Whereas certain draft rules were published as
required under sub-section (1) of the section 55 of the Gujarat Money-Lenders
Act, 2011 (Guj. 14 of 2011) at pages 295-1 to 295-22 in the Gujarat Government
Gazette, Extra Ordinary, Part IV-B, dated the 14th August, 2012 under the
Government Notification Agriculture and Co-operation Department No.
GHKH-62-2012-GML10-2011-865-CHH dated the 14th August, 2012 inviting objection
or suggestion from all persons likely to be affected thereby within a period of
thirty days from the date of publication of the said notification in the
Official Gazette. And Whereas, Objections or Suggestions received
from the public on the said draft have been considered by the Government. Now Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred
by section 55 of the Gujarat Money-Lenders Act, 2011 (Guj. 14 of 2011), the
Government of Gujarat hereby makes the following rules, namely.- (1) These rules may be called the Gujarat Money-Lenders Rules, 2013. (2) They shall extend to the whole of the State of Gujarat. In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant
in the subject or context- (a) "Act" means the Gujarat Money-Lenders Act, 2011; (b) "Form" means a form appended to these rules; (c) "Section" means a section of the Act. (1) A Money-Lender desiring to carry on the business of Money-lending in any
area shall make an application in Form No. 1, for grant of a registration
certificate and for renewal of registration last held to the Registrar
concerned in Form No. 2. The application shall be delivered at the office of
the Registrar during office hours either personally or in writing through an
agent authorized in this behalf by registered post addressed to the Registrar. (2) An application for grant of a registration certificate for the first
time may be made on any date and an application for renewal of registration may
be made on any date within six months prior to the date of expiry of the
registration: Provided that the Registrar may, in any case in
which he is satisfied that the applicant could not make an application for
renewal of a registration within the prescribed period for reasons beyond his
control, he may for reasons to be recorded in writings and one such delay and
may renew the registration on payment of renewal fee and penalty prescribed
under rule 9. (3) Application Fees for registration or renewal of registration as provided
under rule 9 shall be paid by applicant and the receipt of same shall be
enclosed with the Application. Certificate of Registration under sub-section (i)
of section 7 shall be issued in Form No. 3, for a period of five years from the
date on which it is granted. (1) The Register of Money-Lenders required to be maintained under section 4
shall be in Form No. 4. (2) The Register of Non-Banking Finance Company registered under the
provision of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, required to be maintained
under sub-section (2) of section 5 shall be in form No. 5. Non-banking finance companies shall intimate to the
concerned Registrar in Form-C about their Registration with the Reserve Bank of
India under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. (1) If any change in partnership or management occurs during the currency of
a registration, the registration shall be automatically, cancelled. (2) If during the currency of registration a person is appointed as
responsible for the management of the business of money-lending, the
Money-Lender shall, within seven days, communicate to the Registrar the name of
the persons so appointed; and shall satisfy the Registrar that the person
appointed as such is not disqualified from holding a registration on any of the
grounds specified in section 7 and sub-section (1) of section 10. A Money-Lender shall communicate any change in
address of business with full details thereof to the Registrar within seven
days of such change. (1) At the time of presenting the application in Form 1 the Registration fee
of Rs. 5000/- under sub-section (1) of section 7 shall be paid in cash or by
crediting the amount to Government account at a treasury, sub-treasury or the
State Bank of India, receipted Chalan to the Registrar. (2) The renewal fees of Rs. 3000/- under sub-section (1) of section 9 shall
be paid by the Money-Lenders alongwith an application made for renewal in Form
2 in the manner prescribed in sub-rule (1) above. (3) Any application received within three months from the date of the expiry
of the registration for renewal of registration shall be valid. The penalty of
Rs. 500/- shall be recovered for the late renewal application in the manner
prescribed under sub-rule (1) above from the Money-Lenders. In case of above grant of a registration or renewal
of registration is refused, the registrar shall communicate the reasons for
such refusal to the applicant. (1) An appeal under sub-section (3) of section 10 against the order of a
Registrar refusing the grant or renewal of registration shall be instituted
within sixty days from the date on which the order of refusal to grant or renewal
of registration is communicated to the Money-Lender. Such appeal shall be
accompanied by a certified copy of the order appealed against and shall contain
in brief the ground of appeal. (2) The Registrar General shall decide the appeal after hearing the
appellant or his pleader, as the case may be and the decision of the Registrar
General thereon shall be final. Every Money-Lender shall exhibit his Certificate of
Registration in a prominent place on the premises where he carries on the
business of money-lending. He shall also exhibit outside his premises a
signboard showing the name of a person who owe, business of money-lending and
the registration number as shown in the Certificate of Registration. (1) When a Certificate of Registration granted to a Money-Lender is lost,
mutilated, destroyed, torn or otherwise defaced in such a manner as to render
it illegible, the Money-Lender may make an application to the Registrar for the
grant of a duplicate Certificate of Registration under section 11. (2) Where a duplicate Certificate of Registration is required on the ground
that the original registration is torn or defaced, the Money-Lender shall
surrender the original Certificate of Registration to the Registrar along with
an application made under sub-rule (1). (3) An Application under sub-rule (1) shall be accompanied by a fee of Rs.
500/-. The fee shall be paid in the manner prescribed under sub-rule (1) of
rule 9 of these rules. (4) On receipt of such application, if the Registrar after making such
inquiry as may be deemed necessary is satisfied that a duplicate Certificate of
Registration may be issued to the Money-Lender, he shall make a note of the
grant of a duplicate Certificate of Registration to the Money-Lender against
his, name in the Register. (5) The duplicate Certificate of Registration so issued shall bear on its
face the number and date of the original Certificate of Registration and shall
also bear the word "Duplicate". The cash book and ledger to be maintained by a
Money-Lender under sub-section (1) of section 21, shall be in Form Nos. 7, 8
and 9 respectively. The register of security under sub-section (6) of section
21 shall be in Form No. 10. The statement of the loan under clause (a) of
sub-section (2) of section 21 shall be in Form No. 11. The receipts of amount
shall be in Form No. 12. The receipt of mortgage for the security of loan shall
be in Form No. 13. The pass book under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of
sub-section (2) of section 21 shall be in Form No. 14. Every Money lender shall deliver or cause to be
delivered to the Registrar within thirty days from the date on which a loan is
made as prescribed in Form No. 10. The annual statement of accounts to be delivered by
a Money-Lender to each of his debtors under sub-section (1) of section 22 shall
be in Form No. 15 by Registered Post Acknowledgement. (1) The audit report shall be submitted to the Registrar within 180 days
after closer of the year under sub-section (1.) of section 23. (2) The audit report shall disclosed adherence of Money-Lender to statutory
obligations under sub-section (2) of section 23. The notice to be given to an assignee under clause
(a), the statement of information to be supplied to an assignee under clause
(b) and the notice to be given to the debtor under clause (c) of sub-section
(1) of section 35 shall be in the Forms Nos. 16, 17 and 18 respectively. The application to be made by a debtor under
sub-section (1) of section 31 shall be in Form No. 19. Party to any application, inquiry, or appeal under
the Act before the Assistant Registrar, Registrar or Registrar General, may
apply to the Assistant Registrar, Registrar or Registrar General, as the case
may be, for a copy of any document in the record of such application, inquiry
or appeal, on payment fees of the copy of document shall be provided on payment
of Rs. 2/- per page to the applicant. The notice to be issued for enforcing the
attendance of any person for production of record on documents under section 19
in connection with an inquiry shall be in Form No. 20. Subject to the provision contained in section 49 of
the Act, the Registrar General or any other officer authorized by him in this
behalf, may accept per offence from Money-Lender who has committed or is
reasonably suspected of having committed any offence under rules 6, 7 and 12 by
way of compounding of such offence, a sum of minimum Rs. 50/- but not exceeding
Rs. 500/- as fine if the offence is committed for the first time. The
Money-Lender shall thereupon remit the amount within ten days from the date of
an order in the manner as prescribed under sub-rule (1) of rule 9 of these
rules or within such further period not exceeding thirty days in aggregate as
the Registrar General may for sufficient cause grant in that behalf. Where the property pledged by a debtor to the
Money-Lender is taken in his custody by the Registrar under sub-section (1) of
section 20 and the debtor or his known heirs cannot be traced, the Registrar
shall, within ninety days from the date of taking possession of the property,
publish notice in Form No. 21 for three consecutive days in at least two
leading newspapers one of which shall be in Gujarati, in circulation within the
jurisdiction of the Registrar inviting claims to the said property and act in
accordance with the provision of section 20. The Bombay Money-Lenders Rules 1959 are hereby
repealed: Provided that anything done or action taken under
the said rules shall, so far as it is not in consistent with these rules, be
deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of these
rules, as if the said provision was in force when such thing was done or such
action taken, and shall continue in force accordingly, unless and until
superseded by anything done or any action taken under these rules.GUJARAT
MONEY-LENDERS RULES, 2013
PREAMBLE