As enacted

Contents

Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act 2023 · As enacted · Part XVIII · General Provisions

124. Interpretation

Official English translation. The Sinhala text prevails.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires–

“banking institution” means–

(a)

any commercial bank;

(b)

any agency or institution acting on behalf of the Government (whether established by any written law or otherwise) which makes loans, advances or investments or accepts deposits of money from the public;

(c)

any other person or body of persons declared by the Minister in charge of the subject of Finance, by Order published in the Gazette, to be a banking institution for the purposes of this Act;

“commemorative currency note or coin” means a currency note or coin issued to commemorate any person or special event;

“currency” means all currency issued and in circulation in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

“dealer direct participant” and “direct participant”

shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in the Local Treasury Bills Ordinance

(Chapter 417) and the Registered Stock and

Securities Ordinance (Chapter 420);

“deposit liabilities” means all those liabilities of a licensed commercial bank, being demand deposits, special deposits, savings deposits, time deposits, placements made by any institution other than a licensed commercial bank in the inter-bank call money market, margins against letter of credit and special deposit schemes including pension funds, children’s deposit schemes and other schemes of a similar nature, and funds held in trust or on behalf of its constituents consequent to deposits, but does not include inter-commercial bank deposits;

“financial institution” means -

(a)

any licensed commercial bank within the meaning of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988;

(b)

any licensed specialized bank within the meaning of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988;

(c)

any licensed finance company within the meaning of the Finance Business Act, No.

42 of 2011;

(d)

any registered finance leasing establishment within the meaning of the

Finance Leasing Act, No. 56 of 2000;

(e)

any money broker within the meaning of the Money Brokering Regulations issued or deemed to have been issued under this

Act;

(f)

any primary dealer within the meaning of the Registered Stock and Securities

Ordinance (Chapter 420) or the Local

Treasury Bills Ordinance (Chapter 417);

(g)

any authorized or restricted dealer within the meaning of the Foreign Exchange Act,

No. 12 of 2017; or

(h)

any other financial institution as may be assigned to the Central Bank by any written law for the time being in force, regulated and supervised by the Central Bank;

“financial market” means an organized institutional structure or mechanism for creating and exchanging financial assets;

“financial market infrastructure” includes a multilateral system among participating institutions, including the operator of the system, used for the purposes of clearing, settling or recording payments, securities, derivatives or other financial transactions;

“financial sector authority” means any authority established by law for the regulation or supervision of a financial sector participant;

”financial sector participant” means –

(a)

any licensed commercial bank within the meaning of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988;

(b)

any licensed specialized bank within the meaning of the Banking Act, No. 30 of 1988;

(c)

any licensed finance company within the meaning of the Finance Business Act, No. 42

of 2011;

(d)

any registered finance leasing establishment within the meaning of Finance Leasing Act,

No. 56 of 2000;

(e)

any money broker within the meaning of the

Money Brokering Regulations made or deemed to have made under this Act;

(f)

any primary dealer within the meaning of the

Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance

(Chapter 420) or the Local Treasury Bills

Ordinance (Chapter 417);

(g)

any authorized or restricted dealer within the meaning of the Foreign Exchange Act,

No. 12 of 2017;

(h)

any insurance company within the meaning of the Regulation of Insurance Industry Act,

No. 43 of 2000;

(i)

any insurance broker or loss adjuster within the meaning of the Regulation of Insurance

Industry Act, No. 43 of 2000;

(j)

any institutional agent within the meaning of the Regulation of Insurance Industry Act,

No. 43 of 2000;

(k)

any stock exchange within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange Commission of

Sri Lanka Act, No. 19 of 2021;

(l)

any stock broker or stock dealer within the meaning of the Securities and Exchange

Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No. 19 of 2021;

(m)

any managing company operating a unit trust within the meaning of the Securities and

Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act,

No. 19 of 2021;

(n)

any person who carries on business as a market intermediary within the meaning of the

Securities and Exchange Commission of

Sri Lanka Act, No. 19 of 2021; or

(o)

any other financial institution as may be assigned to the Central Bank by any written law for the time being in force;

“financial system” means a network of financial institutions and markets dealing in a variety of financial instruments that are engaged in money transmission and lending and borrowing of funds through financial market infrastructure;

“Government” means the Government of the Democratic

Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka;

”Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka” means the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka established under the Regulation of Insurance

Industry Act, No. 43 of 2000;

“Minister” means Minister assigned the subject of

Finance;

“monetary liabilities” means the reserve money including currency in circulation, deposits held by licensed commercial banks and government agencies in the

Central Bank and such other liabilities as may be determined by the Central Bank from time to time, having regard to all types of liabilities available at the Central Bank and the analytical use of the monetary base;

“money supply” means all currency, demand deposits, time and savings deposits and such other financial assets as may be prescribed by the Central Bank from time to time and are owned by persons other than the Government, (commercial) banks and such financial institutions or categories of financial institutions as may be prescribed by the Central

Bank;

“note” means a currency note issued by the Central Bank, including a currency note issued or deemed to be issued by the Board of Commissioners under the

Currency Ordinance, No. 21 of 1941;

“other financial liabilities” in relation to a financial institution, means liabilities (other than deposit liabilities) incurred by such financial institution by the acceptance of money in any form from the public, in the course of its business, by the issue of bills of exchange, promissory notes, bonds, certificates, notes, commercial papers or any other similar instrument by means of which money is raised from the public;

“person” includes any officer of any department of the

Government and any body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, whether established or constituted by or under any written law or otherwise;

“prescribed” means prescribed by rules;

“public authority” or “public entity” includes a Ministry,

Department, Provincial Ministry, Provincial

Department, local authority, public corporation and a company in which the Government or a public corporation or a local authority holds fifty per centum or more of the shares of that company;

“public corporation” means any corporation, board or other body which is or was established by or under any written law other than the Companies Act, No.

07 of 2007, with funds or capital wholly or partly provided by the Government, by way of grant, loan or otherwise;

“public international financial institution” includes the

Asian Development Bank, International Bank for

Reconstruction and Development, and the

International Monetary Fund;

“resident” means -

(a)

a citizen of Sri Lanka residing in Sri Lanka;

(b)

an individual who has been in Sri Lanka for a period not less than one hundred and eighty-three days in aggregate in any twelve months period;

(c)

a company incorporated in Sri Lanka or a body corporate established by or under any written law, or any firm, partnership or other organization in Sri Lanka; or

(d)

a branch, subsidiary, affiliate, extension, office or any other unit of a company or other legal person established by or under the law of any foreign country and operating in

Sri Lanka;

“scripless securities” means securities issued in scripless form;

“Secretary to the Treasury” means the Secretary to the

Ministry of the Minister assigned the subject of

Finance;

“securities” includes –

(a)

treasury bills issued in accordance with the provisions of the Local Treasury Bills

Ordinance (Chapter 417), whether issued in scripless form or otherwise;

(b)

registered stock or securities issued in accordance with the provisions of the

Registered Stock and Securities Ordinance

(Chapter 420), whether issued in scripless form or otherwise; and

(c)

any security of the Central Bank, whether issued in scripless form or otherwise, except for the purpose of paragraph (a) of subsection (5) of section 59;

“securities account” means an account maintained by a participant with the Central Bank;

“Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka”

means the Securities and Exchange Commission of

Sri Lanka established under the Securities and

Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No. 19 of 2021;

“settlement account” means an account maintained by a participant with the Central Bank under this Act and used for the purposes of the system with the approval of the Central Bank; and

“special deposits” means all those deposit liabilities of a commercial bank arising out of monies deposited in any special account.

Part XIX

Repeals and Savings

Read on from Part XIX