Coconut Committee Act, 1944- Sections 11 to 20

11. Collection of cess by Collector.

11. Collection of cess by Collector.—(1) On receiving any return made under Section 10, the Collector shall assess the amount of the duty payable under Section 3 in respect of the period to which the return relates, and if the amount has not already been paid shall cause a notice to be served upon the [i][occupier] of the mill requiring him to make payment of the amount assessed with thirty days of the service of the notice.

(2) If the [ii][occupier] of any mill fails to furnish in due time the return referred to in sub-section (1) of Section 10 or furnishes a return which the Collector has reason to believe is incorrect or defective the Collector shall assess the amount if any, payable by him in such manner, as may be prescribed, and the provisions of sub-section (1) shall thereupon apply as if such assessment had been made on the basis of a return furnished by the [iii][occupier]:

Provided that, in the case of a return which he has reason to believe is incorrect or defective, the Collector shall not assess the duty at an amount higher than that at which it is assessable on the basis of the return without giving to the [iv][occupier] a reasonable opportunity of proving the correctness and completeness of the return.

(3) A notice under sub-section (1) may be served on the [v][occupier] of a mill either by post or by delivering it or tendering it to the [vi][occupier] or his agent at the mill.

12. Finality of assessment and recovery of unpaid duty.

12. Finality of assessment and recovery of unpaid duty.—[vii][(1) Any [viii][occupier] of a mill who is aggrieved by an assessment made under Section 11 may, within three months of the service of the notice referred to in sub-section (1) of that section, apply to the District Judge, or in a Presidency-town, to the Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court for the cancellation or modification of the assessment and, on such application, the said Judge may cancel or modify the assessment and order the refund to such [ix][occupier] of the whole or part, as the case may be, of any amount paid thereunder.

(2) The decision under sub-section (1) of the District Judge or the Chief Judge of the Small Cause Court, as the case may be, shall be final.]

(3) Any sum recoverable under Section 11 may be recovered as an arrear of land-revenue.

13. Power to inspect mills and take copies of records and accounts.

13. Power to inspect mills and take copies of records and accounts.—(1) The Collector or any officer empowered by general or special order of the Central Government in this behalf shall have free access at all reasonable times during working hours to any mill or to any part of any mill.

(2) The Collector or any such officer may at any time [x][during working hours], with or without notice to the [xi][occupier], examine the [xii][purchase, sale and stock] records and accounts of any mill and take copies of or extracts from all or any of the said records or accounts for the purpose of testing the accuracy of any return or of informing himself as to the particulars regarding which information is required for the purposes of this Act or any rules made thereunder:

[xiii][Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorize the examination of any description or formulae of any trade process.]

[xiv][* * *]

14. Information acquired to be confidential.

14. Information acquired to be confidential.—(1) All such copies and extracts and all information acquired by a Collector or any other officer from an inspection of any mill or warehouse or from any return submitted under this Act shall be treated as confidential.

(2) If the Collector or any such officer discloses to any person other than a superior officer any such information as aforesaid without the previous sanction of the Central Government, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months and shall also be liable to fine:

Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to the disclosure of any such information for the purposes of a prosecution in respect of the making of a false return under this Act.

15. Application of proceeds of duty.

15. Application of proceeds of duty.—[Repealed by the Indian Coconut Committee (Amendment) Act, 1946 (15 of 1946), Section 8.]

16. Keeping and auditing of accounts.

16. Keeping and auditing of accounts.—(1) The Committee shall publish an annual report and shall keep accounts of all duty received by it under this Act and of the manner in which it is expended and shall also publish a summary of the accounts along with the annual report.

(2) Such accounts shall be examined and audited annually in the prescribed manner, and the auditors shall have power to disallow any item which has been, in their opinion, expended otherwise than in pursuance of the purposes of this Act.

(3) If any item is disallowed, an appeal shall lie to the Central Government whose decision shall be final.

17. Dissolution of Committee.

17. Dissolution of Committee.—The Central Government may [xv][with the previous approval of [xvi][* * *] [xvii][the House of the People],] by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, the Committee shall be dissolved, and on the making of such declaration all funds and other property vested in the Committee shall vest in [xviii][* * *] the Central Government and this Act shall be deemed to have been repealed.

18. Power of the Central Government to make rules.

18. Power of the Central Government to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect 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) for prescribing the time within which nominations or elections shall be made under Section 4 whether in the first instance or on the occurrence of vacancies;

(b) for prescribing the term of office of the members of the Committee;

(c) for prescribing the circumstances in which and the authority by which any member may be removed;

(d) for prescribing the quorum of the Committee;

(e) for the holding of a minimum number of meetings of the Committee during any year;

(f) for the maintenance by the Committee of a record of all business transacted and the submission of copies of such records to the Central Government;

(g) for the definition of the powers of the Committee to enter into contracts which shall be binding on the Committee, and the manner in which such contracts shall be executed;

(h) for the regulation of the travelling allowances of members of the Committee and of their remuneration, if any;

(i) for the definition of the powers of the Committee, in respect of the appointment promotion and dismissal of officers and servants of the Committee, and in respect of the creation and abolition of appointments of such officers or servants;

(j) for the regulation of the grant of pay and leave to officers and servants of the Committee, and the payment of leave allowances to such officers and servants, and the remuneration to be paid to any person appointed to act for any officer or servant to whom leave is granted;

(k) for the regulation of the payment of pensions, gratuities, compassionate allowances and travelling allowances to officers and servants of the Committee;

(l) for prescribing the establishment and maintenance of a provident fund for the officers and servants of the Committee, and for the deduction of subscriptions to such provident fund from the pay and allowances of such officers and servants, other than Government servants whose services have been lent or transferred to the Committee;

(m) for prescribing the preparation of budget estimates of the annual receipts and expenditure of the [xix][Fund] and of supplementary estimates of expenditure not included in the budget estimates, and the manner in which such estimates shall be sanctioned and published;

(n) for defining the powers of the Committee, the Standing Finance Sub-committee, if any, and the President, respectively, in regard to the expenditure [xx][from the Fund], whether provision has or has not been made in the budget estimates or by re-appropriation of estimated savings in the budget estimates of expenditure;

(o) for prescribing the maintenance of accounts of the receipts and expenditure of the [xxi][Fund] and providing for the audit of such accounts;

(p) for prescribing the manner in which payments are to be made by or on behalf of the Committee, and the officers by whom orders for making deposits or investments or for withdrawals or disposal of the funds of the Committee shall be signed;

(q) for determining the custody in which the current account of the [xxii][Fund] shall be kept, and the bank or banks at which surplus monies at the credit of the [xxiii][Fund] may be deposited at interest, and the conditions on which such monies may be otherwise invested;

(r) for prescribing the preparation of a statement showing the sums allotted to Departments of Agriculture or institutions not under the direct control of the Committee for expenditure on research, the actual expenditure incurred, the outstanding liabilities, if any, and the disposal of unexpended balances at the end of the year;

[xxiv][(rr) for prescribing the manner in which any amount of duty paid in excess may be refunded;]

(s) for prescribing the duties of the officers appointed under Section 8, and the powers and duties of the Secretary of the Committee.

(t) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.

19. Power of the Committee to make regulations.

19. Power of the Committee to make regulations.—The Committee may, with the previous sanction of the Central Government, make regulations consistent with this Act and with any rules made under Section 18 to provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—

(a) the appointment of a Standing Finance Sub-committee or other Sub-committee and the delegation thereto of any powers exercisable under this Act by the Committee;

(b) the method of appointment, removal and replacement and the term of office of members of the Sub-committees, and for the filling of vacancies therein;

(c) the dates, times and places for meetings of the Committee and the Sub-committees and the procedure to be observed at such meetings;

(d) the circumstances in which security may be demanded from officers and servants of the Committee, and the amount and nature of such security in each case;

(e) the times at which, and the circumstances in which, payments may be made out of the provident fund and the conditions on which such payments shall relieve the fund from further liability;

(f) the contribution, if any, payable from the funds of the Committee to the provident fund;

(g) generally all matters incidental to the provident fund and the investment thereof.

20. Publication of rules and regulations.

20. Publication of rules and regulations.—All rules made under Section 18 and all regulations made under Section 19 shall be published in the Gazette of India.

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