Cap. 598 Art. 15Power to issue guidelines.

(1) For the better carrying out of the provisions of this Act, the Authority may, in furtherance of any of its functions and powers, from time to time:

(a) issue and publish guidelines to establish inter alia:

(i) the terms and conditions of any arrangements, incentives or schemes including the determination of rules for the eligibility of undertakings to any benefits and incentives under any such schemes and all matters related and ancillary thereto;

(ii) the applicability of such schemes to particular projects or undertakings; and

(iii) any additional requirements and conditions in relation to activities of undertakings, the conduct of their business, their responsibilities to the Authority, reporting requirements to the Authority, financial resources and related requirements, and any other matters as the Authority may consider appropriate;

(b) pursuant to a delegation by the Minister by means of a relevant regulation, transpose any provisions in the relevant legislation into guidelines with such modifications as the Minister or the Authority, as the case may be, may consider appropriate or necessary.

(2) Guidelines shall be binding on all authorised undertakings and on other persons as may be specified therein in accordance with their terms.

(3) Where any guidelines deal with measures of a fiscal nature, the concurrence of the Minister responsible for finance shall also be required.

(4) Except for any new guidelines or amendments to the guidelines which are purely administrative in nature, and are expressly declared to be so by the Authority, which come into force immediately upon the posting thereof on the official website of the Authority, amendments to existing guidelines shall come into force on the lapse of fifteen days after they are posted on the official website of the Authority or on such later date as may be stated therein:

Provided that an amendment to any guidelines may not reduce, withdraw or cancel any benefit previously granted except in accordance with the terms of this Act or a regulation in terms of which it is issued.

(5) Where the Authority proposes to issue or amend guidelines, which provide for the granting of any new or increased assistance, a copy of such proposed guidelines or amendments thereto as the case may be, shall be forwarded to the State Aid Monitoring Board, which shall communicate its opinions on the proposed assistance in accordance with applicable law.