TELEVISION LICENSING ACT - 1966 (NLCD 89)

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Section - 1 - Television Receiving Set Licence.
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(1) Except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, no person shall instal or use any television
receiving set unless there is in existence in relation to that set a valid licence granted by the
licensing authority under this Decree and to be known as a television receiving set licence.
(2) For the purposes of any prosecution for the infringement of the provisions of this paragraph,
where a television receiving set is found in any premises occupied by any person, that person shall,
unless he proves the contrary, be presumed to use the television receiving set.
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Section - 2 - Dealer's Licence.
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(1) Except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, no person shall carry on the business of
selling, hiring or otherwise disposing of television receiving sets or of repairing television receiving
sets unless he holds a valid licence to be known as a dealers' licence, granted by the licensing
authority in relation to the respective business.
(2) A dealers' licence may be granted in respect of all the businesses referred to in sub-paragraph
(1) of this paragraph or in respect of the repair of television receiving sets only or in respect only of
the other businesses referred to in that sub-paragraph other than the repair of television receiving
sets and the business in respect of which a licence is granted shall be endorsed on the licence.
(3) Different fees may be prescribed in respect of different businesses in relation to which a dealers'
licence is granted.
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Section - 3 - Sales, Etc Of Television Sets To Unlicensed Persons Prohibited.
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Except in such circumstances as may be prescribed, no person shall sell or hire or otherwise dispose
of a television receiving set to any person other than to the holder of a valid television receiving set
licence granted in relation to that set.
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Section - 4 - Duration Of Licences.
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All licences granted under this Decree shall be annual licences and shall expire on the 31st day of
December in the year in which they are issued.
Provided that for the purposes of this paragraph the period commencing on the 1st day of July,
1966 and ending on the 31st day of December, 1966 shall be deemed to be a full year.
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Section - 5 - Registration Of Manufacturers Or Assemblers Of Television Receiving Sets.
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(1) No person shall commence the business of manufacturing or assembling of television receiving
sets unless he has, not less than one month before he commences the business given notice in
writing to the licensing authority of his intention so to commence such business and of the date on
which such business is to be commenced and also the name and address of such business.
(2) Any person who on the date this Decree is published in the Gazette carries on the business of
manufacturing or assembling of television receiving sets shall within one month after the said date
notify the licensing authority in writing of the fact that he carries on such business, and of the name
and address of such business.
(3) The licensing authority shall cause to be registered in a book to be kept by the licensing
authority all particulars supplied to the licensing authority under this paragraph.
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Section - 6 - Dealers And Others To Submit Returns Relating To Persons To Whom Television Sets
Are Sold, Etc.
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(1) Every person who deals in the course of business in the sale, hire or other disposal of television
receiving sets shall, in respect of each month and not later than fifteen days after the end of the
month forward to the licensing authority a return indicating the names and addresses of all persons
to whom any television receiving sets have been sold, let on hire or otherwise disposed of by him
during that month.
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Section - 7 - Manufacturers And Assemblers Of Television Sets To Submit Returns.
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Without prejudice to any other obligation imposed on him by or under this Decree, any person who
carries on the business of manufacturing or assembling television receiving sets shall, in respect of
each month and within fifteen days after the end of that month, forward to the licensing authority a
return indicating the number of television receiving sets manufactured or assembled by him during
that month.

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Section - 8 - Controller Of Customs And Excise To Send Returns Relating To Imported Sets.
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The Controller of Customs and Excise shall in respect of each month forward to the licensing
authority not later than fifteen days after the end of that month a return indicating the names and
addresses of all persons who imported television receiving sets during that month and the number of
such sets imported by each such person.
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Section - 9 - Inspection And Requests For Information.
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(1) Any police officer or any person authorised in writing by the licensing authority may, at any
reasonable time and upon production, if requested, in the case of a person so authorised, of his
authorisation and upon the production, if requested in the case of a police officer not being in
uniform, of evidence of his identity as a police officer, enter into and inspect any premises for the
purpose of ensuring due compliance with the provisions of this Decree or with any regulations
made thereunder and any such person may similarly request the production of any licence granted
under this Decree or evidence thereof and no person shall obstruct any such person from carrying
out any function conferred on him by this paragraph.
(2) The licensing authority may by writing request from any person any information reasonably
required by the licensing authority for ensuring that the provisions of this Decree or of any
regulations made under this Decree are complied with and it shall be the duty of any person so
requested to supply such information and no such person shall supply in reply to such a request any
information which he knows to be false.
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Section - 10 - Penalty.
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(1) Any person who contravenes any provision of this Law or regulation made thereunder shall be
guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand
cedis (c100,000.00) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year; [As substituted by
Television Licensing (Amendment) Law, 1991 (PNDCL Law 257) s.1(a)]
(2) For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that any officer of the licensing authority may
be appointed by the Attorney-General under section 56 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1960 (Act
30) to be a public prosecutor in respect of any offence provided for under this Decree or under any
Regulations made thereunder.
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Section - 11 - Offences Committed By Bodies Of Persons.

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Where any offence under this Decree or under regulations made under this Decree is committed by
a body of persons, then:(a) in the case of a body corporate not being a partnership, every person who at the time of the
commission of the offence was a director, general manager, secretary or other similar officer of the
body corporate or was purporting to act in any such capacity; and
(b) in the case of a partnership, every person who at the time of the commission was a partner of
that partnership or was purporting to act in any such capacity,
shall be deemed also to be guilty of that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed
without his consent or connivance, and that he exercised all diligence to prevent the commission of
the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that
capacity and to all the circumstances.
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Section - 12 - Regulation.
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(1) The Secretary responsible for Information may by legislative instrument make regulations for
carrying into effect the provisions of this Decree.[As substituted by Television Licensing
(Amendment) Law 1991 (PNDCL 257) s. 1(b)]
(2) Without prejudice to the general effect of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph, regulations may
be made under that sub-paragraph:(a) for prescribing or providing for anything required or authorised to be prescribed or provided for
by regulations under this Decree;
(b) for prescribing the form of any licence to be issued under this Decree;
(c) for prescribing the fees to be charged in respect of the issue of any such licence;
(d) for prescribing the conditions to apply to any such licence and
(e) for exempting any person from any of the provisions of this Decree.
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Section - 13 - Interpretation.
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In this Decree,"licensing authority" means the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation or any other statutory corporation

appointed by the National Liberation Council by legislative instrument and any such corporation
shall have the functions conferred on the licensing authority under this Decree notwithstanding
anything in the enactment under which it exists; [As amended by Television Licensing
(Amendment) Decree, 1966 (NLCD 100) s.1]
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations made under paragraph 12 of this Decree; and
"television receiving set" means an apparatus constructed solely for the reception of pictures (with
or without sound) transmitted by radio.
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Section - 14 - Commencement.
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This Decree shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of July, 1966.
Provided that no person shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence under this Decree in respect of
any act done by him before that date on which this Decree is published in the Gazette.
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