Coffee Act, 1942

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Coffee Act,1942

Preamble

[ACT NO. 7 OF 1942]

[2nd March 1942]

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

” I. After the outbreak of the present war the Indian coffee industry lost certain important foreign markets. There was therefore a great slump in the prices of coffee. A Coffee Control Conference consisting of the interests affected was held in September 1940 to consider the steps that could be taken to save the industry from collapse. After full consideration of the recommendations made at the Conference, the Coffee Market Expansion Ordinance, 1940, was promulgated providing for the necessary assistance to the Indian Coffee Industry by regulating the export of coffee from, and the sale of coffee in, British India, and other connected means.

2. The duration of the Ordinance was limited in order to make proposals for legislation after gaining experience and after ascertaining the wishes of the coffee interests in the matter.

3. A second Coffee Control Conference of the coffee interests was accordingy convened on the 20th October, 1941. The Conference recognised that the control scheme has been greatly beneficial to the coffee industry in its present crisis and unanimously made in the following recommendations:—

(1) that the control scheme as generally embodied in the Ordinance should be continued by legislation and that its duration be for the period of the war and one coffee crop year thereafter, and

(2) that the control should be limited to estates with area of 10 acres or more but provision should be made whereby control may be extended, if necessary, over estates with areas below 10 acres.

These recommendations were endorsed by the Standing Advisory Committee of, the Legislature attached to the Commerce Department.

4. In view of the general agreement of all interests for the maintenance of the coffee control scheme it is proposed to continue control by legislation, and the present Bill is designed to achieve this object”.

—Gazette of India, 1942, Part V, p. 13.

Act 48 of 1985.— The present rate of the duty of customs and the duty of excise on coffee has reached the ceiling of Rs. 11.80 per quintal each fixed under section 11 and section 12 of the Coffee Act, 1942. These rates have been in vogue since 16-12-1977. The proceeds of the duties of customs and excise levied under the Act form part of the Consolidated Fund of India and after being reduced by the cost of collection and after appropriation by law by Parliament are paid to the Coffee Board for being utilised for the purposes of the Act. The expenditure of the Board during the recent years has increased considerably due to increase in the plan and non-plan activities of the Board. The Board has taken up a number of new schemes relating to man-power development pulping and hulling units, warehousing/storage, etc., besides continuing the existing development activities and research and extension programmes. The proceeds of the two duties would not be sufficient and, therefore, the Central Government had to resort to grants-in-aid to meet the expenditure of the Board during the financial year 1985-86. It is thus necessary to strengthen the financial position of the Board. It is, therefore, proposed to amend sections 11 and 12 of the Act to provide for a higher ceiling of levy of duty of customs and duty of excise at a rate not exceeding Rs. 50 per quintal for each. The actual operative rates of the two duties will, however, be fixed at such levels as may be sufficient to generate funds to meet substantial part of the budget expenditure of the Board in future.

2. The Customs Act, 1962 and the rules and regulations made thereunder contain elaborate provisions regarding the refund of, and exemption from, the pre-payment of the duty of customs with regard to export of goods in general. In the interest of uniformity and administrative convenience, it is proposed to make these provisions applicable also for purposes of refund of, and exemption from, the pre-payment of the duty of customs under the Coffee Act, 1942, with regard to export of coffee by substituting for sub-section (3) of section 13 of the Act a new sub-section.

3. Opportunity is being availed of to substitute for the provision relating to laying of rules contained in sub-section (3) of section 48 a new provision on the lines recommended by the Committees on Subordinate Legislation.

4. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.

—Gaz. of Ind., 29-7-1985, Pt. II, S. 2, Ext., p. 3 (No. 35).

ACT HOW AFFECTED BY SUBSEQUENT LEGISLATION

——Amended by Acts 7 of 1943; 2 of 1944; 16 of 1944; 4 of 1947; 34 of 1949; 3 of 1951; 50 of 1954; 40 of 1960;48 of 1961;48 of 1985.

——Adapted by A.L.O., 1950; French Establishments A.L.O., 1954; 3 A.L.O., 1956.

——Extended by Acts 59 of 1949; 30 of 1950; Regn. 6 of 1963; French A.L.O., 1954.

——Repealed (in part) by Act 2 of 1948.

COGNATE ACTS AND PROVISIONS

(1) Rubber Act, 24 of 1947.

(2) Tea Act, 29 of 1953.

(3) Coir Industry Act, 45 of 1953.

(4) Central Silk Board Act, 61 of 1948.

(5) Rice-Milling Industry (Regulation) Act, 21 of 1953.

(6) Seeds Act, 54 of 1966.

An Act ¹[to provide for the development under the control of the Union of the coffee industry]

WHEREAS it is expedient ²[to provide for the development under the control of the Union of the coffee industry];

It is hereby enacted as follows:

1 Substituted for the words “to continue the provision made under ordinance No. XIII of 1940 for assistance to the coffee industry by regulating the export and sale of coffee and by other means”, by the Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act, 1954 (50 of 1954). S. 2 (1-8-1955).

2 Substituted for the same words, Ibid.

1. Short title, extent and duration.

(1) This Act may be called The ¹[Coffee Act], 1942.

(2) It extends⁵ to ²[the whole of India ³[except the State of Jammu and Kashmir]].

(3) ⁴[* * * *]

1 Substituted for the words “Coffee Market Expansion Act”, by Act (50 of 1954), S. 3 (1-8-1955).

2 words “all the Provinces of India” in sub-section (2) were substituted by the words “the whole of India except Part B States”, by A.L.O., 1950.

3 Substituted for the words “except Part B States”, by Part B States (Laws) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1 -4-51).

4 Omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (4 of 1947), S. 2 (11-3-1947).

5 This Act has been extended to the new Provinces and Merged States by the Merged States (Laws) Act, 1949 (59 of 1949), S. 3 (1-1-1950), and to the Union Territories of Manipur, Tripura and Vindhya Pradesh by the Union Territories (Laws) Act, 1950 (30 of 1950), S. 3 (16-4-1950). Vindhya Pradesh now forms part of M. P. State —See Act 37 of 1956, S. 9 (1) (e); but Manipur & Tripura are now States — See Act 81 of 1971. The Act has been made applicable to French Establishments (Now known as Union Territory of Pondicherry) by the French Establishments A.L.O., 1954 (1-11-1954). It has been extended to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Regulation 6 of 1963 (w.e.f. 1-7-1965).

2. Declaration as to expediency of Union Control.

¹[2. Declaration as to expediency of Union Control.

It is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the Coffee Industry.]

1 Substituted for original S. 2 by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 4 (1-8-1955).

3. Definitions.

In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,

(a) “the Board” means the ¹[²[* *] Coffee Board] constituted under section 4;

³[(aa) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board;]

(a) Inserted by the Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act, 1954 (50 of 1954), S. 5 (1-8-1955).

(b) “Coffee” means the commodity derived from the fruit of the rubiaceous plant known by that name, and includes raw coffee, cured coffee, uncured coffee, roasted coffee and prepared coffee;

(c) “Collector” means a Customs-Collector as defined in clause (c) of section 3 of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, or a Collector of Land Customs as defined in clause (c) of section 2 of the Land Customs Act, 1924, as the case may be;

(d) “curing” means the application to raw coffee of mechanical processes other than pulping for the purpose of preparing it for marketing;

(e) “curing establishment” means any place to which raw coffee is sent by a registered owner for curing, and includes any estate which the Board may declare to be a curing establishment, for the purposes of this Act;

3[(ee) "dealer" means a person carrying on the business of selling coffee, whether wholesale or by retail;]

(f) “estate” means an area administered as one unit which contains land planted with coffee plants;

⁴[(ff) "India" means the territory of India excluding the State of Jammu and Kashmir;]

(g) “Indian Coffee Cess Committee” means the Indian Coffee Cess Committee constituted under the Indian Coffee Cess Act, 1935;

(h) “internal sale quota” means that portion, stated in terms of bulk or weight, of the whole of the coffee produced by the estate in the year, which a registered estate is permitted under this Act to sell in the Indian market;

⁵[(i) "owner" in relation to any land planted with coffee plants, includes,—

(1) any agent of the owner, and

(2) a mortgagee, lessee or other person in actual possession of the land;]

(j) “Prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(k) “registered estate” means an estate in respect of which an owner is registered under sub-section (1) of section 14, and includes also any estate in respect of which an owner is required to be registered under the provisions of that sub-section;

(1) “registered owner” means an owner of a registered estate who has been or is required to be registered under sub-section (1) of section 14;

⁶[ * * * *]

(m) “surplus pool” means the stock of coffee accumulated by the Board out of the amounts delivered to the Board under section 25;

⁷[(n) "year"means the period of twelve months beginning with the first day of July and ending with thirtieth day of June next following.]

1 Substituted for the words “Indian Coffee Board” by the Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act, 1943 (7 of 1943), S. 2 (a) (26-3-1943).

2 the word “Indian” was omitted by the Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act, 1954 (50 of 1954), S. 5 (1-8-1955).

3 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (2 of 1944), S. 2 (27-2-1944).

4 Inserted by the Part B States (Laws) Act, 1951 (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1-4-1951).

5 Substituted for former clause (i) by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 2 (19-4-1962).

6 Clause (11) which was inserted by A.L.O., 1950, was omitted by Part B States (Laws) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 & Sch. (1-4-1951).

7 Substituted for former clause (n), by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 2 (b) (19-4-1962).

4. Constitution of the Board.

(1) The Board constituted by the name of the Indian Coffee Market Expansion Board under section 4 of the Indian Coffee Market Expansion Ordinance, 1940, shall be the ¹[Coffee Board] for the purposes of this Act.

²[(2) The Board shall consist of—

(a) a Chairman to be appointed by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette;

(b) three Members of Parliament of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States; and

(c) such number of other members not exceeding twenty-nine as the Central Government may think expendient to be appointed by that Government by notification in the Official Gazette from among persons who are in its opinion capable of representing,—

(i) Governments of the principal coffee-growing States;

(ii) coffee-growing industry;

(iii) coffee trade interests;

(iv) curing establishments;

(v) interests of labour;

(vi) interests of consumers; and

(vii) such other interests as, in the opinion of the Central Government, ought to be represented on the Board. :

(2A) The number of persons to be appointed as members from each of the categories specified in clause (c) of sub-section (2), the term of office of, the procedure to be followed in the discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of the Board shall be such as may be prescribed.

(2B) Any officer of the Central Government when deputed by that Government in this behalf shall have the right to attend meetings of the Board and take part in the proceedings thereof but shall not be entitled to vote.]

³[* *****]

⁴[(4) No Act done by the Board shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of the Board.

⁵[(5) It is hereby declared that the office of member of the Board shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as, or for being, a member of either House of Parliament.]

1 Substituted for “Indian Coffee Board”, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 6 (1-8-1955).

2 Substituted for former sub-sections (2) and (2-A), by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 3 (19-4-1962).

3 Sub-section (3), as inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943) was omitted, ibid.

4 Original sub-section (2) was re-numbered as (4), by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 3 (26-3-1943).

5 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 6 (1-8-1955).

5. Incorporation of the Board.

The Board shall be a body corporate by the name of the ¹[²[* *] Coffee Board] having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued. r

1 Words “Indian Coffee Market Expansion Board” by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), 5.4(26-4-1943).

2 Word “Indian” was omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 7 (1-8-1955)

6. Vesting of property in the Board.

So long as this Act remains in force all property, movable or movable, of or belonging to the Indian Coffee Cess Committee shall vest in the Board and all debts and liabilities of the said Committee shall be transferred to the Board, and the officers and servants of the said Committee shall be officers and servants on the staff of the Board and the said Committee shall be suspended.

6A. Consultation with the Board.

¹[ Consultation with the Board. Before taking any action touching the affairs of the Board under this Act, the Central Government shall ordinarily consult the Board:

Provided that no action taken by the Central Government shall be invalid or called in question merely on the ground that the action was taken without such consultation.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 8 (1-8-1955).

7. Chairman, committees, staff and agents.

¹[(1) * * * * ]

(2) The Board may appoint such committees for such purposes and may employ such staff as it thinks necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under this Act.

(3) The Board may authorise agents to discharge on its behalf its functions in relation to the marketing, storing and curing of coffee.

1 Sub-section (1) was omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 9 (1-8-1955).

8. Salary and allowances of Chairman.

¹[ Salary and allowances of Chairman. The Chairman shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and such conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and other matters as may, from time to time, be fixed by the Central Government.]

1 Sections 8 and 9 were substituted by sections 8,8A and 9, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), s.10(1-8-1955).

8A. Vice-Chairman.

¹[Vice-Chairman. The Board shall elect from amongst its members a Vice-Chairman who shall exercise such of the powers and perform such of the duties of the Chairman as may be prescribed or as may be delegated to him by the Chairman.]

1 Sections 8 and 9 were substituted by sections 8,8A and 9, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), s.10(1-8-1955).

9. Chief Coffee Marketing Officer, Secretary and other staff.

¹[Chief Coffee Marketing Officer, Secretary and other staff. (1) The Central Government shall appoint an officer to be called the Chief Coffee Marketing Officer and a Secretary to the Board and may appoint a Deputy Secretary to the Board and such number of Marketing Officers as may be necessary, to exercise such powers and to perform such duties under the direction of the Board as may be prescribed.

(2) The officers appointed under this section shall be entitled to such salaries and allowances and such conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and other matters as may, from time to time, be fixed by the Central Government.]

1 Sections 8 and 9 were substituted by sections 8,8A and 9, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), s.10(1-8-1955).

10. Dissolution of the Board.

When the Board is dissolved by reason of this Act having ceased to be in force, the unexpended balance of all money received by the Board under the Coffee

Market Expansion Ordinance, 1940, or under this Act except money in the pool fund shall be disposed of in such manner as the Central Government may direct. The Central Government shall disburse the money in the pool fund in the same manner as the Board would have done had it continued to exist.

11. Duty of customs.

A duty of customs shall be levied on all coffee produced in India and exported from ¹[India] ²[at such rate not exceeding ³[fifty rupees] per quintal as may be fixed by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette.]

1 Substituted for “the States” by Part B States (Laws) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1-4-1951).

2 Substituted for the words “at such rate not exceeding six rupees per hundredweight” Customs Duties and Cesses (Conversion to Metric Units) Act (40 of 1960), S. 5 (1-10-1960).

3 Substituted for the words “eleven rupees and eighty nine paise” by the Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1985), S. 2 (15-5-1986).

12. Duty of excise.

A duty of excise shall be levied ¹[at such rate not exceeding ⁴[fifty rupees] per quintal] as may be fixed by the Central Government ²[* * *] by notification in the Official Gazette on all coffee, ³[* * * *] which a registered estate is permitted by the interal sale quota allotted to it to sell in the Indian Market, whether such coffee is actually sold or not, and on all coffee released for sale in India by the Board from the surplus pool.

1 Substituted for the words “at such rate not exceeding six rupees per hundredweight” by Customs Duties and Cesses (Conversion to Metric Units) Act (40 of 1960), S. 5 (1-10-1960).

2 Words “on the recommendation of the Board” were omitted, ibid.

3 Words, “except coffee sold and delivered before the estate became subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) of S. 14″, omitted by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 4 (19-4-1962).

4 Substituted for the words “eleven rupees and eighty naye paise”, ibid (48 of 1985), S. 3 (15-5-1986).

13. Payment of proceeds of duties to the Board and manner of realisation by the Board.

¹[(1) The proceeds of the duty of customs and of the duty of excise ²[* * *] levied under this Act (all of which shall form part of the Consolidated Fund of India), reduced by the cost of collection as determined by the Central Government, shall, if Parliament by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides, be paid to the Board for being utilised for the purposes of this Act.]

³[(2) "* * * *]

⁵[(3) The provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall as far as may be, apply in relation to,—

(a) the refund of the duty of customs where coffee is exported and subsequently imported into India; and

(b) the export, without payment of the duty of customs, of coffee which is subsequently to be imported into India.]

(4) The duty of excise on coffee shall be payable by the registered owner of the estate producing the coffee and shall be realised by the Board by the deduction of the amount of duty payable by such owner from any sum due to him on account of sales from the surplus pool. It shall be a first charge on such sum, and shall, if not capable of realisation by deduction as aforesaid, be paid to the Board by the registered owner within one month of demand by the Board or thereafter be recoverable from him as an arrear of land-revenue.

(5) The Board shall have power to adjuge by bulk the number of ⁴[quintals] contained in any quantity of uncured coffee.

(6) No action of the Board under this section shall be called in question by any Court.

1 Substituted for sub-section (1) by Coffee Market Expansation (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 13 (1-8-1955).

2 words “and of any fees” omitted by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 5 (19-4-1962).

3 Sub-section (2) omitted, ibid.

4 Substituted for the word “hundredweight” by Customs Duties and Cesses (Conversion to Metric Units) Act (40 of 19760), 5.5(1-19-1960).

5 Substituted for sub-sec. (3) by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1985), S. 4 (15-5-1986).

14. Registration of owners of coffee estates.

¹[(1) Every owner of land planted with coffee plants, whether such land is comprised in one estate or in more than one estate and whether it is situated wholly or only partly in India, shall, before the expiration of one month from the date on which he first became owner of such estate or estates, apply to the registering officer appointed in this behalf by the State Government to be registered as an owner in respect of each estate owned by him; and any registration made before the commencement of the Coffee (Amendment) Act, 1961 shall be deemed to have been made under this sub-section;]

²[* * * *]

(3) A registration once made shall continue in force until it is cancelled by the registering officer.

(4) ²[****]

1 Substituted for former sub-section (1), by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 6 (19-4-1962).

2 Sub-sections (2) and (4) omitted, ibid.

15. Power of State Government to make rules.

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry into effect the provisions of section 14.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may prescribe the form of the application for registration and for cancellation of registration, the fee payable on such applications, the particulars to be included in such applications, the procedure to be followed in granting and cancelling registration, the registers to be kept by registering officers, and the supply by registering officers of information to the Board.

16. Fixation of prices for sale of coffee.

¹[Fixation of prices for sale of coffee. (1) The Central Government may, ²[* * *] by notification in the Official Gazette, fix the price or prices at which coffee may be sold wholesale or retail in the Indian market.

(2) No registered owner or licensed curer or dealer shall sell coffee wholesale or retail in the Indian market at a price or prices higher than the price or prices fixed under this section.]

1 Substituted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 5 (26-3-1943).

2 Words “after consultation with the Board'” omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 15 (1-8-1955).

17. Sale of coffee in excess of internal sale quota.

¹[No registered owner shall,] sell or contract to sell in the Indian market coffee from any registered estate if by such sale the internal sale quota allotted to that estate is exceeded. ²[Nor shall a registered owner sell or contract to sell in the Indian market any coffee produced on his estate in any year for which no internal sale quota is allotted to the estate;]

³[* * * * * ]

1 Substituted for the words “No registered owner shall, before the estate became subject to the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 14″, by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 7 (19-4-1962).

2 Added by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 6 (26-3-1943).

3 Proviso omitted by Coffee (Amendment) Act 48 of 1961, S. 7 (19-4-1962).

18. Sale of coffee, how made.

No registered owner shall sell coffee unless either—

(a) it has been cured at or is delivered to the buyer through a curing establishment licensed under section 28, or

(b) it is sold under and in accordance with the provisions of a licence procured from the Board under section 24.

19. Storage of sale of coffee on or from unregistered estate.

[Omitted by the Coffee (Amendment) Act, 1961 (48 of 1961), S. 8 [19-4-1962.]

20. Export of coffee.

No coffee shall be exported from ¹[India] otherwise than by the Board or under an authorisation granted by the Board in the prescribed manner and in the prescribed cases, and the provisions of the Sea Customs Act, 1878, shall have effect as if the provision made by this section had been made by notification issued under section 19 of that Act:

²[Provided that nothing herein contained shall apply to coffee—

(i) shipped as stores on boared any vessel or aircraft in such quantity as the Collector considers reasonable, having regard to the number of the crew and passengers and the length of the voyage or journey, as the case may be, on which the vessel or aircraft is about to proceed, or

³[(ii) carried as personal baggage of a passenger, not exceeding such quantities as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, or

(iii) exported for such purposes and in such quantities as the Central Government may specify in the like manner.]]

⁴[Provided further that the Central Government may, by order in writing, specify the quantity of coffee which shall be permitted for export during any year and where any such order is made, no coffee shall be exported from India in excess of the said quantity:]

Provided further that the Central Government may exempt from the operation of this section, either absolutely or subject to conditions, the export of coffee from ¹[India] ⁵[to the State of Jammu and Kashmir] or to any foreign settlement bounded by India.

1 Substituted for “the States”, by Part B States (Laws) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1-4-1951).

2 Substituted for the first proviso, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 16 (1 -8-1955).

3 Substituted for Clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 9 (19-4-1962).

4 Inserted after the first proviso, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 16 (1-8-1955).

5 Substituted for the words “to a Part B State” by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1-4-1951).

21. Re-import of coffee exported from India.

(1) No coffee which has been exported from India shall be re-imported into ¹[India] except under and in accordance with a permit granted by the Board.

(2) The Board may in any fit case grant such a permit and no charge shall be made therefor,

1 Substituted for “the States”, by Part B States (Laws) Act (3 of 1951), S. 3 and Sch. (1-4-1951).

22. Internal sale quota.

(1) ¹[Unless with the previous sanction of the Central Government the Board decides that no internal sale quotas shall be allotted], the Bord shall, as soon as may be, allot to each registered estate an internal sale quota for the year.

(2) The internal sale quota shall be a fixed percentage, common to all registered estates, of the probable total production of the estate in the year as estimated by the Board.

(3) The Board may at any time vary the internal sale quota by varying the fixed percentage common to all registered estates, or may express the whole or any part of the internal sale quota of an estate in terms of bulk instead of in terms of weight.

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 8 (26-3-1943).

23. Returns to be made by registered owners.

(1) A registered owner shall furnish to the Board at the prescribed times and in the prescribed manner such returns as may be prescribed.

(2) If any registered owner fails to furnish the returns required under sub-section (1) in respect of any estate, the Board may ¹[without prejudice to any penalty to which the said owner is liable under section 37-A], refuse to allot an internal sale quota to that estate, or where an internal sale quota has already been allotted, may cancel it.

(3) The Board may authorise an officer to visit any estate at any time to verify the accuracy of any return made under this section or to ascertain the productive capacity of the estate.

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 9 (26-3-1943).

24. Licences for sale of uncured coffee.

The registered owner of any estate, may, subject to the prescribed conditions and so long as the internal sale quota allotted to the estate will not be exceeded by the proposed sale, obtain from the Board a licence for the sale from that estate of uncured coffee.

25. Surplus coffee and surplus pool.

(1) All coffee produced by a registered estate in excess of the amount specified in the internal sale quota allotted to the estate ¹[or when no internal sale quotas have been allotted to estates, all coffee produced by the estate], shall be delivered to the

Board for inclusion in the surplus pool by the owner of the estate or by the curing establishment receiving the coffee from the estate :

²[Provided that where no internal sale quotas have been allotted to estates, the Chairman may allow the owner of any estate to return with himself for purposes of consumption by his family and for purposes of seed, such quantity of coffee as the Chairman may think reasonable :

Provided further that where the Central Government is satisfied that it is not practicable for any class of owners producing coffee in any specified area to comply with the provisions of this sub-section on account of the small quantity of coffee produced by them or on account of their estates being situated in a remote locality, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt such class of owners from the provisions of this sub-section.]

(2) Delivery shall be made to the Board in such places a[at such times], and in such manner as the Board may direct, and such directions may provide for partial delivery to the surplus pool at any time whether or not at that time the internal sale quota has been exceeded; and the coffee delivered shall be such as to represent fairly in kind and quality the produce of the estate. The Board may reject any consignment offered for delivery which does not satisfy this requirement, but shall not reject any consignment merely for a defect in curing.

(3) Coffee delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool shall upon delivery to the Bord remain under the control of the Board which shall be responsible for storage, curing where necessry, and marketing of the coffee.

(4) The Board shall, ³[* * *] a[from time to time] prepare a differential scale for the valuation of coffee, and shall in accordance with that scale classify the coffee in each consignment delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool according to its kind and quality, and shall make an assessment of its value based on its quantity, kind and quality.

(5) The Board may, with the consent of a registered owner, ⁴[* * *] treat as having been delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool any coffee from such estate which the registered owner may agree to have so treated.

(6) When coffee has been delivered or is treated as having been delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool, the registered owner whose coffee has been so delivered or is treated as having been so delivered shall retain no rights in respect of such coffee except his right to receive the payments referred to in section 34.

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 9 (26-3-1943).

2 Added by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 17 (1-8-1955).

3 Words “with the concurrence of the Chief Coffee Marketing Officer” were omitted, ibid.

4 Words “before an internal sale quota has been allotted to an estate” omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 10.

26. Sales of coffee by the Board.

(1) The Board shall take all practical measurers to market the coffee included in the surplus pool, and all sales thereof shall be conducted by or through the Board.

(2) The Board may purchase for inclusion in the surplus pool coffee not delivered for inclusion in it.

27. Coffee to be cured in licensed curing establishments.

No registered owner shall cause or allow coffee to be cured elsewhere than a licensed curing establishment, whether the curing establishment is maintained by himself or by another person.

28. Licensing of curing establishments.

Every establishment for curing coffee shall obtain from the Board a licence to operate as such.

29. Information to be supplied to the Board in connection with curing.

(1) A registered owner when sending coffee to a curing establishment shall report to the Board, separately for each estate from which the coffee is sent, the amount of coffee sent; and the curing establishment shall, in accordance with such instructions as may be issued by the Board and having regard to the internal sale quota of the estate, ¹[where one has been allotted], apportion each such consignment into two parts, one part consisting of coffee intended for internal sale and one part of coffee intended to be delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool and shall report to the Board the amount of coffee in each such part. ²[Where no internal sale quotas have been allotted to estates, the curing establishment shall report merely the whole amount of coffee sent in each such consignment.]

(2) A registered owner curing coffee in a curing establishment maintained by himself shall supply to the Board the information specified in sub-section (1).

(3) A curing establishment which buys or receives uncured coffee from any person shall ascertain the estate on which the coffee was produced and shall report to the Board the quantity of coffee so obtained and the estate or estates from which it came.

(4) Every curing establishment shall maintain accounts in such forms as may be required by the Board and such accounts shall be open-to inspection at any time by the Board or by an officer authorised in this behalf by the Board.

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 11 (26-3-1943).

2 Added by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 11 (26-3-1943).

30. Separate funds to be maintained by the Board.

The Board shall maintain two separate funds, a general fund and a pool fund.

31. General fund.

¹[General fund. (1) To the general fund shall be credited—

(a) all amounts paid to the Board by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 13; and

(b) any sums transferred to the general fund under the proviso to sub-section (2) of ²[section 32; and]

³[(c) all fees levied and collected by the Board under this Act.]

(2) The general fund shall be applied—

(a) to meet the expenses of the Board;

(b) to meet the cost of such measures as the Board may consider advisable to undertake for promoting agricultural and technological research in the interest of the coffee industry in India;

(c) for making such grants to coffee estates or for meeting the cost of such other assistance to coffee estates as the Board may think necessary for the development of such estates;

(d) to meet the cost of such measures as the Board considers advisable to undertake for promoting the sale and increasing the consumption in India and elsewhere of coffee produced in India; and

(e) to meet the expenses for securing better working conditions and the provision and improvement of amenities and incentives for workers.]

1 Substituted for former section 31, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 18 (1-8-1955).

2 Substituted for “Section 32″ by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 10 (19-4-1962).

3 Inserted, by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 10 (19-4-1962).

32. Pool fund.

(1) To the pool fund shall be credited all sums realised by sales by the Board of coffee from the surplus pool

(2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4) of section 13, the pool fund shall be applied only to

(a) the making to registered owners of estates of payments proportionate to the value of the coffee delivered by them for inclusion in the surplus pool;

(b) the costs of storing, curing and marketing coffee deposited in and of administering the surplus pool;

(c) the purchase of coffee not delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool;

¹[Provided that where, after the requirements of the clauses of this sub-section have been met, there remains any excess of the clauses of this sub-section have been met, there remains any excess in the pool fund, the Board may, with the previous sanction of the Central Government, transfer the whole or any part of such excess to the credit of the general fund.]

1 Proviso added by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (16 of 1944), S. 3 (21-11-1944).

32 A. Power of the Board to make donation to the Gandhi National Memorial Fund.

¹[Power of the Board to make donation to the Gandhi National Memorial Fund.— Notwithstanding anything contained in section 32, the Board may apply any part of the pool fund to the making of a donation to the Fund known as the Gandhi National Memorial Fund.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (34 of 1949), S. 2 (28-4-1949).

33. Power to borrow.

The Board may, subject to any prescribed conditions, borrow on the security of the general fund or the pool fund for any purposes for which it is authorised to expend money from such fund, or on the security of the delivered or treated as delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool for any purposes for which it is authorised to expend money from the pool fund

34. Payments to registered owners.

(1) The Board shall at such times as it thinks fit make to registered owners who have delivered coffee for inclusion in the surplus pool such payments out of the pool fund as it may think proper.

(2) The sum of all payments made under sub-section (2) to any one registered owner shall bear to the sum of the payments made to all registered owners the same proportion as the value of the coffee delivered by him out of the year’s crop to the surplus pool bears to the value of all coffee delivered to the surplus pool out of that year’s crop :

¹[Provided that in calculating the sum of all payments made under sub-section (1) and the value of the coffee delivered to the surplus pool out of the year's crop, respectively, any payment accepted by a registered owner as final payment in immediate settlement for coffee delivered I him for inclusion in the surplus pool and the value of any such coffee shall be excluded.]

1 Added by Coffee Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 12 (26-3-43).

35. Failure to register.

Any owner with of a coffee estate who fails to apply for registration in accordance with section 14 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to on thousand rupees and to a further fine which may extend to five hundred rupees for each month after the first during which such failure continues.

36. Contraventions of sections 16, 17 and 18.

(1) Any registered owner who contravene the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 16, or section 17 or section 18, any licensed curer ¹[or dealer] who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 16, ²[* * *] shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

(2) When a registered owner is convicted under this section, the Board may thereafter deduct from any payment to be made under section 34 to such registered owner a sum equal to the value as estimated by the Board of any coffee unlawfully sold by him.

1 Inserted by Coffee Expansion (Amendment) Act (2 of 1944), S. 3 (27-2-1944).

2 Words and figures “and any person who contravenes the provisions of section 19″ omitted by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961), S. 11 (19-4-1962).

37. Unlicensed curing establishment.

If any curing establishment operates as such without a licence, the owner shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

37A. Contravention of section 23(1).

¹[Contravention of section 23(1). Any registered owner who fails to furnish the return required by sub-section (1) of section 23 as required by that sub-section shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 13 (26-3-1943).

38. False returns.

Any person who makes in any return to be furnished under section 23 or in any report to be made under section 29 any statement which is false and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.

38A. Contravention of section 25.

¹[Contravention of section 25. Any registered owner or licensed curer who fails to deliver any coffee to the Board as required by or under sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 25 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, and the Court by which such person is convicted may order the confiscation and deliver to the board of any coffee in respect of which the offence was committed.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 14 (26-3-1943).

38B. Powers to seize coffee withheld from inclusion in surplus pool.

¹[Powers to seize coffee withheld from inclusion in surplus pool. If the Board is satisfied that any coffee which is required under the provisions of section 25 to be delivered for inclusion in the surplus pool is being or is likely to be disposed of otherwise than by such delivery, the Board may order the seizure of such coffee, and may authorise an officer of the Board to effect seizure thereof for delivery for inclusion in the surplus pool, and such authorisation shall be sufficient warrant for such officer to take all steps necessary to secure possession of the coffee.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943). S. 14 (26-3-1943).

39. Obstruction.

Whoever obstructs any member or officer of the Board or any person authorised by the Board or by the Central Government in the discharge of any duty imposed on or entrusted to him under this Act, or who having control over or custody of any records fails to produce such records when required to do so or refuses information lawfully asked for by a member or officer of the Board or by a person authorised by the Board or by the Central Government to inspect such records or ask for such information shall be punishable with fine which may be extend to one thousand rupees.

39 A. Offences by companies.

¹[Offences by companies. (1) If the person committing any offence under this Act is a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Explanation.— For the purposes of this section,—

(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and

(b) “director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 19 (1-8-1955).

40. Cognizance of offence.

(1) No Court other than the Court of a Magistrate of the first class shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act.

(2) No Court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under section 35 except on complaint made by an officer authorised in this behalf by the ¹[State] Government ¹[or of the offence specified in sub-section (2) of section 16 except on complaint made by an officer authorised in this behalf either by the ¹[State] Government or by the Board] or of an offence punishable under any other section except on complaint made with the previous sanction of the Central Government by an officer authorised in this behalf by the Board :

²[Provided that the Central Government may, by notification0 in the Official Gazette, direct that the previous sanction of the Central Government shall not be necessary for complaints in such cases or classes of case as may be specified in the notification.]

1Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (2 of 1944), S. 4 (27-2-1944).

2 Added by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 15 (26-3-1943).

3 For exemption see S. O. 2164, Gaz. of Ind., 1963, Pt. II, S. 3(i), p. 2461.

41. Power of Board to determine amount of coffee sold by an estate.

Omitted by the Coffee (Amendment) Act, 1961 (48 of 1961), S. 12 (19-4-62).

42. Control by the Central Government.

(1) All acts of the Board shall be subject to the control of the Central Government which may cancel, suspend or modify as it thinks fit any action taken by the Board.

(2) The records of the Board shall be open to inspection at all reasonable times by any officer authorised in this behalf by the Central Government.

43. Appeals to the Central Government.

(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Board refusing a licence to or cancelling a licence of a curing establishment may, within sixty days of the making of the order, appeal to the Central Government.

(2) Any person making an appeal under this section shall pay a fee of five rupees which shall be credited to Central Revenues.

44. Inspection of records.

¹[Any person authorised in this behalf by the Central Government or by the Board or any member of the Board so authorised by the Chairman in writing or any officer of the Board, may enter at all reasonable times] any estate or any curing establishment ²[or any place where coffee is stored or exposed for sale], and may require the production for his inspection of any records kept therein or ask for any information relating to the production, storage or sale of coffee ³[* * * * *].

1 Substituted for the words “Any member of the Board, and any officer of the Board or other person authorised in this behalf by the Central Government of the Board, may enter”, by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 20 (1-8-1955).

2 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 16 (26-3-1943).

3 Words “by the estate” omitted, Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 16 (26-3-1943).

45. Accounts of the Board.

(1) The Board shall keep accounts in such manner as may be prescribed of all money received and expended by it.

(2) The accounts shall be kept separately for the general fund and the pool fund.

(3) The Board shall cause the accounts to be audited annually by auditors appointed by the Central Government, and the auditors shall have power to disallow any item of expenditure which has, in their opinion, been incurred otherwise than in accordance with this Act.

(4) The Central Government may on the application of the Bord allow any item of expenditure disallowed by the auditors under sub-section (3).

46. Inspection of records of the Board and obtaining of copies.

Any registered owner ¹[* * *] may, subject to the prescribed conditions, inspect the records maintained by the Board and may on payment of the prescribed fee obtain copies of any proceedings or orders of the Board.

1 Words “to whom an internal sale quota is allotted” omitted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 17(26-3-1943).

47. Contracts.

All contracts for the sale of coffee in so far as they are at variance with the provisions of this Act shall be void :

Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply to contracts to which under section 47 of the Coffee Market Expansion Ordinance, 1940, that Ordinance did not apply.

¹[47A. Bar of legal proceedings.

No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Board or any officer of the Board for or in respect of anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.]

1 Inserted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (7 of 1943), S. 18 (26-3-1943).

48. Power of the Central Government to make rules.

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules¹ to carry out the purposes of this Act.

²[(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules may be made providing for all or any of the following matters:

³[“(i) the constitution of the Board, the number of persons to be appointed as members from each of the categories specified in clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 4, the term of office and other conditions of service of, the procedure to be followed by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of the Board;

(ii) the circumstances in which, and the authority by which, members may be removed;"]

(iii) the procedure to be followed at meetings of the Board and at committees thereof for the conduct of business and the number of members which shall form a quorum at a meeting;

(iv) the maintenance by the Board of records of business transacted by the Board and the submission of copies thereof to the Central Government;

(v) the holding of a minimum number of meetings of the Board every year;

(vi) the powers of the Board, its Chairman and committees thereof with respect to the incurring of expenditure;

(vii) the conditions subject to which the Board may incur expenditure outside India;

(viii) the preparation of budget estimates of receipts and expenditure of the Board and the authority by which the estimates are to be sanctioned;

(ix) the maintenance of the accounts of income and expenditure of the Board and the audit of such accounts;

(x) the deposit of the funds of the Board in banks and the investment of such funds;

(xi) the re-appropriation of the estimated savings from any budget head to any other budget head;

(xii) the conditions subject to which the Board may borrow funds;

(xiii) the conditions subject to which and the manner in which contracts may be entered into by or on behalf of the Board;

(xiv) the delegation to the committee or Chairman or Vice-Chairman or members or officers of the Board of any of the powers and duties of the Board under this Act;

(xv) the staff which may be employed by the Board and the pay and allowances and leave and other conditions of service of officers (other than those appointed by the Central Government) and other employees of the Board;

(xvi) the travelling and other allowances of members of the Board and of committees thereof;

(xvii) the maintenance of the registers and other records of the Board and its various committees;

(xviii) the manner in which the internal sale quota of coffee estates shall be determined; (xix) the manner in which the Board shall exercise its powers of buying and selling coffee; (xx) the appointment by the Board of agents;

(xxi) the conditions to be fulfilled by a curing establishment before a licence to operate as such can be issued;

(xxii) the form of, and the particulars to be contained in, any returns or reports to be made to the Board under this Act;

(xxiii) the form of, manner of application for, fees payable for, procedure in granting and conditions governing, the licences and permits to be issued by the Board;

(xxiv) the collection of any information or statistics in respect of coffee or any product of coffee;

(xxv) any other matter (other than any matter specified in section 15) which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.]

⁴[(3) Every rule made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall be thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.]

1 For Coffee Rules see Gaz. of India, Extra., 1-8-1955, Pt. 11,5.3,p. 1638. For Coffee Board Servants (Conduct) Rules 1968, See G.I., 4-1-69, Pt. II, S. 3(i), p. 48 — For Coffee Board Employees Pension Fund Rules, 1965, see Gaz. of Ind., 6-3-65, Pt. II, Section 3(i), p. 400.

12 Substituted for original sub-section (2), by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (50 of 1954), S. 21 (1-8-1955).

3 Substituted for former clauses (i) and (ii) by Coffee (Amendment) Act (48 of 1961). S. 13 (19-4-1962).

4 Substituted for former sub-section (3); ibid (48 of 1985), S. 5 (15-5-1986).

49. Repeal of Act XIV of 1935.

¹[49. Repeal of Act XIV of 1935.

The Indian Coffee Cess Act, 1935, is hereby repealed.]

1 Substituted by Coffee Market Expansion (Amendment) Act (4 of 1947), S. 4 (11-3-1947).

50. Repeals and Savings.

[Repealed by Repealing and Amending Act, 1947 (2 of 1948), S. 2 and Schedule [5-1-1948].]