LEGAL NEWS & INFO

SOUTH AFRICA

• 2019 Labour law applied to cooperatives in South Africa

  Changes with the Regulations for the Cooperative Amendment Act (2013) which came into effect on 1 April 2019. According to the new regulations, cooperatives must comply with labour laws and demonstrate their protection of members’ interests – a requirement that will make it difficult for false coops to exist.

• Text of the Amendment Act 2019

AUSTRALIA

• 2020 BCCM welcomes law change for Queensland co-ops

  The passing of the national law by the Queensland Parliament today has brought to fruition a nationally harmonised scheme of legislation regulating co-operatives across Australia.

  “By adopting the nationally uniform legislative regime, Queensland will become a more attractive location to start and grow co-operatives,” said BCCM CEO Melina Morrison.

  “This reform cannot come soon enough. In the aftermath of drought and bushfires, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, communities need modern business structures to enable them to work together to build local wealth, opportunity and resilience.

PAKISTAN

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  Province of Punjab to amend Cooperative Societies Act, 1925 (02/2022)

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  Senate body approves Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill 2020

  The Senate Committee on Interior Tuesday approved the Cooperative Societies Amendment Bill 2020.

  The committee approved the Bill after a detailed review and discussion, however, Senator Farooq H Naek agreed with the objects and reasons of the Bill with his dissenting note on one clause. The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held Tuesday in the Parliament House chaired by Senator Abdul Rehman Malik.

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  Text of the amendment Act, 2020

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  Establishment of Federal Bank for Cooperatives and Regulation of Cooperative Banking Repeal Act 2018. Related news from 2002 at the time of liquidation of the FCB

IRELAND

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  Irish Government launches consultation on proposed cooperative societies legislation  

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  Opinion by Green Party senator 

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  Full text of the Amendment of Credit Union Act , 1997

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  Interview with President, Irish Cooperative Organisation Society on upcoming Legislation

KUWAIT

• Manpower authority eases most visa transfer restrictions

  The new decree 142/2021 allows locally-employed expats to transfer to all sectors with the approval of the previous employer and without the condition of period (one year) set in article 5 of administrative decree 842/2015.

  The new decision also allows the transfer of expat employees to all activities within six main sectors: Industry, agriculture, fishing, cooperative societies, free trade zone (which is currently changing its legal status) and grazing, with the prior approval of previous employers. Employees in these professions were previously not allowed to transfer to a different employer.

JAPAN [MARCH 2021]

• Japan adopts Workers Co-operatives Act :The act provides a legal form for worker co-operatives

• The country’s Diet unanimously adopted the legislation on 4 December, which means businesses can now register as worker co-operatives. Prior to the adoption of the law Japan had no specific legal form for worker co-operatives, which had to register either as non-profit organisations or small and medium enterprises.

THE PHILIPPINES

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  House of representatives approved Bill 9541 concerning cooperative banks (02/2022)

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  Department of Finance opposes the bill (02/2022)

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  President Rodrigo Duterte signed into law Friday (Feb. 26, 2021) a legislation creating a trust fund for the country’s coconut industry and its workers

• 10 percent for shared facilities for processing by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech); to be given to cooperatives. If there’s no cooperative in the town, it will go to LGUs;

• Five percent for organizing and empowering coconut farmer organizations and their cooperatives under the Cooperative Development Authority;

• Five percent for research, marketing and promotion by the Bureau of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); and

• Four percent for crop insurance to be implemented by the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation.

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  Department of Agriculture press release

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  Opposition to the bill - news item

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  Republic Act No. 11494 - Act providing for COVID-19 Response and Recovery

UNITED STATES

[MARCH 2021]

More Small Business Relief From the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Small businesses in the U.S. could take advantage of new legislation with PPP updates and Employee Retention Credits in 2021

The government has taken notice that many small businesses are still requiring support to stay afloat due to COVID-19. In response, The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The CAA has laid out additional funding for businesses struggling with COVID and amends previous legislation and regulatory guidance.

Proposed bill in Maine would allow medical cannabis cooperatives in Maine. More to come across.

Proponents, however, believe the bill would level the playing field for sellers of Maine’s most valuable cash crop and put the industry more in line with other economic drivers such as farming, lobstering and aquaculture. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Charlotte Warren, D-Hallowell, would overturn a prohibition on cooperatives in the medical cannabis industry that was established to prevent racketeering and cartels within the medical program. Existing statute prohibits “collectives,” defined as “an association, cooperative, affiliation or group of caregivers who physically assist each other in the act of cultivation, processing or distribution of marijuana for medical use for the benefit of the members of the collective.”

Ky. House Passes Bill Allocating $250 Million For Broadband

“With the pandemic, it has shed light on our problems with broadband. I think we can all agree with that,” Reed said. “[The bill] will clear the way for rural electric cooperatives to feasibly provide broadband service to underserved households and businesses.”

Access the bill here

MALAYSIA

[2022]

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  Minister for Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister informs about revision to legal system and cooperative governance structure 

[2021]

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  The amendment of the Cooperatives Act 1993 (Act 502) to the Cooperatives (Amendment) Act 2021 (A1634) has come into force

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  The amendments will also allow or facilitate the cooperative to receive financing from any financial institution under supervision of Bank Negara Malaysia and the cooperative determined by the Malaysian Cooperative Societies Commission (SKM) without the need to obtain SKM approval in advance as before.

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  Meanwhile, this Act A1634 will apply to all cooperatives registered under SKM and the amendment was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Dec 17, 2020 and the Dewan Negara on Dec 29, 2020.

Copy of Bill

Previous News

India

[2022]

Governments seeks suggestions to draft new national cooperative policy

Supreme Court of India decides cooperatives cannot deny membership to single women, members of particular community etc.

[2021]

India Gets Its First FPO Under Cooperative Societies Act

The Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) will focus on processing high-value vegetable products While generally FPOs are registered under the Companies Act, this is the first time that an FPO has been established under the Cooperative Societies Act. This was done so, with an intention to promote the Centre’s ‘Formation and Promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)’ 

Click here to also view government guidelines on promoting FPOs:FPO is a generic name, which means and includes farmer- producers’ organization incorporated/ registered either under Part IXA of Companies Act or under Co-operative Societies Act of the concerned States and formed for the purpose of leveraging collectives through economies of scale in production and marketing of agricultural and allied sector. However, FPOs registered under Co- operative Societies Act of the State (including Mutually Aided or Self-reliant Cooperative Societies Act by whatever name it is called) for the purpose of this Scheme, is to be insulated from all kinds of interference including in election process and day today management through suitable provisioning in their Memorandum of Association and Bye-laws with a view to encourage healthy growth and development of FPO.

The Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961 to charge registration fees along with the application for registration. Under Section 26C, a restriction has been put on the membership of an insured bank imposed as a consequent upon the order of RBI under Section 70-A. Likewise, Section 6 restricts individual shareholding of a member in case of Urban Co-operative Bank (UCB), to maximum 5% of the share capital. Sections 3(5) and 69 have been amended to provide more clarity about effective disposal of revision petitions. Similarly, Section 22(1) has been amended to give more time to the office bearers for effecting recovery of loans and Section 55 to provide a limitation period for referring arbitration disputes to the Registrar.

JAIPUR (RAJASTHAN)[25 FEB 2021]

Government backs proposal for brining in new law against "fraud" by credit cooperative societies!

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot assured the Rajasthan Assembly on Thursday that the state government is in favour of bringing a law against fraud by credit cooperative societies. He said lakhs of people in the state have been cheated by the cooperative societies which is a serious issue. "The state government may bring a law with suggestions from the Opposition to ensure that the fraudsters not only get punished but the victims can also get their money back

MADHYA PRADESH [2021]

Government mulls reintroducing amendment bill

Amendment Act, 2020

Government cannot exercise control over cooperatives regarding registration under a particular Act

RWANDA [18 DEC 2020]MPs pass bill that seeks to make coops more efficient

Cooperatives will get a certificate of legal personality giving them absolute powers to work as such entities only if they have achieved their action plans, a new draft law provides. The law governing cooperative organisations in Rwanda that the Chamber of Deputies passed on Thursday, December 17, 2020 indicates that an assessment will be made to ascertain whether a cooperative has performed well prior to being granted the certificate of legal personality.

Database link to instructions

Cooperative policy