CHAPTER IV

MISCELLANEOUS

Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the powers and functions of the Director shall be:-

(1) to take action for timely and proper conduct of the election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the market committees and the Vice-President of the Board;

(2) to inspect or cause to be inspected the offices of the market committees and the Board;

(3) to scrutinize the budget of market committees and to forward the same to the Government with his recommendation;

(4) to grade and standardize all the notified agricultural produces; and

(5) to supervise market committees for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act and the rules made under this Act.

Delegation of powers:-

(1) (a) The Government may, by notification, delegate to the Director or to any other officer the powers vested in them under section 33, in respect of any market committee.

(b) The exercise of any power delegated under clause (a) shall be subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be specified in the notification and subject to control and revision by the Government.

(2) Save as other wise provided in sub-section (1), the Government may, by notification, delegate to the Board or its President:-

(a) any of the powers vested in them by or under this Act except the powers conferred under sections 52, 65 and 66; or

(b) any of the powers conferred on the Director or any other authority by or under this Act.

(3) The Board may, with the approval of the Government, delegate any of its powers to its President, the Chief Executive Officer or any of its officers:

Provided that the Board shall not delegate any of the powers delegated to it by the Government under sub-section (2).

(4) The President may, with the approval of the Government, delegate any of the powers conferred on him by or under this Act to any officer of the Board:

Provided that the President shall not delegate any of the powers delegate to him by the Government and the Board under sub-sections (2) and (3).

Penalties:-

(1) Any person who:-

(a) evades the payment of any fee or any other amount due from him by or under this Act, or

(b) being a licensee under this Act, fails either to submit the reports and returns to the market committee as specified in its by-laws or to produce accounts, records, etc., when demanded by any officer or servant of the market committee duly empowered, or

(c) (i) when required by or under this Act to make any statement or furnish any information, makes any statement or furnishes any information which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or not true, in any material particular, or

(ii) makes any such statement as aforesaid in any account, declaration, estimate, return or other document which he is required by or under this Act to furnish, or

(d) prevents or obstructs inspection vehicle, boat or other conveyance carrying or believed to be carrying notified agricultural produce, or verification, search or seizure by any officer or servant of the market committee empowered by the Director in this behalf, or

(e) prevents or obstructs, entry, inspection and verification of any notified agricultural produce, weights and scales and accounts relating to the transactions of such produce in any premises either licensed or liable to be licensed under this Act by any officer or servant of the market committee empowered by the Director in this behalf, or

(f) contravenes any of the provisions of section 32, or fails to obtain a permit for the transport of the notified agricultural produce as required by or under this Act or any of the terms and conditions of any such permit,

shall, on conviction, be punishable with fine which shall not be less than five hundred rupees but may extend to two thousand and five hundred rupees and in the case of a continuing evasion or contravention, with a further fine which may extend to five hundred rupees for every day during which the evasion or contravention is continued after conviction therefor.

(2) Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or any rule or any regulation or any by-law made under this Act shall, if no other penalty is provided for such contravention elsewhere in this Act or in the rules or regulations or by-laws, on conviction, be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand and five hundred rupees.

Liability of accused to pay fee or other amount:-

Every person who is convicted under section 48 shall be liable on proof to the satisfaction of the Magistrate that he omitted to pay the fee, or other amount due from him under this Act or the rules of by-laws made under this Act, to pay the market committee the amount which may be due from him on account of such fee or other amount.

Composition of offences:-

The market committee may accept from any person who has committed, or is reasonably suspected of having committed, an offence against this Act or the rules or by-laws made under this Act, by way of composition of such offence:-

(a) where the offence consists of the failure to pay or the evasion of any fee, or other amount recoverable under this Act or the rules or by-laws mae under this Act, in addition to the fee, or other amount so recoverable a sum of money not exceeding one thousand rupees or double the amount of the fee, or other amount whichever is less; and

(b) in other cases, a sum of money not exceeding one thousand and five hundred rupees.

Power of Magistrate to recover summarily fee or other amount:-

(1) Whenever any person is convicted of an offence under this Act or the rules or the regulations or by-laws made under this Act, the Magistrate shall, in addition to any fine which may be imposed, recover summarily and pay over to the market committee the amount of fee, or other amount due from him under this Act or the rules or the regulations or by-laws made under this Act and may, in his discretion, also recover summarily and pay over to the market committee such amount, if any, as he may fix as the cost of the prosecution.

(2) All fines imposed by a court under this Act shall, on recovery, be credited to the revenues of the State and the total amount so credited during any financial year shall be contributed by the Government to the Market Committee Fund.

Power to make rules:-

(1) The Government may make, either generally or specially for any notified area or areas, rules for carrying out all or any of he purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for or regulate:-

(a) the nomination and withdrawal of members of the market committee or as the case may be, the preparation and publication of lists of producers in the notified area and persons licensed under section 8 of the market committee, and revision thereof;

(b) the powers of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of a market committee, their functions and the term of office;

(d) the calling of general meeting of market committee;

(e) the annual fees that may be levied by the market committee in respect of licences granted under section 8 and the recovery of such fees;

(f) the maximum rates of subscriptions which may be levied either by the Board or by the market committee and the recovery of such subscriptions;

(g) the proce4dure for determination of fees and the manner of collection thereof;

(h) the form in which, and the condition subject to which, the licence under sub-section (1) of section 8, shall be issued or renewed, and the fee to be charged therefor;

(i) the kind and description of the scales, weights and measures, which alone be used in transactions in the notified agricultural produce concerned in a notified area;

(j) the periodical inspection, verification and correction of all scales, weights and measures in use in a notified area and the seizure of scales, weights and measures, found to be false;

(k) the trade allowances which may be made or received by any person in any transaction in the notified agricultural produce in a notified area;

(l) the provision of facilities for the settlement of any dispute between a buyer and a seller of the notified agricultural produce or their agents including disputes regarding the quality for weight of the notified agricultural produce, the allowances for wrappings, dirt or impurities or deductions for any cause;

(m) the prohibition of commission agents and brokers from acting in any transaction on behalf of both the buyer and seller of any notified agricultural produce;

(n) the provision of accommodation for storing any notified agricultural produce brought into the market;

(o) the preparation of plans and estimates for works proposed to be constructed partly or wholly at the expense of the Board or of the market committee, and the grant of sanction to such plans and estimates;

(p) the procedure to be followed by the Board or by a market committee in respect of financial matters generally, including the manner in which, and the restrictions and conditions subject to which, expenditure may be incurred by it;

(q) the form in which the accounts of the Board and market committees shall be kept, the audit and publication of such accounts and the charges, if any, to be made for such audit;

(r) (i) the powers of auditors and the Board to disallow and surcharge items in respect of market committees and the recovery of sums so disallowed and surcharged;

(ii) the powers of auditors and the Government to disallow and surcharge items in respect of the Board and the recovery of sums so disallowed and surcharged;

(s) the preparation and submission for approval of an annual budget and the reports and returns to be furnished by the Board or by a market committee;

(t) the investment and disposal of the surplus fund of the Board or of a market committee;

(u) the prevention of adulteration of notified agricultural produce;

(v) the maintenance of standards of notified agricultural produce;

(w) the provision for affording facilities for settlement of debts charged on notified agricultural produce;

(x) the form in which such returns and accounts to be furnished by licensees, and the procedure for the inspection of their accounts and stocks;

(y) the methods of recruitment and conditions of service of officers and other employees of the Board and of a market committee;

(z) the traveling and other allowances that may be paid to the members, the officers and servants of the Board and of a market committee;

(aa) the manner in which the inspection of a market committee and the Board shall be held;

(bb) the procedure to be followed in respect of receipts and disposals of Market Board Fund and Market Development Fund and matters connected thereto;

(cc) any other matter which has to be or may be prescribed.

(3) Any rules made under this section may provide that any contravention thereof or of any of the conditions of any licence issued under this Act shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one thousand and five hundred rupees.

(4) (a) All rules made under this Act shall be published in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette and, unless they are expressed to come into force on a particular day, shall come into force on the day on which they are so published.

(b) All notifications issued under this Act shall, unless they are expressed to come into force on a particular day, come into force on the day on which they are published.

(c) Every rule made or notification issued under this Act shall, as soon as possible after it is made or issued, be placed on the table of the Legislative Assembly and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so placed or the next session, the Assembly makes any modification in any such rule or notification or the Assembly decides that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the rule or notification shall 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 or notification.

Power to make regulations and by-laws:-

(1) Subject to any rules made by the Government under section 52, the Board may, with the previous sanction of the Government, make regulations for regulating its business and for such other matters relating in the regulation of markets:

Provided that where the Board fails to make regulations under this sub-section within one month from the date of its establishment, the Government may make such regulations as they think fit and the regulations so made shall be deemed to be regulations made by the Board and may be amended or varied by the Government or, with their previous sanction, by the Board.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the summoning and holding of meetings of the Board, the time and date when such meetings are to be held, the conduct of business at such meetings and the number of persons necessary to form a quorum thereat;

(b) the powers and duties of the officers and servants of the Board;

(d) the execution of contracts and assurances of property on behalf of the Board;

(e) the maintenance of accounts and the preparation of balance sheet by the Board;

(f) the procedure for carrying out the functions of the Board under this Act.

(g) Any other matter for which provision is to be or may be made in regulation.

(3) Subject to any rules made by the Government under section 52, the market committee may, with the previous sanction of the Board, in respect of the notified area for which it was established, make by-laws for the regulation of the business and the conditions of trading therein and for such other matters relating to the day-to-day regulation and administration of markets including market and other charges:

Provided that where a market committee fails to make by-laws under this sub-section within one month from the date of its establishment, the Board may make such by-laws as it thinks fit and the by-laws so made shall be deemed to be by-laws made by the market committee and may be amended or varied by the Board or, with its previous sanction, by the market committee.

(4) Any regulation or by-law made under this section may provide that any contravention thereof shall be punishable with fine which may extend to three hundred rupees.

Power to write off irrecoverable amount, etc.:-

A market committee or the Board may write off any amount whatsoever due to it, whether under a contract or otherwise, or any sum payable in connection therewith, if in its opinion, such amount of sum if irrecoverable:

Provided that:-

(a) the market committee shall obtain the previous sanction of:-

(i) the Director, in every case where the amount or sum to be written off exceeds five thousand rupees, but does not exceed ten thousand rupees; and

(ii) the Government in every case where the amount or sum to be written off exceeds ten thousand rupees;

(b) the Board shall obtain the previous sanction of the Government in every case where the amount of sum to be written off exceeds twenty thousand rupees.

Bar of certain proceedings:-

(1) No suit or other proceeding shall lie against the market committee or the Board for any act done or purporting to be done under this Act.

(2) (a) No suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall lie against the President or Vice-President or Chief Executive Officer or officer or servant of the Board or the Chairman or Vice-Chairman or Secretary or officer or servant of the market committee for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or any rule, regulation, by-law or notification issued under this Act.

(b) No Chairman or Vice-Chairman or Secretary or officer or servant of the market committee or the President or Vice-President or the Chief Executive Officer or officer or servant of the Board shall be liable in respect of any such act in any civil or criminal proceeding if the act was done in good faith in the course of the execution of the duties or the discharge of the functions assigned to him by or under this Act.

President, Vice-President, Chairman and Vice-Chairman to be public servants:-

The President and Vice-President of the Board and Chairman and Vice-Chairman of market committee shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act XLV of 1860).

Limitation for certain suits and prosecutions:-

Save as otherwise provided in section 63, no suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall be instituted against the Chairman or Vice-Chairman or Secretary or officer or servant of the market committee or the President or Vice-President or Chief Executive Officer or officer or servant of the Board for any act done or purporting to be done under this Act, unless the suit, prosecution or other proceeding is instituted within six months from the date of the act complained of.

Trial of offences:-

(1) No offence made punishable by this Act or any rule, regulation or by-law made under this Act shall be tried by any court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first class.

(2) No court shall take cognizance of any offence punishable under this Act except on a complaint in writing made by the Directorate or any officer empowered by him in this behalf by special order.

Recovery of sums:-

All sums due from the Board to the Government and all sums due from a market committee either to the Government or to the Board, and all sums due to the Board or to a market committee either by way of fees or otherwise under this Act, the rules, the regulations or the by-laws, may be recovered in the same manner as arrears of land revenue.

Revision:-

(1) The Government may call for and examine the record of any market committee or the Board or of the Director or the Collector in respect of any proceeding to satisfy themselves as to the regularity on such proceeding or the correctness, legality or propriety of any decision or order passed therein; and if, in any case, it appears to the Government that any such decision or order should be modified, annulled, reversed or remitted for reconsideration, then, the Government may pass orders accordingly:

Provided that, before passing any order under this sub-section, the Government:-

(a) shall if such order is likely to be prejudicial to any person, give such person a reasonable opportunity of making his representations; and

(b) any consult such authority or officer as they deem fit.

(2) The Government may stay the execution of any such decision or order pending the exercise of their powers under sub-section (1) in respect thereof.

Registration of document executed on behalf of Board or market committee:-

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Registration Act, 1908 (Central Act XVI of 1908), it shall not be necessary for the President or the Chairman or any member or officer or servant of the Board or of a market committee, or the special officer appointed under section 33 to appear in person or by agent at any registration office in any proceeding connected with the registration of any instrument executed by him in his official capacity or to sign as provided in section 58 of that Act.

(2) Where any instrument is so executed, the registering officer to whom such instrument is presented for registration may, if he thinks fit, refer to such President, Chairman, member, officer, servant or special officer for information respecting the same and shall on being satisfied on the execution thereof, register the instrument.

Injunction not to be granted in certain proceedings, etc.:-

Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act V of 1908) or in any other law for the time being in force, no court shall grant any permanent or temporary injunction or make any interim order in any manner in relation to nomination or appointment under this Act including the preparation or publication of any list of producers or persons licensed under section 8 for the purposes of nomination.

Liability of President, Vice-President, Chairman, Vice-Chairman and member for loss, waste or misapplication:-

(1) The President, Vice-President and every member of the Board and Chairman, Vice-Chairman and every member of a market committee shall be liable for the loss, waste or misapplication of any money or other property owned by, or vested in, the Board or, as the case may be, in a market committee if such loss, waste or misapplication is a direct consequence of his neglect or misconduct; and a suit for compensation may be instituted against him in any court of competent jurisdiction by the Director.

(2) Every such suit shall be instituted within three years after the date on which the cause of action arose.

Exemption:-

Nothing in this Act shall apply to the purchase or sale of any notified agricultural produce by the Central Government or any State Government.

Power to amend the Schedule:-

(1) The Government may, by notification, amend the Schedule to include in it any agricultural produce or to exclude therefrom any agricultural produce or to alter the description of any agricultural produce therein.

(2) When the Schedule is so amended, any reference to the Schedule in this Act shall be construed as a reference to the Schedule as so amended.

Power to remove difficulties:-

If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Government may, as occasion requires, by order, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, do anything which appears to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty:

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of two years from the date of the commencement of this Act.

Repeal and savings:-

(1) The Tamil Nadu Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1959 (Tamil Nadu Act 23 of 1959) (hereafter in this section referred to as the said Act) is hereby repealed.

(2) The repeal by sub-section (1) of the said Act shall not affect:-

(a) the previous operation of the said Act or anything done or duly suffered thereunder; or

(b) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired accrued or incurred under the said Act; or

(d) any investigation, legal proceeding or remedy in respect of any such right, privilege, obligation, liability, penalty, forfeiture or punishment as aforesaid; and any such investigation, legal proceeding or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced and any such penalty, forfeiture or punishment may be imposed as if this Act had not been passed.

(3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), anything done or any action taken, including any appointment or delegation made, notification, order, instruction or direction issued, or any rule, regulation or form framed, certificate granted or registration effected, under the said Act shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act and shall continue to have effect accordingly, unless and until superseded by anything done or any action taken under this Act.

(4) Notwithstanding the repeal of the said Act, any area declared to be a notified area under the said Act shall be deemed to be a notified area under this Act; any market committee established for the said notified area under the said Act and holding office immediately before the date of the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to be a market committee established under this Act for the said notified area; all the members of such market committee shall be deemed to be members nominated by the Government under this Act and any market established under the said Act shall be deemed to be a market established under this Act