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The Himachal Pradesh
Agricultural and Horticultural Produce Marketing (Development and
Regulation) Act, 2005 (An assented to by the Governor
on 25th May, 2005)
to reenact the law to provide for improved regulation in
marketing of agricultural produce, development of efficient marketing
system, promotion of agri-processing and agricultural exports,
establishment and proper administration of markets for agricultural
produce in the State of Himachal Pradesh and to ensure level playing
field for competitive markets to operate through setting of minimum
standards for facilities, procedures and systems, thereby promoting the
establishment of well administered and efficient infrastructure for
marketing of agricultural produce in and from the State of Himachal
Pradesh. BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh in the Fifty-sixth Year of the Republic of India, as follows:- Chapter I Preliminary Short Title:
1.
This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Agricultural and
Horticultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2005. Definitions: 2. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or Context, - (a) agricultural produce means all
produce and commodities, whether processed or unprocessed of
agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, sericulture, livestock and
products of livestock, fleeces (raw wool) and skins of animals, forest
produce and fisheries as are specified in the SCHEDULE to this Act or
declared by the Government by notification under section 19 of this Act
and also includes a mixture of two or more that two such products; (b) agriculturist means a person who is a
bonafide Himachali and owns and possesses land in Himachal Pradesh and
who is engaged in production of agricultural produce by himself or by
hired labour or otherwise, but does not include any market functionary; (c ) Board means the Himachal Pradesh
State Agricultural Marketing Board established under section 3 of this
Act; (d) business means purchase, sale, processing, value addition, storage, transportation and connected activities of agricultural produce; (e) buyer
means a person, a firm, a company or a Cooperative Society or Government
Agency, Public Undertaking/Public Agency or Corporation, commission
agent, who himself or on behalf of any other person or agent buy or
agrees to buy agricultural produce in the notified market area; (f) bye-laws means the bye-laws made by
the Board for the Committee under section 84 of this Act; (g) Chairman means the Chairman of the
Board; (h) commission agent means a person who
on behalf of his principal trader and in consideration of a commission
or percentage on the amount involved in such transaction buys
agricultural produce and makes payment, keeps it in his custody and
delivers it to the principal trader in due course or who receives and
takes in his custody agricultural produce sent for sale within the
market area or from outside the market area, sells the same in the
market area and collects payment thereof from the buyer and remits the
sale proceeds to his principal trader; (i) committee means the Agricultural
produce Market Committee established under section 29; (j) contract farming means farming by a person called Contract Farming Producer under a written agreement with another person called Contract Farming Sponsor to the effect that his farm produce shall be purchased as specified in the agreement; Explanation :- Contract Farming Producer means
an individual agriculturist or an association of agriculturists by
whatever name called registered under any law for the time being in
force; (k) Contract Farming Agreement means the agreement made for a specific period for contract farming between Contract Farming Sponsor and Contract Farming Producer; Explanation:- Contract Farming Sponsor means a
sole proprietor, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956, a
partnership firm registered under the Partnership Act, 1932, a
Government Agency, the Cooperative Societies registered under the
Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1968, and shall include its
administrators, successors, representatives and assignees; (l) Cooperative Society means a
Cooperative Society of producers registered under the provisions of the
Himachal Pradesh Cooperative Societies Act, 1968, which deals in the
purchase, sale, processing, or storage of agricultural produce, or is
otherwise engaged in the business of disposal of agricultural produce; (m) export means despatch or agricultural
produce outside India; (n) exporter
means a person who exports agricultural produce; (o) e-trading
means trading in which billing, booking, contracting, negotiating,
information exchange, record keeping and other connected activities are
done electronically on computer network/internet. (p) hamal means a labourer, hamal or
coolie engaged for dara-making, loading, unloading, filling, stitching,
emptying or carrying any agricultural produce in the notified market
area, (q) import means bringing agricultural
produce from outside India, (r) importer means a person who imports
agricultural produce from outside India, (s) license means license granted under
this Act. (t) licensee means a person or an
association, firm, company, public sector undertaking or society holding a license issued under this Act, (u) market means a market established
under section 19 of this Act which includes market area, market yard
sub-yards and principal market yard, (v) market area means area notified under
section 19 of this Act, (w) market charges include charges on
account of or in respect of commission, brokerage, weighing, measuring,
hamali (loading, unloading or carrying), cleaning, drying, sieving,
stitching, stacking, hiring, gunny bags, stamping, bagging, storing,
warehousing, grading, surveying, transporting and processing, (x) market functionary means a trader, a
commission agent, buyer, hamal, processor, stockist and any other person
as may be declared by the State Government, by notification, to be a
market functionary, (y) market yard in relation to a market
area means a specified place and includes any enclosures, buildings, or
locality declared as such in any market area by the State Government, by
notification; (z) member includes the Chairman of the
Board, (za) marketing means all activities
involved in the flow of agricultural produce from the production point
commencing from the stage of harvest till these reach the ultimate
consumers viz, grading, processing, storage, transport, channels of
distribution and all other functions involved in the process, (zb) notification means notification
issued under this Act and published in the Official Gazette, (zc) notified agricultural produce means
any agricultural produce notified under section 19 of this Act; (zd) person shall include any company or
association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not. (ze) producer means a person who in his
normal course of avocation, grows, manufactures, rears or produces, as
the case may be, agricultural produce personally, through tenants or
otherwise, but does not include a person who works as a traders or a
broker or who is a partner of a firm or traders or brokers is otherwise
engage din the business of disposal or storage of agricultural produce
other than that grown, manufactured, reared or produced by himself
through his tenants or otherwise: provided that no person shall be disqualified from
being a producer merely on the ground that he is a member of a
Cooperative Society ; Explanation The term producer shall also
include tenant; (zf) prescribed means prescribed by rules
made under this Act; (zg) processing means any one or more of
a series of treatments relating to powdering, crushing, decorticating,
dehusking, parboiling, polishing, ginning, pressing, curing, cleaning,
or any other manual, mechanical, chemical or physical treatments to
which raw agricultural produce or its product is subjected to; (zh) processor means a person who
undertakes processing of any notified agricultural produce on his own
accord or on payment of a charge. (zi) private market yard means such place
other than the market yard/sub market yard in the market areas there
infrastructure has been developed and managed by a person for marketing
of the notified agricultural produce holding a license for this purpose
under this Act, (zj) registration means registration done
under this Act; (zk) regulation means regulations made by
the Board under section 85 of this Act; (zl) retail sale means sale of
agricultural produce not exceeding such quantity as may be prescribed; (zm) State Government or Government
means the Government of Himachal Pradesh, (zn) seller means a person who sells or agrees to sell any agricultural produce, (zo) trader
mean a person who in his normal course of business buys or sells any
notified agricultural produce and includes a person engaged in
processing of agricultural produce but does not include an
agriculturist, (zp) transportation mean taking agricultural
produce by push cart, bullock cart, truck or other vehicle in course of
business for marketing from one place to another, (zq) transporter means a person who transports
agricultural produce; and
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