Act of Parliament · As enacted
Sivmuni Se Vehera Buddhist Foundation (Incorporation) Act 2014
Official English translation. The Sinhala text prevails. Open the official Sinhala text, official PDF on documents.gov.lk
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
s 1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Sivmuni Se Vehera
Buddhist Foundation (Incorporation) Act, No. 43 of 2014.
From and after the date of commencement of this
Act, such and so many persons as now are members of the
“Sivmuni Se Vehera Buddhist Foundation” (hereinafter referred to as the “Foundation”) or shall hereafter be admitted as members of the Corporation hereby constituted, shall be a body corporate, with perpetual succession under the name and style of the “Sivmuni Se Vehera Buddhist Foundation”
(hereinafter referred to as “the Corporation”), and by that name may sue and be sued, with full power and authority to have, and use a common seal and to alter the same at its pleasure.
The Corporation shall be deemed to be a voluntary social service organization within the meaning, and for the purpose of the Voluntary Social Services Organizations
(Registration and Supervision) Act, No. 31 of 1980 and the provisions of that Act shall apply to and in relation to the management of the affairs of the Corporation.
s 3General objects of the Corporation
The general objects for which the Corporation is constituted are hereby declared to be :—
to maintain the religous activities of the Sivmuni Se
Vehera Buddhist Centre situated at Navagampura,
Ampara ;
to shape up the adherents of the Buddhism to ensure righteous and religious society ;
to assist the relevant authorities with the consent of such authorities to—
protect sacred places and historical monuments related to Buddhism; and
educate the adherents of the Buddhism to conserve natural resources.
s 4Corporation to ensure no conflict with work of Ministry or Department of the Government or Province
The objects of the Corporation shall be carried out in such manner so as not to create any conflict between the work of the Corporation and any work being carried out simultaneously by any Ministry or Department of the
Government or of any Provincial Council.
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the management and administration of the affairs of the
Corporation shall be carried out by an Excecutive Committee
(hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”) consisting of such number of office bearers as may be specified by the rules made under section 7.
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The Executive Committee of the Foundation that holds office on the day immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act, shall function as the Committee of the Corporation until the first Committee is appointed or elected in the manner provided for by rules made under section 7.
The first Committee of the Corporation shall be appointed or elected within one year of the date of commencement of this Act.
Every office bearer of the Committee including the patrons and advisers, shall be appointed or elected for a period of three years and any such office bearer, patron or advisor shall be eligible for re-appointment or re-election after lapse of the said period of three years.
In the event of a vacancy occurring due to the death, resignation, incapacity or removal from office of an office bearer, the Committee shall having regard to the rules of the
Corporation, elect or appoint a person to fill such vacancy.
The person elected or appointed under paragraph (b)
shall hold office only for the unexpired portion of the term of office of the member whom he succeeds.
s 6Powers of the Corporation
Subject to the provisions of this Act and any other written law, the Corporation shall have the power to do, perform and execute all such acts and matters as are necessary or desirable for the promotion or furtherance of the objects of the Corporation or any one of them including the power:—
to purchase, acquire, rent, construct, renovate and otherwise obtain lands or buildings which may be required for the purposes of the Corporation and to deal with or dispose of the same as may be deemed expedient with a view to promoting the objects of the Corporation ;
to borrow or raise funds with or without securities and to receive grants, gifts or donations in cash or kind:
Provided that, the Committee shall obtain the prior written approval of the Department of External
Resources of the Ministry of the Minister assigned the subject of Finance, in respect of all foreign grants, gifts or donations made to the Corporation;
to make, draw, accept discount, endorse, negotiate, buy, sell and issue bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes and other negotiable instruments and to open, operate, maintain and close accounts in any bank;
to invest any funds that are not immediately required for the purposes of the Corporation, in such manner as the Committee may determine;
to undertake, accept, execute, perform and administer any lawful trust or any real or personal property with a view to promoting the objects of the Corporation;
to appoint, employ, dismiss or terminate the services of officers and servants of the Corporation and exercise disciplinary control over them and to pay them such salaries, allowances and gratuities as may be determined by the Corporation;
to organize lectures, seminars and conferences with a view to promoting the objectives of the
Corporation;
to liaise and co-ordinate with other local and foreign institutions having similar objects to that of the Corporation;
to train personnel in Sri Lanka or abroad for the purposes of the Corporation ; and
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to do all other things as are necessary or expedient for the proper and effective carrying out of the objects of the Corporation.
It shall be lawful for the Corporation, from time to time at any general meeting of the Corporation and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, to make rules, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, or any other written law, for all or any of the following matters:—
the classification of membership, admission, withdrawal, expulsion or resignation of members and fees payable by the members ;
the election of office bearers of the committee or vacation of or removal from office of office bearers and the powers, duties and functions of the office bearers ;
the terms and conditions of appoinment, powers, functions and duties of various officers, agents and servants of the Corporation ;
the procedure to be followed for the summoning and holding of meetings of the Committee or any sub-committee thereof, notices and agenda of such meetings, the quorum and the conduct of business thereat ;
the qualifications and disqualifications to be a member of the Committee and the Corporation ;
the administration and management of the property of the Corporation ; and
generally the management of the affairs of the
Corporation and the accomplishment of its objects and dissolution of the Corporation.
Any rule made by the Corporation may be amended, altered, added to or rescinded at a like meeting and in like manner as a rule made under subsection (1) of this section.
The rules made under sub section (1) shall be published in the Gazette.
The members of the Corporation shall at all times be subject to the rules of the Corporation.
s 8Register of members
The Committee shall maintain a register of members in which name, address and other essential details of the members shall be inscribed.
The Corporation shall have its own Fund.
All moneys received by way of gift, bequest, donation, subscription, contribution, fees or grant for and on account of the Corporation shall be deposited in one or more banks approved by the Committee to the credit of the Corporation.
There shall be paid out of the Fund, all sums of money as are required to defray any expenditure incurred by the
Corporation in the exercise, performance and discharge of its powers, duties and functions under the Act.
The financial year of the Corporation shall be the calendar year.
The Corporation shall cause proper accounts to be kept of its income and expenditure, assets and liabilities and all other transactions of the Corporation.
The accounts of the Corporation shall be audited annually by the Auditor General or a qualiafied auditor appointed by Auditor General in terms of Article 154 of the
Constitution.
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For the purposes of this section, “qualified auditor”
means—
an individual who, being a member of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka, or of any other institute established by law, possesses a certificate to practise as an accountant issued by the Council of such
Institute ; or
a firm of accountants, each of the resident partners of which, being a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka or of any other institute established by law, possesses a certificate to practise as an accountant issued by the Council of such Institute.
The Committee shall prepare a report of the activities of the Corporation for each financial year and submit such report together with the audited statement of accounts to the Registrar of Voluntary Social Services
Organizations appointed under the Voluntary Social
Services Organization (Registration and Supervision) Act,
No. 31 of 1980 before the expiration of six months of the year succeeding the year to which such report relates.
A separate Account relating to the foreign and local moneys received by the Corporation during the financial year shall be attached to the report referred to in subsection (1).
s 12Debts due by and payable to the Foundation
All debts and liabilities of the Foundation existing on the day immediately preceding the date of commencement of this Act, shall be paid by the Corporation hereby constituted, and all debts due to and subscriptions and contributions payable to the Foundation on that day shall be paid to the Corporation for the purposes of this Act.
s 13Corporation may hold property movable and immovable
Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Corporation shall be able and capable in law to take and hold any property, movable or immovable, which may become vested in it by virtue of any purchase, grant, gift, testamentary disposition or otherwise, and all such property shall be held by the
Corporation for the purpose of this Act and subject to the rules of the Corporation made under section 7, with power to sell, mortgage, lease, exchange or otherwise dispose of the same.
s 14Application of moneys and property
The moneys and property of the Corporation however derived shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Corporation and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or profit to the members of the
Corporation.
The seal of the Corporation shall not be affixed to any instrument whatsoever, except in the presence of two members of the Committee who shall sign their names to the instrument in token of their presence and such signing shall be independent of the signing of any person as a witness.
The seal of the Corporation shall be in the custody of an office bearer of the Committee as may be decided by the
Committee.
If upon the dissolution of the Corporation there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, such property shall not be distributed among the members of the Corporation, but shall be given or transferred to any other institution having objects similar to those of the Corporation and which is by the rules thereof, prohibited from distributing any income or property among its members.
For the purposes of subsection (1) the appropriate institution shall be determined by the members of the
Corporation immediately before the dissolution at a general meeting by the majority of votes of the members present.
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s 17Saving of the rights of the Republic
Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice or affect the rights of the Republic or of any body politic or corporate.
s 18Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of any inconsistency between the
Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail