THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FUND ACT, 1982 

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title, extent and commencement. 
2.  Definitions. 
3.  Payments to Fund. 
4.  Reserve Bank to be depository for Fund. 
5.  Conferment of status and certain immunities, exemptions and privileges on Fund and conferment 

of certain immunities, exemptions and privileges on its officers and employees. 

6.  Power to make rules. 
7.  Notifications issued under section 5 and rules made under section 6 to be laid before Parliament. 

THE SCHEDULE. 

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THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT FUND ACT, 1982 

ACT NO. 1 OF 1982 

[4th March, 1982.] 

An  Act  to  implement  the  African  Development  Fund  Agreement  and  for  matters  connected 

therewith. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the African Development 

Fund Act, 1982. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 
(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date1  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 

Official Gazette, appoint. 

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “Agreement” means the African Development Fund Agreement; 

(b) “Fund” means the African Development Fund established under the Agreement. 

3.  Payments  to  Fund.—(1)There  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  Consolidated  Fund  of  India,  after  due 
appropriation  made  by  Parliament  by  law  in  this  behalf,  all  such  sums  as  may,  from  time  to  time,  be 
required for the purpose of paying,— 

(a) the subscription payable by the Central Government to the Fund under Articles 6,7,8 and 9 of 

the Agreement; 

(b) any sums payable by the Central Government to the Fund under Article 13 of the Agreement; 

and 

(c)  any  charges  payable  by  the  Central  Government  to  the  Fund  under  Article  16  of  the 

Agreement. 

(2) The Central Government may, if it thinks fit so to do, create and issue to the Fund, in such form as 
it thinks fit, any such non-interest bearing and non-negotiable note or other obligations as are provided for 
by Article 9 of the Agreement. 

4. Reserve Bank to be depository for Fund.—The Reserve Bank of India shall be the depository of 

the Indian currency holdings of the Fund. 

5.  Conferment  of  status  and  certain  immunities,  exemptions  and  privileges  on  Fund  and 

conferment  of 
employees.—(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law, the provisions of 
the Agreement set out in the Schedule shall have the force of law in India: 

exemptions  and  privileges  on 

immunities, 

certain 

its  officers  and               

Provided that nothing in Article 49 of the Agreement shall be construed as— 

(a)  entitling  the  Fund  to  import  into  India  goods  free  of  any  duty  of  customs  without  any 

restriction or their subsequent sale therein; or 

(b) conferring on the Fund any exemption from duties or taxes which form part of the price of 

goods sold; or 

(c) conferring  on the  Fund  any  exemption  from  duties  or taxes  which  are  in  fact  no  more  than 

charges for services rendered. 

1. 25thAugust, 1986, vide notification No. G.S.R. 1035(E), dated 25th August, 1986, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary,  
    Part II, sec. 3(i). 

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(2)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  amend  the  Schedule  in 
conformity  with  any  amendments,  duly  made  and  adopted,  of  the  provisions  of  the  Agreement  set  out 
therein. 

6.  Power  to  make  rules.—The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette, 

make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. 

7.  Notifications  issued  under  section  5  and  rules  made  under  section  6  to  be  laid  before 
Parliament.—Every  notification  issued  under  sub-section  (2)  of  section  5  and  every  rule  made  under 
section  6  shall  be laid,  as soon  as  may  be  after it is issued  or  made,  before  each  House  of  Parliament, 
while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or 
more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the 
successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the notification or, as the 
case may be, in the rule or both Houses agree that the notification or rule should not be issued or made, 
the notification or rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the 
case  may  be;  so,  however,  that  any  such  modification  or  annulment  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
validity of anything previously done under that notification or rule. 

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THE SCHEDULE 

(See section 5) 

PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT WHICH SHALL HAVE FORCE OF LAW 

CHAPTER VIII 

STATUS, IMMUNITIES, EXEMPTIONSAND PRIVILEGES 

ARTICLE 41 

PURPOSE OF CHAPTER 

To  enable  the  Fund  effectively  to  fulfil  its  purpose  and  carry  out  the  functions  entrusted  to  it,  the 
status, immunities, exemptions and privileges set forth in this Chapter shall be accorded to the Fund in the 
territory of each State participant, and each State participant shall inform the Fund of the specific action 
which it has taken for such purpose. 

ARTICLE 42 

STATUS 

The Fund shall possess full judicial personality and, in particular, full capacity: 

(i) to contract; 

(ii) to acquire, and dispose of, immovable and movable property; and 

(iii) to institute legal proceedings. 

ARTICLE 43 

LEGAL PROCESS 

1. The Fund shall enjoy immunity from every form of legal process, except in cases arising out of or 
in connection with the exercise of its power to receive loans in accordance with Article 8, in which case 
actions may be brought against the Fund in a court of competent jurisdiction in the territory of a country 
in which the Fund has its office, or has appointed an agent for the purpose of accepting service or notice 
of process, or has otherwise agreed to be sued. 

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, no action shall be brought against the Fund by any 
participant,  or  by  any  agency  or  instrumentality  of  a  participant,  or  by  any  entity  or  person  directly  or 
indirectly  acting  for  or  deriving  claims  from  a  participant  or  from  any  agency  or  instrumentality  of  a 
participant. Participants  shall  have  recourse  to  such  special  procedures  for  the  settlement  of  disputes 
between  the  Fund  and  its  participants  as  may  be  prescribed  in  this  Agreement,  in  the  bye-laws  and 
regulations of the Fund, or in contracts entered into with the Fund. 

3. The Fund shall also make provision for appropriate modes of settlement of disputes in cases which 
do not come within the provisions of paragraph 2 and of Articles 52 and 53 and which are subject to the 
immunity of the Fund by virtue of paragraph 1 of this Article. 

4. Where  by  virtue  of  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  Agreement  the  Fund  does  not  enjoy  immunity 
from legal process, the Fund, and its property and assets wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall 
nevertheless  be  immune  from  all  forms  of  seizure,  attachment  or  execution  before the delivery  of final 
judgment against the Fund. 

ARTICLE 44 

IMMUNITY OF ASSETS 

Property and assets of the Fund, wherever located and by whomsoever held, shall be immune from 
search, requisition, confiscation, expropriation or any other form of taking or foreclosure by executive or 
legislative action. 

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ARTICLE 45 

IMMUNITY OF ARCHIVES 

The  archives  of  the  Fund,  and,  in  general,  all  documents  belonging  to  it  or  held  by  it,  shall  be 

inviolable, wherever located. 

ARTICLE 46 

FREEDOM OF ASSETS FROM RESTRICTION 

To  the  extent  necessary  to  carry  out  the  purpose  and  function  of  the  Fund,  and  subject  to  the 
provisions of this Agreement, all property  and other assets of the Fund shall be free from restriction by 
financial controls, regulations, or moratoria of any kind. 

ARTICLE 47 

PRIVILEGE FOR COMMUNICATIONS 

Official communications of the Fund shall be accorded by each State participant the same treatment 
as  it  accords  to the  official  communications  of  other international  financial  institutions of  which  it  is a 
member. 

ARTICLE 48 

IMMUNITIES AND PRIVILEGES OF OFFICIALS AND PERSONNEL 

All  governors  and  directors,  and  their  alternates,  the  President  and  personnel,  including  experts 

performing missions for the Fund: 

(i)  shall  be immune  from  legal  process  with respect  to  acts  performed  by  them  in  their  official 

capacity; 

(ii)  when  they  are  not  local  nationals,  shall  be  accorded  no  less  favourable  immunities  from 
immigration restrictions, alien registration requirements and national service obligations, and no less 
favourable  facilities  as  regards  exchange  regulations,  than  are  accorded  by  the  State  participant 
concerned  to  the  representatives,  officials  and  employees  of  comparable  rank  of  any  other 
international financial institution of which it is a member; and 

(iii)  shall  be  granted  no  less  favourable  treatment  in  respect  of  travelling  facilities  than  is 
accorded by the State participant concerned to representatives, officials and employees of comparable 
rank of any other international financial institution of which it is a member. 

ARTICLE 49 

EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION 

1. The Fund, its assets, property, income, operations and transactions, shall be exempt from all direct 
taxation, and from all customs duties, or taxes having equivalent effect, on goods imported or exported 
for its official use. The Fund shall also be exempt from any obligation for the payment, withholding or 
collection of any tax or duty. 

2. Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  paragraph  1,  the  Fund  shall  not  claim  exemption  from  taxes 

which are no more than charges for services rendered. 

3. Articles imported under an exemption provided for by paragraph 1 shall not be sold in the territory 
of the State participant which granted the exemption except under conditions agreed with that participant. 

4. No tax shall be levied on or in respect of salaries and emoluments paid by the Fund to the President 

and personnel including experts performing missions for it. 

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ARTICLE 50 

WAIVER BY THE FUND 

1. The immunities, exemptions and privileges provided in this Chapter are granted in the interests of 
the  Fund. The  Board  of  Directors  may  waive,  to  such  extent  and  upon  such  conditions  as  it  may 
determine, the immunities, exemptions and privileges provided in this Chapter in cases where its action 
would in its opinion further the interests of the Fund. 

2. Regardless of the provisions of paragraph 1, the President shall have the right and the duty to waive 
the immunity of any of the personnel, including experts performing missions for the Fund, in cases where, 
in his opinion, the immunity would impede the course of justice and can be waived without prejudice to 
the interests of the Fund. 

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