations may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment and in the case of a continuing offence may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable by a further fine not exceeding one thousand dollars a day during which the offence is continued.