[Act
50 of 1951] [12th
September, 1951] [by
Act 71 of 1976, Section 3, w.e.f. 1-8-1976.] An Act Repealed to
provide for the establishment of a Tariff Commission and to regulate its duties
and functions Be it enacted by
Parliament as follows:- CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY (1)
This Act may be called the
Tariff Commission Act, 1951. (2)
It shall come into force on
such date[1] as
the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint. In this Act, unless
the context otherwise requires,- (a)
?Commission? means the
Tariff Commission established under this Act; (b)
?chairman? means the chairman
of the Tariff Commission; (c)
?member? means a member of
the Tariff Commission and includes the chairman of the Commission; (d)
?prescribed? means
prescribed by rules made under this Act; (e)
?regulations? means the
regulations made by the Commission under Section 25. CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TARIFF COMMISSION For the purposes of
this Act, the Central Government shall establish a Tariff Commission which
shall consist of not less than three, but not exceeding five, whole-time
members appointed by the Central Government, and one of them shall be nominated
by the Central Government to be the chairman thereof: Provided that the
Central Government may, as often as may be necessary, appoint not more than two
additional members on the Commission for such purpose and period and on such
conditions as it thinks fit. The persons to be
appointed as members of the Commission shall be men of ability, integrity and
standing who have shown capacity in dealing with problems relating to commerce
or industry or in administration or who have special knowledge in any matter as
renders them suitable for appointment on the Commission. (1)
No person shall be qualified
for appointment as, or for continuing to be, a member of the Commission if he
has directly or indirectly any such financial or commercial interest in any
industry or undertaking as is likely to affect him in the discharge of his
duties as a member of the Commission. (2)
The appointment as a member
of the Commission of any person who is a Member of Parliament or of the
Legislature of any State shall be void unless within one month of the date of
his appointment he ceases to be such Member. (3)
Every member shall, whenever
required by the Central Government so to do, furnish to it such information as
it may require for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions
contained in sub-section (1). (1)
Every whole-time member of
the Commission shall hold office for a period of three years from the date of
his appointment: Provided that a
member relinquishing his office on the expiry thereof shall be eligible for
reappointment for a second period of three years. (2)
There shall be paid to the
members of the Commission such salaries and allowances as may be determined by
the Central Government: Provided that such
salaries and allowances shall not be varied to the disadvantage of a member
after his appointment. (3)
A member of the Commission
ceasing to hold office as such shall not hold any appointment in any private
industry or undertaking for a period of three years from so ceasing to hold office,
save with the consent in writing of the Central Government. (1)
The Central Government may
remove from office any member of the Commission who has been adjudged an insolvent
or has been convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude, and also any
member who, in the opinion of the Central Government,- (a)
has become physically or
mentally incapable of acting as such member, or (b)
has so abused his position
as to render his continuance in office detrimental to the public interest, or (c)
has incurred the
disqualification specified in sub-section (1) of Section 5. (2)
The removal of any member
under sub-section (1) shall be reported, as soon as may be, to Parliament. Subject to such rules
as may be made in this behalf, the Commission may for the purpose of enabling
it to efficiently discharge its functions under this Act appoint such number of
officers and other employees as it may think fit and determine their conditions
of service. (1)
Subject to the regulations,
the Commission may hold sittings in any part of India in such place or places
as it may deem most convenient for the transaction of its business or
proceedings and shall keep the minutes of its proceedings in such form as it
may think fit. (2)
Sittings of the Commission
shall be convened by the chairman and shall be open to the public unless the
Commission in any particular case decides otherwise. (3)
The chairman shall preside
at all sittings of the Commission at which he is present and in his absence
from any such sitting the members present threat shall elect one of the members
to preside as chairman. No act or proceeding
of the Commission shall be deemed to be invalid by reason merely of any vacancy
in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Commission. CHAPTER III FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMISSION The Central
Government may refer to the Commission for inquiry and report any matter
requiring in its opinion- (a)
the grant of protection
(whether by the grant of subsidies or the levy of protective duties or in any
other suitable form) for the encouragement of any industry in India (including
any industry which has not started production but which is likely to do so if
granted suitable protection); (b)
an increase or decrease in the
duties of customs or other duties in relation to any industry for the
protection thereof; (c)
action to be taken in
relation to the dumping of goods in the market occasioned by excessive import
or otherwise; (d)
action to be taken where an
industry is taking undue advantage of the tariff protection granted to it,
particularly with reference to whether the protected industry is- (i)
charging unnecessarily high
prices for its goods, or (ii)
acting or omitting to act in
a manner which results in high prices being charged to consumers through
limitation of quantity, deterioration in quality or inflation of cost of
production and the like, or (iii)
acting in restraint of trade
to the detriment of the public; (e)
further action to be taken
in relation to the protection granted to an industry, with a view to its
increase, decrease, modification or abolition according to the circumstances of
the case. The Central
Government may also be refer to the Commission for inquiry and report any
matter relating to- (a)
the effect of protection on- (i)
the general level of prices
in the country, (ii)
the cost of living of any
specified section of the community, (iii)
the different sectors of the
country's economy; (b)
the effect of tariff
concessions under trade or commercial agreements on the development of any
specified industry; (c)
any anomalies that may
result from the working of protective or revenue duties (as for example,
relationship between the rates of duty on finished goods, partly finished goods
and raw materials); (d)
the prices of particular
commodities, whether protected or not. The Commission may on
its own motion inquire into and (d) the prices of particular commodities,
whether protected or clauses (b), (c), (d) and (e) of Section 11, or in clauses
(a), (b) and (c) of Section 12. (1)
In making a report in
respect of any matter referred to it under clause (a) of Section 11, the
Commission shall among other matters have due regard to- (a)
the cost of production or
manufacture in the principal growing, producing or manufacturing regions of
India of the commodity produced by the industry claiming protection and the
cost which should be taken to be representative of the industry concerned; (b)
the approximate cost of
production or manufacture in the principal growing, producing or manufacturing
centres of foreign countries of the commodity which competes with the commodity
produced by the industry claiming protection if the determination of such cost
is necessary for the purpose of any case; (c)
the approximate cost of
import of any such competing commodity as is specified in clause (b); (d)
the price which may be
deemed to be the representative fair selling price for growers, producers or
manufacturers in India in respect of the industry claiming protection; (e)
the quantities of the
commodity required for consumption and the quantities thereof produced in or
imported into India; (f)
the effect of protection, if
granted to an industry, on other industries, including cottage and other small
scale industries. (2)
On the basis of its findings
on the matters referred to in sub-section (1), the Commission shall assess, for
the purpose of its report,- (a)
the relative advantages
enjoyed by the industry; (b)
the nature and extent of
foreign competition; (c)
the possibility of the
industry developing sufficiently within a reasonable time to be able to carry
on successfully without protection; (d)
the likely effect of a
protective tariff or other form of protection on the interests of the consumer
or of industries using the commodity in question, as the case may be; (e)
the desirability or
otherwise of protecting the industry in the public interest. (3)
In recommending the grant of
protection to any industry, the Commission may specify the conditions which
shall be fulfilled before and after the grant of protection, with particular
reference to the following points, namely:- (a)
the scale of output; (b)
the quality of its products; (c)
the price charged for its
products; (d)
the technological
improvements required by the industry; (e)
the need for research in the
process of manufacture; (f)
the training of officers,
technicians and other persons employed in the industry; (g)
the use in the industry of
indigenous products, whether raw or manufactured; (h)
the time within which an
industry, in respect of which protection has been given in advance of
production, should start production; and (i)
any other matter in respect
of which the Commission considers it necessary to specify conditions. It shall be the duty
of the Commission, at such intervals as may be prescribed,- (a)
to investigate into the
manner in which protection in relation to any industry has been working, with
particular reference to- (i)
the cost of production of
the protected commodity; (ii)
the scale of output of the
protected industry; (iii)
the quality of the protected
commodity; (iv)
the prospects of future
expansion of the protected industry; (v)
the relative competitive
position of the industry and the factors entering into it; and (vi)
any other factor having a
bearing on the usefulness of the industry to the country's economy; (b)
to investigate into any
special conditions that may have been imposed on a protected industry, with
particular reference to- (i)
the extent to which and the
manner in which the obligations have been discharged, (ii)
the further steps that would
be necessary to implement them fully, (iii)
the difficulties, if any, in
the way of the full discharge of such obligations, and to make a report thereon
to the Central Government. (1)
Upon receipt of a report
made to it by the Commission, the Central Government may take such action as it
considers fit in respect of any of the matters dealt with in the report. (2)
A copy of every final report
made to the Central Government, together with a report of the action taken
thereon by the Central Government under sub-section (1), shall be laid on the
table of Parliament within three months of the submission of the report to the
Central Government, if Parliament is then sitting, or, if Parliament is not
then sitting within seven days of its re-assembly: Provided that when
the report cannot be so laid, a statement explaining the reasons therefor shall
be laid on the table of Parliament. CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS (1)
At the end of every
financial year or such earlier period as may be prescribed, the Commission
shall submit a report to the Central Government containing a detailed account
of its activities during the year. (2)
The Central Government may
also call for such reports, returns or statements from the Commission from time
to time as it considers necessary. For the purpose of
any inquiry under this Act, the Central Government may, either on its own
motion and in consultation with the Commission or at the request of the
Commission, appoint one or more persons possessing special knowledge of any
matter relevant to the inquiry to assist the Commission. All members and
officers of the Commission shall be deemed, while 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). (1)
For the purpose of
conducting any inquiry under this Act, the Commission shall have all the powers
of a Civil Court while trying a suit, under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908
(5 of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:- (a)
summoning and enforcing the
attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (b)
requiring the discovery and
production of any document; (c)
receiving evidence on
affidavits; (d)
requisitioning any public
record from any office; (e)
issuing commissions for the
examination of witnesses. (2)
The Commission shall have
power to require any person to furnish information on such points or matters
as, in the opinion of the Commission, may be useful for, or relevant to, the
subject matter of any inquiry. (3)
The Commission shall be
deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of Sections 480 and 482 of the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), and any proceeding before the
Commission shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of
Sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). No statement made by
a person in the course of giving evidence before the Commission shall subject
him to, or be used against him in, any civil or criminal proceeding except a
prosecution for giving false evidence by such statement: Provided that the
statement- (a)
is made in reply to a
question which he is required by the Commission to answer, and (b)
is relevant to the subject
matter of the inquiry. (1)
No information relating to
any industry being information which has been obtained by or on behalf of the
Commission for the purpose of its function under this Act shall, without the
previous consent in writing of the owner for the time being of that industry,
be disclosed otherwise than in compliance with or for the purposes of this Act. (2)
Nothing in the preceding
sub-section shall apply to any disclosure of information made for the purpose
of any legal proceeding pursuant to this Act or of any criminal proceeding
which may be taken, whether pursuant to this Act or otherwise, or of the
purposes of any report relating to any such proceeding. (3)
If any person discloses any
information in contravention of this section, he shall be punishable on
conviction with fine, which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with both. No suit, prosecution
or other legal proceeding shall lie against any member, officer or servant of
the Commission for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done
under this Act. (1)
The Central Government may,
by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules[2] to
carry out the purposes of this Act. (2)
In particular, and without
prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, rules made under this
section may provide for- (a)
the salaries and allowances
payable to members, officers and other employees of the Commission and their
conditions of service; (b)
the procedure to be followed
before any member can be removed from office under Section 7; (c)
the intervals within which
reports under Section 15 shall be made by the Commission; (d)
the form in which and the
period within which reports under Section 17 shall be submitted to the Central
Government; (e)
the fees or allowances that
may be paid to persons appointed under Section 18 to assist the Commission. Subject to the
provisions contained in this Act and in any rules made thereunder, the
Commission may, with the previous consent of the Central Government, make
regulations for the purpose of enabling it to discharge its functions under
this Act, and in particular, such regulations may provide for- (a)
the procedure and conduct of
business of the Commission; (b)
the terms and conditions of
service of officers and other employees of the Commission; (c)
the delegation to one or
more members of the Commission of such functions of the Commission as the
Commission may specify. References in the
Indian Tariff Act, 1934 (32 of 1934), or in any other law for the time being in
force to the Tariff Board as set up under any Resolution of the Government of
India shall be construed as references to the Tariff Commission established
under this Act.Tariff
Commission Act, 1951