Friendly and Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1968

21 Interpretation

(1) In this Act, except so far as the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the following meanings respectively, that is to say—

• "Act of 1896" means the [1896 c. 25.] Friendly Societies Act 1896;

• "Act of 1965" means the [1965 c. 12.] Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1965;

• "annual return", in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1896, means the annual return which that society is required to send to the registrar by section 27(1) of that Act, and in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1965, means the annual return which that society is required to send to the appropriate registrar by section 39(1) of that Act;

• "collecting society" has the same meaning as in the [1923 c. 8.] Industrial Assurance Act 1923;

• "exempt society" has the meaning assigned to it by section 4(4) of this Act;

• "group accounts" has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 of this Act;

• "industrial and provident society" means a society registered under the Act of 1965;

• "registered branch" means a branch registered under the Act of 1896 of a society registered under that Act;

• "Scottish society" means any body which is either a society registered under the Act of 1896 or a society registered under the Act of 1965 (as the case may be) in Scotland;

• "society" means any body which is either a society registered under the Act of 1896 or a society registered under the Act of 1965;

• "subsidiary" has the meaning assigned to it by section 15 of this Act;

• "year of account"—

  (a)

  in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1896, means with respect to the year in which it is so registered the period beginning with the date of registration and ending with 31st December of that year and in any other case a period of twelve months ending with 31st December; and

  (b)

  in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1965, means any period required by section 39 of that Act to be included in an annual return of that society.

(2) In this Act "the appropriate registration Act"—

(a) in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1896 or to a member of the committee of any such society, means the Act of 1896, and

(b) in relation to a society registered under the Act of 1965 or to a member of the committee of any such society, means the Act of 1965;

and any reference to an offence under the appropriate registration Act is a reference to an offence falling within section 89 of the Act of 1896 or to an offence under section 61 of the Act of 1965 (as the case may require).

(3) In this Act, "the current year of account", in relation to the appointment of an auditor or auditors, means the year of account in which the question of that appointment arises, and "the preceding year of account" means the year of account immediately preceding the current year of account.

(4) In this Act, except so far as the context otherwise requires—

(a) references to a society registered and to the registration of a society under the Act of 1896 include respectively references to a registered branch and to the registration under that Act of a branch of a society so registered; and

(b) references to a society registered under the Act of 1965 include references to a society deemed to be so registered by virtue of section 4 of that Act.