The Credit Unions (Northern Ireland) Order 1985

Charges on assets of credit unions N.I.

31.—(1) An instrument which is executed by a credit union and which creates or is evidence of a fixed or floating charge on assets of the credit union shall not be a bill of sale for the purposes of the [1879 c.50] [1883 c. 7] Bills of Sale (Ireland) Acts 1879 and 1883 or be invalidated by those Acts if the charge is recorded in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) An application for the recording of a charge under paragraph (1) shall be made by delivering by post or otherwise to the registrar, within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of execution of the instrument which creates or is evidence of the charge of within any extended period allowed under paragraph (5),—

(a) a copy of the instrument authenticated in the prescribed manner and such additional particulars relating to the charge and so authenticated as may be prescribed; and

(b) such fee as may be prescribed.

(3) The registrar shall secure—

(a) that an acknowledgement in the prescribed form of every application made for the purposes of this Article is issued to the person by whom the application was made; F1 . . .

(b) that the copy of the instrument included in such an application, a note of any prescribed particulars so included and a copy of the acknowledgement of the application issued in pursuance of sub-paragraph (a) are filed in the prescribed manner and made available for inspection during office hours by members of the public on payment of such fee as may be prescribed; [F2 and

(c) that copies of the instrument included in such an application, the note of any prescribed particulars so included, and the acknowledgement of the application issued are sent to the Authority;]

and an acknowledgement issued under this paragraph shall be conclusive evidence that any document specified by the acknowledgement was delivered to the registrar on the date so specified.

(4) Regulations may provide for the giving of notice to the registrar of any release, discharge or other transaction relating to any charge in respect of which an application has been made for the purposes of this Article and for the filing in the prescribed manner of any such notice appearing to the registrar to relate to the charge.

(5) If in the case of an instrument such as is mentioned in paragraph (1) it appears to the High Court, on the application of the credit union which executed the instrument or of any other person claiming the benefit of the instrument, that by reason of inadvertence or other sufficient cause—

(a) an application for the recording of the charge to which the instrument relates was not made within the period of 14 days mentioned in paragraph (2); or

(b) any matters were omitted from or were mis-stated in such an application,

the Court may, on such terms as it thinks fit, order that the period for making such an application shall be extended or, as the case may be, that the omission or mis-statement shall be rectified.

F1 Word in art. 31(3) omitted (31.3.2012) by virtue of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Permissions, Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) (Northern Ireland Credit Unions) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/2832), arts. 1(2), 13(17)

F2 Art. 31(3)(c) and preceding word inserted (31.3.2012) by Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Permissions, Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) (Northern Ireland Credit Unions) Order 2011 (S.I. 2011/2832), arts. 1(2), 13(17)