4Borrowings by accepting deposits

4 Borrowings by accepting deposits

(1) The Minister is to borrow money by accepting deposits in accordance with this Act. (1A) The Minister must not so accept a deposit more than 3 months after the end of the day on which the Taxation Laws Amendment (Farm Management Deposits) Act 1998 commences. (2) Deposits so accepted shall be known as Income Equalization Deposits. (2A) Subject to this section, the Minister is to accept a deposit if and only if the owner of the deposit is an eligible primary producer. (3) The Minister is not entitled to accept a deposit of moneys made by 2 or more persons jointly or made on behalf of 2 or more persons. (5) The Minister is not to accept a deposit unless its amount is $1,000 or a greater amount that is a multiple of $1,000. (5A) The Minister is not to accept a deposit if, before the deposit is accepted, the total of the balances of all deposits in relation to the owner is $300,000 or more. (5B) If, by accepting a deposit, the total of the balances of all deposits in relation to the owner would exceed $300,000, the Minister is only to accept so much of the deposit as causes the total to equal $300,000. (6) Subject to this Act, deposits shall be accepted on such terms and conditions as the Minister determines. (7) If a depositor wishes to make a deposit by giving the Minister a cheque for an amount in excess of the amount that may be accepted: (a) the Minister must accept the cheque; and (b) when the cheque is cleared, the authorised person must pay the excess to the depositor; and (c) for the purposes of section 8, but not for the purpose of any other provision of this Act or of the Assessment Act: (i) when the cheque is cleared, the excess is taken to be a deposit; and (ii) the payment of the excess to the depositor is taken to be the repayment of a deposit that has become repayable.