Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008- Sections 37 to 55 and Schedule

Chapter VI

OFFENCES AND PENALTIES

37. Penalty for wilful failure to comply with orders of Appellate Tribunal.

37. Penalty for wilful failure to comply with orders of Appellate Tribunal.—If any person wilfully fails to comply with the order of the Appellate Tribunal, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in case of a second or subsequent offence with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees and in the case of continuing contravention with additional fine which may extend to two lakh rupees for every day during which such default continues.

38. Punishment for non-compliance of orders and directions under this Act.

38. Punishment for non-compliance of orders and directions under this Act.—Whoever fails to comply with any order or direction given under this Act, or contravenes, or attempts to contravene or abets the contravention of the provisions of this Act or of any rules or regulations made thereunder shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and in case of a second or subsequent offence with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees and in case of a continuing contravention with an additional fine which may extend to four thousand rupees for every day during which the default continues.

Other Contents of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008​
Sections 1 to 12 Sections 13 to 36 Sections 37 to 55 and Schedule

39. Punishment for non-compliance with order of Authority or Appellate Tribunal.

39. Punishment for non-compliance with order of Authority or Appellate Tribunal.—If any person wilfully fails to comply with an order of the Authority or of the Appellate Tribunal, passed under Chapter IV, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees and, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees and in the case of a continuing failure, with an additional fine which may extend to four thousand rupees for every day during which such failure continues.

40. Offences by companies.

40. Offences by companies.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by 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 any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had 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 the 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” means a whole-time director in the company and in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

41. Offences by Government Departments.

41. Offences by Government Departments.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by any Department of Government or any of its undertakings, the Head of the Department or its undertakings shall be deemed to be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had 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 any Department of Government or its undertakings 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 officer, other than the Head of the Department, or its undertakings, such officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Chapter VII

MISCELLANEOUS

42. Directions by Central Government.

42. Directions by Central Government.—(1) The Central Government may, from time to time, issue to the Authority such directions as it may think necessary in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality.

(2) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions, the Authority shall, in exercise of its powers or the performance of its functions, be bound by such directions on questions of policy as the Central Government may give in writing to it from time to time:

Provided that the Authority shall, as far as practicable, be given an opportunity to express its views before any direction is given under this sub-section.

(3) The decision of the Central Government whether a question is one of policy or not shall be final.

43. Members, officers and employees of Authority to be public servants.

43. Members, officers and employees of Authority to be public servants.—The Chairperson, Members, officers and other employees of the Authority shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).

44. Bar of Jurisdiction.

44. Bar of Jurisdiction.—No civil court shall have jurisdiction in respect of any matter which the Authority is empowered by or under this Act to determine.

45. Protection of action taken in good faith.

45. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Central Government or the Authority or any Member, officer or other employees thereof for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rules and regulations made thereunder.

46. Exemption from tax on wealth and income.

46. Exemption from tax on wealth and income.—Notwithstanding anything contained in the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 (27 of 1957), the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), or any other enactment for the time being in force relating to tax on wealth, income, profits or gains, the Authority shall not be liable to pay wealth-tax, income-tax or any other tax in respect of their wealth, income, profits or gains derived.

47. Cognizance of offences.

47. Cognizance of offences.—No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under this Act, except upon a complaint in writing made by the Authority or by any officer of the Authority duly authorised by the Authority for this purpose.

48. Delegation of powers.

48. Delegation of powers.—The Authority may, by general or special order in writing, delegate to the Chairperson or any Member or officer of the Authority, subject to such conditions and limitations, if any, as may be specified in the order, such of its powers and functions under this Act (except the power to settle disputes and the power to make regulations), as it may deem necessary.

49. Power of Central Government to supersede Authority.

49. Power of Central Government to supersede Authority.—(1) If, at any time, the Central Government is of opinion—

(a) that on account of a grave emergency, the Authority is unable to discharge the functions and duties imposed on it by or under the provisions of this Act; or

(b) that the Authority has persistently made default in complying with any direction issued and by the Central Government under this Act or in the discharge of the functions and duties imposed on it by or under the provisions of this Act and as a result of which default, the financial position of the Authority or the administration of any airport, heliport, airstrip, civil enclave or aeronautical communication station has deteriorated; or

(c) that circumstances exist which render it necessary in the public interest so to do, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, supersede the Authority for such period, not exceeding six months, as may be specified in the notification:

Provided that before issuing a notification under this sub-section for the reasons mentioned in clause (b), the Central Government shall give a reasonable opportunity to the Authority to show cause as to why it should not be superseded and shall consider the explanations and objections, if any, of the Authority.

(2) Upon the publication of a notification under sub-section (1) superseding the Authority,—

(a) all the Members shall, as from the date of supersession, vacate their offices as such;

(b) all the powers, functions and duties which may, by or under the provisions of this Act, be exercised or discharged by or on behalf of the Authority, shall until the Authority is re-constituted under sub-section (3), be exercised and discharged by such person or persons as the Central Government may direct;

(c) all property owned or controlled by the Authority shall, until the Authority is re-constituted under sub-section (3), vest in the Central Government.

(3) On the expiration of the period of supersession specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1), the Central Government may,—

(a) extend the period of supersession for such further term not exceeding six months, as it may consider necessary; or

(b) re-constitute the Authority by fresh appointment and in such case the Members who vacated their offices under clause (a) of sub-section (2) shall not be deemed disqualified for appointment:

Provided that the Central Government may, at any time before the expiration of the period of supersession, whether as originally specified under sub-section (1) or as extended under this sub-section, take action under clause (b) of this sub-section.

(4) The Central Government shall cause a notification issued under sub-section (1) and a full report of any action taken under this section and the circumstances leading to such action to be laid before both Houses of Parliament at the earliest opportunity.

50. Application of other laws not barred.

50. Application of other laws not barred.—The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, the provisions of any other law for the time being in force.

51. Power to make rules.

51. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

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

(a) the salary and allowances payable to, and the other conditions of service of, the Chairperson and other Members under sub-section (2) of Section 6;

(b) the form and manner in which and the Authority before whom the oath of office and secrecy shall be made and subscribed under sub-section (4) of Section 6;

(c) the powers and functions to be exercised or discharged by the Chairperson under Section 7;

(d) the procedure for conducting any inquiry made under sub-section (2) of Section 8;

(e) the salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of the Secretary, officers and other employees of the Authority under sub-section (3) of Section 9;

(f) the performance standards relating to the quality, continuity and reliability of service to be monitored under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of Section 13;

(g) the books of account or other documents which are required to be maintained by the service provider under sub-section (3) of Section 14;

(h) the form and manner in which the form shall be verified and fee to be accompanied by the form under sub-section (3) of Section 18;

(i) [i][* * *]

(j) [ii][* * *]

(k) [iii][* * *]

(l) the form in which the Authority shall prepare, and at such time in each financial year, its budget and the time at which such budget shall be prepared under Section 33;

(m) the form in which proper accounts and other relevant records shall be maintained and the annual statement of accounts shall be prepared by the Authority under sub-section (1) of Section 35;

(n) the form, manner and the time in which the returns and statements shall be furnished by the Authority under sub-section (1) of Section 36;

(o) the form and time at which the annual report shall be prepared by the Authority under sub-section (2) of Section 36;

(p) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed, or in respect of which provision is to be made by rules.

52. Power to make regulations.

52. Power to make regulations.—(1) The Authority may, by notification in the Official Gazette, and with the previous approval of the Central Government, make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, and the rules made thereunder, to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(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 procedure in accordance with which the experts and professionals may be engaged under sub-section (4) of Section 9;

(b) the places and time of meetings of the Authority and the procedure to be followed at such meetings (including the quorum at its meetings), under sub-section (1) of Section 10;

(c) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, specified by regulations.

53. Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.

53. Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.—Every rule made by the Central Government, and every regulation made by the Authority, under this Act 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 regulation or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should not be made, the rule or regulation 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 regulation.

54. Amendment of certain enactments.

54. Amendment of certain enactments.—The enactments specified in the Schedule to this Act shall be amended in the manner specified therein and such amendments shall take effect on the date of establishment of the Authority.

55. Power to remove difficulties.

55. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may appear to it to be necessary for removing the difficulty:

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

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.

The Schedule

THE SCHEDULE

(See Section 54)

Amendment to the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934)

Section 5, sub-section (2), clause (ab), for “or revision on tariff of operators of air transport services”, substitute “or revision on tariff of operators of air transport services [other than the tariff referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008]”.

Amendment to the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994 (55 of 1994)

1. Section 22-A, for the portion beginning with the words “The Authority may” and ending with the words “for the purposes of—”, substitute the following:—

“The Authority may,—

(i) after the previous approval of the Central Government in this behalf, levy on, and collect from, the embarking passengers at an airport other than the major airports referred to in clause (h) of Section 2 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 the development fees at the rate as may be prescribed;

(ii) levy on, and collect from, the embarking passengers at major airport referred to in clause (h) of Section 2 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 the development fees at the rate as may be determined under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008,

and such fees shall be credited to the Authority and shall be regulated and utilised in the prescribed manner, for the purposes of—”

2. Section 41, in sub-section (2), clause (ee), for “the rate of development fees and”, substitute—

“the rate of development fees in respect of airports other than major airports and”.

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