Fines (Penalty Units) Act, 2000 (Act 572)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
- 1. Fines to be expressed as penalty units
- 2. Pecuniary value of a penalty unit
- 3. Fines in existing enactments conversion to penalty units
- 4. Interpretation
- 5. Repeal
SCHEDULES
- Schedule 1
- Schedule 2
LONG TITLE
AN ACT to provide for fines in enactments to be expressed in terms of penalty units; to provide for the amounts of fines in existing enactments to be converted into penalty units and to provide for connected matters.
DATE OF ASSENT
2nd February, 2000.
ACT
1. Fines to be Expressed as Penalty Units
Where in any enactment provision is made for the imposition of a fine as a penalty for the contravention of any provision in the enactment, the amount of the fine shall be expressed in terms of a number of penalty units.
2. Pecuniary Value of a Penalty Unit
(1) For the purposes of this Act one penalty unit is equal to the amount of cedis specified in Schedule 1 to this Act.
(2) The Attorney-General may by legislative instrument amend Schedule 1 to this Act except that the value of one penalty unit shall not exceed a sum equivalent to one third of the prevailing national daily minimum wage multiplied by thirty.
3. Fines in Existing Enactments conversion to Penalty Units
(1) Subject to subsection (2) where in any existing enactment
- (a) provision is made for the imposition of an amount of cedis as a fine or penalty for the contravention of any provision in the enactment; and
- (b) the existing fine is of an amount specified in column 1 of Schedule 2 to this Act there shall be substituted for the fine the new maximum fine specified in relation to it in column 2 of Schedule 2 and the new fine shall be expressed and read as the number of penalty units corresponding provided in column 3 of the Schedule.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to—
- (a) any existing enactment which came into force on or after 1st January 1997; or
- (b) any fines in any existing enactment amended since 1st January 1997.
(3) Where any existing enactment to which subsection (1) would have applied, but for the exclusion in subsection (2) has a provision of an amount of fine expressed in currency, the amount shall upon the coming into force of this Act be read and construed as calculated in terms of the equivalent of a number of penalty units based on the value of one penalty unit as specified in Schedule 1.
4. Interpretation
In this Act unless the context otherwise requires—
- “existing enactment” means an enactment in force immediately before the coming into force of this Act;
- “fine” means any pecuniary penalty to which a person may be liable for breach of a provision in an enactment.
5. Repeal
The Penalties (Specified Fines) (Amendment) Law, 1991 (P.N.D.C.L.251) is repealed.
SCHEDULES
SCHEDULE 1 - Section 2(1)
One penalty unit is equal to ¢20,000.00.
SCHEDULE 2 - Section 3(1)
| Existing maximum fines | New maximum fines | Equivalent number of penalty units | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ¢2,000.00 | ¢20,000.00 | 1 penalty unit |
| 2. | ¢5,000.00 | ¢50,000.00 | 2.5 penalty units |
| 3. | ¢10,000.00 | ¢100,000.00 | 5 penalty units |
| 4. | ¢20,000.00 | ¢200,000.00 | 10 penalty units |
| 5. | ¢50,000.00 | ¢500,000.00 | 25 penalty units |
| 6. | ¢100,000.00 | ¢1 million | 50 penalty units |
| 7. | ¢400,000.00 | ¢4 million | 200 penalty units |
| 8. | ¢500,000.00 | ¢5 million | 250 penalty units |
| 9. | ¢1 million | ¢10 million | 500 penalty units |
| 10. | ¢2 million | ¢20 million | 1,000 penalty units |