Development of Inventions Act 1967

Financial provisions

5 Financial duty

(1) The Corporation shall so exercise their functions as to secure, in so far as can be done consistently with the fulfilment of their purposes, that the return to them from their activities shall be sufficient to meet their outgoings on revenue account, taking one year with another.

(2) Nothing in the foregoing subsection shall be taken as preventing the Corporation from exercising their functions so that the return to them from their activities exceeds their outgoings on revenue account.

(3) Any surplus on revenue account shall be applied by the Corporation in such manner as the Minister, with the approval of the Treasury, and after consultation with the Corporation, may direct; and any such direction may require the whole or any part of the surplus to be paid into the Exchequer.

6 Temporary borrowing

(1) With the approval of the Minister given, with the consent of the Treasury, either generally or as respects the particular case, the Corporation may borrow temporarily, whether by way of overdraft or otherwise, sums required by them for meeting any of their obligations or discharging any of their functions:

Provided that the aggregate amount outstanding of any sums borrowed under this section shall not at any time exceed £250,000.

(2) A person lending money to the Corporation shall not be bound to inquire whether the borrowing is within the power of the Corporation.

7 Exchequer advances

(1) The Minister with the consent of the Treasury may out of moneys provided by Parliament make advances to the Corporation within the limit specified in the next following subsection.

(2) The aggregate amount outstanding in respect of any advances made under this section shall not at any time exceed £25 million.

(3) The Corporation shall make to the Minister at such times and in such manner as the Minister may with the approval of the Treasury direct—

(a) payments of such amounts as the Minister may with the like approval direct in or towards repayment of advances made to the Corporation under this section; and

(b) payments of interest on any sums for the time being outstanding in respect of such advances at such rate as the Minister may with the like approval direct.

(4) Different rates of interest may be directed under this section as respects different advances and as respects interest for different periods.

(5) Sums received by the Minister under this section shall be paid into the Exchequer.

(6) The Minister shall lay before each House of Parliament a statement of any payment due from the Corporation under this section which is not duly paid to him as required thereunder.

8 Remission of liability to repay advances

(1) This section applies where—

(a) the Corporation have written down, or propose to write down, the value in their books of any asset which in the opinion of the Minister represents expenditure incurred by the Corporation exclusively for or in connection with the development of an invention or expenditure incurred by the Corporation under section 2(1) (c) or (d) of this Act, and

(b) the Corporation apply to the Minister for relief under this section in respect of their liability to repay an advance under section 7 of this Act, being an advance which in the opinion of the Minister was used to defray all or any part of the expenditure represented by the asset.

(2) If the Minister with the consent of the Treasury so directs, the Corporation's liability up to the amount specified in the direction, but not exceeding the amount written down, shall be extinguished from the date as on which the value of the asset is so written down.

(3) The extinction under subsection (2) of this section of any liability shall not affect the obligation of the Corporation to pay interest under section 7(3)(6) of this Act on the extinguished debt in respect of any period or part of a period before the date on which the liability is extinguished.

(4) No account shall be taken of the extinction of a liability under subsection (2) of this section for the purposes of section 7(2) of this Act.

(5) If at any time after the giving of a direction under subsection (2) of this section it appears to the Minister that in consequence of a change in circumstances since the giving of the direction the value of the asset has increased, he may direct that all or any part of the liability extinguished shall revive, and where a direction is given under this subsection interest shall become payable by the Corporation under section 7(3)(b) of this Act for any period after the direction takes effect; and it shall be the duty of the Corporation to give the Minister such information as he may from time to time require for the purpose of enabling him to exercise his powers under this subsection.

(6) At or before the time when the Corporation make an application under this section they shall submit to the Minister a statement setting out the grounds on which the application is made.

(7) References in this section to the writing down of the value of an asset include references to writing off the whole of the value of an asset.

(8) This section applies to assets written down, and liabilities incurred, before or after the passing of this Act.

9 Relief from interest on advances

(1) The Minister may with the consent of the Treasury give relief in respect of interest due under section 7(3)(b) of this Act in respect of any advance, being interest in respect of the whole or any part of the period of eight years beginning with the making of the advance.

(2) The Minister shall give effect to any decision to give relief of any amount under this section by making a grant of that amount to the Corporation out of moneys provided by Parliament, and the grant shall be used to meet the Corporation's liability to pay interest.

(3) This section shall apply in relation to advances made before or after the passing of this Act, and in relation to interest falling due before or after the passing of this Act.

10 Establishment of reserve

(1) The Corporation shall establish a reserve, applicable to the purposes of the Corporation at such times and in such manner as the Corporation may, subject to the provisions of this section, determine.

(2) The management of the reserve and the sums to be carried from time to time to the reserve shall, subject as aforesaid, be as the Corporation may determine.

(3) The power of the Minister to give directions to the Corporation under section 3 of this Act shall extend to the giving to them, with the approval of the Treasury, of directions as to any matter relating to the establishment or management of the reserve, the carrying of sums thereto, or the application thereof to the purposes of the Corporation, notwithstanding that the directions may be of a specific character.