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[Released: 10 April 2003]

S.R. 2003/[...]

Silvia Cartwright, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this [...] day of [...] 2003

Present:

Her Excellency the Governor-General in Council

Pursuant to sections 14 and 36 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2002, Her Excellency the Governor-General, acting on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council, makes the following regulations.

Contents

• Regulations
  • 1 Title
  • 2 Commencement
  • 3 Interpretation
  • 4. Prescribed Conditions
  • 5 Time at Which a Legal Requirement Is Met
• Schedule
  • Part 1: Provisions Subject to Conditions
    • 1 Interpretation
    • 2 Conditions
  • Part 2: Timing Provisions
    • 3 Time Legal Requirements Treated as Met

Regulations

1 Title

These regulations are the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2003.

2 Commencement

These regulations come into force on the 28th day after the date of their notification in the Gazette.

3 Interpretation

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,-

the Act means the Electronic Transactions Act 2002

4. Prescribed Conditions

5 Time at Which a Legal Requirement Is Met

If a legal requirement specified in Part 2 of the Schedule is met by means of an electronic communication, it is to be treated as being met at the time specified in that Part.

Schedule

Regs 4, 5

Part 1: Provisions Subject to Conditions

1 Interpretation

In this schedule, unless the context otherwise requires,-

express consent means a positive indication of consent; and includes, checking a box to select the option of receiving the information in electronic form and by means of an electronic communication, if applicable, rather than checking another box which refers to the option of receiving the information in non-electronic form by post; but does not include, entering into an agreement the terms of which provide for, among other matters, for the information to be provided in electronic form

2 Conditions

A legal requirement to make initial disclosure, guarantee disclosure, modification disclosure or continuous disclosure may be met by giving the required information in electronic form, whether by means of an electronic communication or otherwise, only if the person to whom the disclosure is required to be made-

1. has been given the option of receiving the disclosure in either electronic or non-electronic form; and
2. has expressly consented to the disclosure being made in electronic form and by means of an electronic communication, if applicable.

A legal requirement to give written notice may be met by giving the required information in electronic form, whether by means of an electronic communication or otherwise, only if the person to whom the notice is required to be given-

1. has been given the option of receiving the notice in either electronic or non-electronic form; and
2. has expressly consented to the notice being given in electronic form and by means of an electronic communication, if applicable.

1. A legal requirement to retain information that is in paper or other non-electronic form is met by retaining an electronic form of the information only if-
1. the information is readily able to be reproduced in paper form; and
2. that paper form is a duplicate image of the original paper or other non-electronic form.
2. Despite paragraph 1, annotations, indexing references or other additional information may be included with information retained in electronic form if they-
1. do not obscure any of the original information; and
2. are distinguishable as additions to the original information.
3. Despite paragraph 1, a legal requirement to retain information that is generated in electronic form and is provided to another person in paper or other non-electronic form (for example, an invoice generated electronically and printed for sending to a customer), may be met by retaining the information in that electronic form only.
4. Despite paragraph 1, if information is received from a person in both paper or other non-electronic form and in electronic form (for example, a bank statement sent by a bank in paper form, and also provided in electronic form), a legal requirement to retain the information may be met by retaining only the information in electronic form that was received from that person.

Part 2: Timing Provisions

3 Time Legal Requirements Treated as Met

1. For the purposes of sections 22, 24 and 24A, when disclosure is made by sending the disclosure documents to a person by means of an electronic communication, the disclosure is to be treated as having been made to the person on the fourth working day after the day on which the documents are sent.
2. For the purposes of sections 25 to 28, when disclosure is made by sending the disclosure documents to a person by means of an electronic communication, the disclosure is to be treated as having been made to the person on the day on which the documents are sent.