Subscription opening delay bars immediate allotment after a prospectus and makes applications irrevocable until the waiting period passes. Allotment or sale under a generally issued prospectus is barred until the beginning of the fifth day after initial issue or a later time stated in the prospectus, the beginning being the time of the opening of the subscription lists; a public notice by a responsible person that limits liability delays allotment similarly. The day of first general issue is the day of first newspaper advertisement unless not so published before the waiting period. Contraventions do not invalidate allotments but attract a statutory fine and liability shifts to persons making offers for sale who knowingly authorise or permit breaches. Applications under a general prospectus are irrevocable until after the expiry of the prescribed fifth day or after a valid limiting public notice.