Coffee Act, 1942- Sections 35 to 50

Penalties and Procedure

35. Failure to register.

35. Failure to register.—Any owner of a coffee estate who fails to apply for registration in accordance with Section 14 shall be punishable with fine which may extend to one 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, 18 and 19.

36. Contraventions of Sections 16, 17, 18 and 19.—(1) Any registered owner who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 16, or Section 17 or Section 18, any licensed curer [i][or dealer] who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 16, [ii][* * *] 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.

37. Unilicensed during establishment.

37. Unilicensed during 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.

37-A. Contravention of Section 23(1).

[iii][37-A. 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.]

38. False returns.

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.

38-A. Contravention of Section 25.

[iv][38-A. 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 delivery to the Board of any coffee in respect of which the offence was committed.

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

38-B. 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.]

39. Obstruction.

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 extend to one thousand rupees.

39-A. Offences by companies.

[v][39-A. 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.]

40. Cognizance of offences.

40. Cognizance of offences.—(1) No Court other than the Court of a [vi][Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial] 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 State Government [vii][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 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:

[viii][Provided that the Central Government may, by notification 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 cases as may be specified in the notification.]

General

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

41. Power of Board to determine amount of coffee sold by an estate.—[ix][* * *]

42. Control by the Central Government.

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.

43. Appeals to the Central Government.—(1) Any person aggrieved by an order of the Board refusing a licence to or cancelling the 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.

44. Inspection of records.—[x][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 [xi][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 [xii][* * *].

45. Accounts of the Board.

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 Board allow any item of expenditure disallowed by the auditors under sub-section (3).

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

46. Inspection of records of the Board and obtaining of copies.—Any registered owner [xiii][* * *] 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.

47. Contracts.

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.

47-A. Bar of legal proceedings.

[xiv][47-A. 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.]

48. Power of the Central Government to make rules.

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

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

[xvi][(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 [xvii][free] 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.

[xviii][(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 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.]

49. Repeal of Act 14 of 1935.

[xix][49. Repeal of Act 14 of 1935.—The Indian Coffee Cess Act, 1935, is hereby repealed.]

50. Repeals and savings.

50. Repeals and savings.—[Repealed by the Repealing and Amending Act, 1947 (2 of 1948), Section 2 and Schedule]

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