Annual Transfer to the Flexible Transfer Account

(1) The Central Bank shall open an account to be called “The Petroleum Fund Flexible Transfer Account”. (2) In each financial year, the Central Bank shall instruct the Custody Bank, in the manner provided therefore in the Custody Bank Agreement, immediately to transfer in United States Dollars the Annual Transfer Amount (but not part only) from the Permanent Restricted Account to the Flexible Transfer (3) For purposes of this Act, “Annual Transfer Amount” is, for a financial year, an amount in United States Dollars being the lesser of, (a) Sustainable Permanent Income determined in the manner, and subject otherwise as provided in, the Fourth Schedule for that year; and (b) the balance in the Permanent Restricted Account immediately before the start of that year. (4) The report on Sustainable Permanent Income referred to in paragraph 9 of the Fourth Schedule, including the determination of the Annual Transfer Amount, shall be subject to the approval of the Independent Oversight Board and if the Board does not approve the amount of the Annual Transfer Amount, it shall provide to the Prime Minister, the Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Central Bank, the Inspector and the Commissioner of Income Tax, a fully reasoned explanation of the reasons for its disagreement. 22 Management Fund (5) If the disagreement referred to in subsection (4) of this section, cannot be resolved within twenty-one days following the disapproval of the Independent Oversight Board, an independent panel made of three international experts with relevant expertise in the area of dispute shall be appointed by the Minister; with one expert nominated by the Board, and one expert nominated by the Minister and the third expert jointly nominated by the two nominees of the Board and the Minister. (6) The panel referred to in subsection (5) of this section shall, within ten days of its appointment issue a report on the input used for the calculation, the compliance of the methodology with the law and the accuracy of calculation itself and the panel shall make a recommendation thereon which shall be final. All expenses related to the appointment and work of the panel shall be met through the budget of the Independent Oversight Committee. (7) In the event that, for any financial year, the amount specified in subsection (3) (b) is less than the amount specified in subsection (3) (a) of this section for determining the Annual Transfer Amount, no future Annual Transfer Amount shall be increased to compensate or any such difference in the said (8) The Central Bank shall, and may only, give the instruction mentioned in subsection (2) of this section to the Custody Bank within seven days upon receipt of an original written request therefore, (a) signed by the Financial Secretary, he certifying in the request that the amount to be transferred is the Annual Transfer Amount; (b) countersigned by the Chairperson of the Independent Oversight Board, he certifying that no restriction order made by the Management Fund 23 Independent Oversight Board under Section 26 of this Act, (which has not been rescinded by the Board or vacated in the manner prescribed by that Section) prohibiting the transfer of the Annual Transfer Amount has been issued, or is then to be issued, by the (c) countersigned by the Clerk to the National Assembly, he certifying that the information mentioned in section 13(1) and (2) of this Act, has been fully and completely included in the proposed State Budget for the financial year concerned and that fourteen days have elapsed since the proposed State Budget was presented to the House.