The Trading Schemes Act 1996 (Commencement) Order 1997

Statutory Instruments

1997 No. 29 (C. 1)

FAIR TRADING

The Trading Schemes Act 1996 (Commencement) Order 1997

Made

13th January 1997

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 5(2) of the Trading Schemes Act 1996(1), hereby makes the following Order:

Citation

1.  This Order may be cited as the Trading Schemes Act 1996 (Commencement) Order 1997.

Appointed day

2.  The day appointed for the coming into force of the Trading Schemes Act 1996 is 6th February 1997.

John M Taylor,

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate and Consumer Affairs,

Department of Trade and Industry

13th January 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings into force the Trading Schemes Act 1996 (“the Act”) on 6th February 1997.

This Act amends Part XI of the Fair Trading Act 1973 (c. 41) (“the 1973 Act”) which deals with pyramid selling and similar trading schemes. In particular, section 1 of the Act substitutes section 118 of the 1973 Act which contains an extended definition of trading schemes subject to the controls of Part XI. The new section 118 also contains powers for the Secretary of State to exclude trading schemes from the controls of Part XI. Regulations excluding trading schemes will come into force at the same time as the Act.

Section 2 of the Act amends the provisions relating to advertisements and other information materials in section 119 of the 1973 Act and extends the definition of document in section 120 of that Act. New regulations relating to pyramid selling and similar trading schemes come into force at the same time as the Act.

(1)

1996 c. 32.