[West
Bengal Act 27 of 2014] [21st
January, 2015] An Act to amend the West
Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1972. West Bengal Act XXXV of
1972.—Whereas it is expedient to amend the West Bengal Agricultural Produce
Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1972, for the purposes and in the manner
hereinafter appearing; It is hereby enacted in the
Sixty-fifth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal,
as follows. (1) This Act may be called
the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) (Amendment)
Act, 2014. (2) It shall come into force on
such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, appoint. In sub-section (1) of
section 2 of the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act,
1972 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), (1) for clause (a), the
following clause shall be substituted. ‘(a)
“agricultural produce” means any produce, whether processed or unprocessed of
agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, pisciculture, sericulture, livestock and
products of livestock, animal husbandry, fleeces (raw wool) and skins of
animals, forest produce and any related and secondary product or by-product and
combination of two or more than two of such produce as specified in the
Schedule: Provided that the State
Government may, by notification, include in, or exclude from, any item of
agricultural produce in the Schedule;’; (2) in clause (bb), for the
words “State Marketing Board”, the words “State Agricultural Marketing Board”
shall be substituted; (3) after clause (c), the
following clauses shall be inserted. ‘(ca)
“business” means purchase and sale, processing, value addition, storage,
transportation and connected activities of agricultural produce; (cb)
“buyer” means a person or a firm or a company or co-operative society or
Government agency or public undertaking or public agency or corporation or
commission agent, who himself or on behalf of any other person or agent buys or
agrees to buy agricultural produce in the market area as may be notified under
this Act; (cc)
“Collector” means the Collector of a district;’; (4) for clause (d), the
following clause shall be substituted. ‘(d)
“commission agent” means a person who on behalf of his principal trader, (i) buys agricultural produce
and makes payment, keeps it in his custody and delivers it to the trader in due
course, or (ii) sells, after receiving and
keeping in his custody agricultural produce sent for sale within the market
area or outside the market area, sells the same in the market area and collects
payment thereof from the buyer and remits the sale proceeds to his principal
trader, in consideration of a commission or percentage on the amount involved
in such transaction;’; (5) for clause (e), the
following clauses shall be substituted. ‘(e)
“Director” means the Director of Agricultural Marketing, West Bengal, appointed
by the State Government, by notification, and includes such other officers to
assist the Director as the State Government may, by notification, specify to
exercise or perform such powers or functions of the Director under the
provisions of this Act, or the rules or bye-laws made thereunder, as mentioned
in such notification; (ea)
“export” means dispatch of agricultural produce outside India; (eb)
“exporter” means such person or firm or company who exports agricultural
produce outside India; (ec)
“e-trading” means trading in which billing, booking, contracting, negotiating,
information exchange, record keeping and other connected activities are done
electronically on computer network or internet; (ed)
“fund” means the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing Fund established
under section 20C and does not include the market committee fund;’; (6) for clause (ee), the
following clauses shall be inserted. ‘(ee)
“import” means bringing agricultural produce from outside India;’; (ef)
“importer” means such person or firm or company who imports agricultural
produce from outside India; (eg)
“licence” means licence granted under section 13; (eh)
“licensee” means aperson or association of persons, firm, company, public
sector undertaking or society holding a licence issued under this Act;’; (7) in clause (g), for the
words “and a sub-market yard”, the words “, a sub-market yard, a private market
yard and consumers' or farmers' market, i.e. Krishak
Bazar or Brihat Krishak Bazar etc.” shall be substituted; (8) after clause (g), the
following clause shall be inserted. ‘(ga)
“marketing” means all activities involved in the flow of agricultural produce
from the production points commencing from the stage of harvest till the
produce reach the ultimate consumers via grading, processing,
storage, transport, channels of distribution and all other functions involved
in the process;’; (9) after clause (h), the
following clauses shall be inserted. ‘(ha)
“market charges” includes charges on account of or in respect of commission,
brokerage, weighing, measuring, loading, unloading and carrying, cleaning,
drying, sieving, stitching, stacking, hiring, gunny bags, stamping, bagging,
storing, warehousing, grading, surveying, transporting and processing; (hb)
“market yard”, in relation to a market area, means a specified place and
includes any enclosures, buildings or locality declared, by notification, as
such in any market area by the State Government;’. (10) after clause (m), the
following clauses shall be inserted. ‘(ma)
“private market yard” means such place other than the market yard or sub-market
yard in the market area, where infrastructure for such market yard has been
developed and managed by a person holding a licence for this purpose for
marketing of such agricultural produce as the State Government may, by
notification, specify; (mb)
“processing” means any one or more of a series of treatments relating to
powdering, crushing, decorticating, de-husking, parboiling, polishing, ginning,
pressing, curing or any other manual, mechanical, chemical or physical
treatment to which raw agricultural produce or its product is subjected to; (mc)
“processor” means a person who undertakes processing of any notified
agricultural produce on his own account or on payment of a charge; (md)
“producer” means a person who produces notified agriculture produce on one's
own account. (i) by one's own labour, (ii) by the labour of any member
of one family, (iii) under the personal
supervision of oneself or any member of the family by hired labour or by labour
on wages payable in cash or kind. Explanation. For the
purpose of this clause, a producers' society, farmers' society, self help
groups shall be deemed to be a producer;’; (11) after clause (n), the
following clause shall be inserted. ‘(na)
“sale” means physical transfer of ownership of agricultural produce from one
person to another person against a consideration of value, either by cash, or
by valuable, or on deferred payment basis: Provided that any transfer
of stock of agriculture produce from one market area to another market area,
irrespective of change of ownership falls within the definition of sale; (nb)
“seller” means a person who sells or agrees to sell any agricultural produce; (nc)
“special market” means a market notified as such and includes special commodity
market;’; (12) in clause (t), after the
words “preservation of agricultural produce”, the words “, but does not include
an agriculturist” shall be inserted; (13) after clause (t), the
following clauses shall be inserted. ‘(ta)
“transportation” means taking agricultural produce by pushcart, bullock cart,
truck, boat, vessel or other vehicle in course of business for marketing from
one place to another; (tb)
“transporter” means aperson who transports agricultural produce;’; (14) after clause (u), the
following clause shall be inserted. ‘(ua)
“value addition” means processing, grading, packing or other activities due to
which value is added to agricultural produce;’. In section 3 of the
principal Act, (1) sub-section (2) shall be omitted; (2) sub-section (3) shall be
omitted. For section 4 of the
principal Act, the following section shall be substituted. (1) In every market-area, there
may be. (a) one principal market yard
managed by the market committee; (b) one or more than one
sub-market yards managed by the market committee; (c) one or more than one private
market yards or private markets managed by a licensee; (d) one or more than one
farmers' or consumers' market i.e. Krishak Bazar or Brihat
Kriskah Bazar etc. managed by a licensee. (2) The State Government shall,
after the issue of notification under section 3, declare any specified place
including any structure, enclosure, open place, or locality in the market-area
to be a principal market yard or sub-market yard, and private market yard,
consumers' or farmers' market i.e. Krishak Bazar or Brihat
Krishak Bazar etc., as the case may be.”. After section 4, the
following sections shall be inserted. 4A.
The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, (a) alter the limits of a
market area by including within it any other area in the vicinity thereof or by
excluding thereof any area comprised therein; or (b) amalgamate two or more
market areas and constitute one market committee thereof; or (c) split up a market area and
to constitute two or more market committees thereof; or (d) de-establish a market; or (e) modify the list of
agricultural produce to be regulated in the market. Explanation. Every
notification issued under this section shall define the limits of the area
which is intended to be included in or excluded from a market area, or of the
market area intended to be amalgamated into one, or of the area of each of the
markets intended to be constituted after splitting up an existing market area
or of the area of the market intended to be de-established, as the case may be,
and shall also specify the period which shall not be less than six weeks within
which objections, if any, shall be received by the State Government. 4B.
Establishment of private yards for direct purchase of agricultural produce from
agriculturist (Direct purchasing from producer).—The market committee or any
authority as may be prescribed by the State Government, may grant licence to
set up a private market yard for direct purchase and sale of agricultural
produce for the purpose of processing, trading, exporting and importing,
grading, or for making any transaction in other way by value addition, of such
agricultural produce as may be notified by the State Government. 4C.
(1) Establishment of consumers'
or farmers' market i.e. Krishak Bazar or Brihat Krishak
Bazar etc. The consumers' or farmers' market or Krishak
Bazar or Brihat Krishak Bazar etc. may be established by
developing infrastructure as may be prescribed, by any person in any market
area and at such place, a farmer or producer of agricultural produce himself
may, sell his produce directly to the buyer in such manner as may be
prescribed. (2) A market charge shall be
collected on sale of agriculture produce by the seller and shall be remitted to
the licensee of the consumer market. (3) Save as otherwise provided
in this Act, no market fee shall be leviable on the transactions undertaken in
the consumers' or farmers' market or Krishak Bazar or Brihat
Krishak Bazar etc. (4) A licence for establishment
of private market yards shall be granted by the market committee or any
authority prescribed by the State Government under section 13A.”. After section 13, the
following sections shall be inserted. 13A.
(1) Any person who desires to establish private market yard in one or more than
one market area, shall apply to the prescribed authority, for grant or renewal
of licence, as the case may be, in such manner and subject to such terms and
conditions, as may be prescribed: Provided that no licence is
required for direct purchase of agricultural produces from the notified
consumers' or farmers' market or notified Krishak Bazar or Brihat
Krishah Bazar etc. (2) The authority as
mentioned in sub-section (1), shall dispose of the applications made under
sub-section (1), in such manner, and subject to such conditions, as may be
prescribed. 13B.
Power to Cancel or Suspend Licence. (1) Any licence granted under
this Act may, in such manner as may be prescribed, be cancelled or suspended,
if such authority has reasons to belief that. (a) the licence has been
obtained through willful misrepresentation or fraud; or (b) the licensee has violated
any of the terms or conditions of licence; or (c) the licensee has made an
obstruction in the functioning of normal business of the market; or (d) the licensee has incurred
such disqualifications as may be prescribed; or (e) the licensee is convicted
of any offence any of the provisions under this Act. (2) Any licence granted under
the Act, shall not be cancelled or suspended without giving a reasonable
opportunity of being heard to its holder and to show cause against such
suspension or cancellation.”. After the proviso to
sub-section (1) of section 17 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall
be inserted. “Provided further that
where a licensed trader has purchased from the market areas different kinds of
agricultural produces of paddy and rice of an amount exceeding rupees
seventy-five crore per annum, the State Government may, by notification,
specify the rate of such fees in respect of such licensed trader depending on
the different kinds of agricultural produces of paddy and rice.”. To sub-section (2) of
section 19 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added. “Provided that all moneys
received by a market committee under the second proviso to sub-section (1) of
section 17, shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of West Bengal in such
manner as may be prescribed and the State Government may, if the State
Legislature by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides, credit an
amount to the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing Fund and all
expenditure incurred by the market committee under or for the purpose of this
Act shall, with the previous permission of the State Government, be defrayed
out of the said fund.”. In sub-section (1A) of
section 20 of the principal Act, for the words, figures and brackets “fees
referred to in sub-section (1) of section 17”, the words, figures and brackets
“fees referred to in sub-section (1) of section 17 other than fees referred to
in the second proviso to sub-section (1) of the said section” shall be
substituted. After section 20B of the
principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted. 20C.
(1) There shall be established, for the purposes of this Act, a fund to be
called the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing Fund. (2) The Fund shall be under
the control of the State Government and shall be credited thereto. (a) any sum of money credited
under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 19; (b) any sum of money credited
under section 20D; (c) any sum realised by the
State Government in carrying out its functions under this Act or in the
administration of this Act, if any; (d) any fund provided by the
Central Government for the regulation of marketing of agriculture produce in
West Bengal. (3) The balance to the
credit of the Fundshall not lapse at the end of the financial year. 20D.
Grants and loans by the State Government. The State Government may, after due
appropriation made by the State Legislature by law in this behalf, credit in
the fund, by way of grants or loans, such sums of money as the State Government
may consider necessary. 20E.
Maintenance of accounts. The State Government shall maintain proper accounts
and other relevant records in such form, and in such manner, as may be
prescribed. 20F.
Administration of West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing Fund. The State
Government shall administer the fund and take such decisions regarding
investment of the fund in the regulation of marketing of agricultural produce
in West Bengal, as it considers necessary.”. After section 35 of the
principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted. 35A.
Appeal on the order of the market committee. (1) Any person aggrieved by an
order of the Market Committee or Special Market Committee, passed under any
section, except section 17A, section 17B or section 17C, of this Act, may
preier an appeal within 30 days in the manner prescribed by the State Government, (a) to the Director, where such
order is passed by the Market Committee or Special Market Committee; (b) to the State Government,
where such order is passed by the Director or the Board. (2) The Appellate Authority
may, if it considers necessary to do so, grant a stay of the order appealed
against for such period as it may deem fit. 35B.(1)
Any dispute between the private market, or the farmers' or consumers' market
or Krishak Bazar or Brihat Krishak Bazar etc., and the
market committee, shall be referred to the Director, or any other officer
authorised in this behalf by the State Government, for redressal of such
dispute. Redressal of dispute
between private market, or farmers' or consumers' market or Krishak
Bazar or Brihat Krishak Bazar etc., and market committee. (2) The dispute so referred
under sub-section (1) shall, after giving both the parties a reasonable
opportunity of being heard, be decided in such manner as may be prescribed and
the decision of the authority as mentioned in sub-section (1), shall be
final.”. [1] Received the Assent
of the Governor was first published in the Kolkata Gazette, Extraordinary, of
the 21st January, 2015West
Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) (Amendment) Act, 2014[1]
Section - 4. “Principal market yards, sub-market yards, consumers' or farmers' market i.e.Krishak BazarorBrihat Krishak Bazaretc. and private market yard.
Section - 5. “Notification of intention to alter limits of or to amalgamate or to split up market areas to de-establish a market.
Section - 6. “Grant or renewal of licence of private market yard, consumers' or farmers' market.
Section - 10. “Establishment of West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing Fund.