Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing Development and Regulation Act, 1963
No: 20 Dated: May, 05 1964
THE MAHARASHTRA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETING (DEVELOPMENT AND REGULATION) ACT, 1963
ACT No. XX OF 1964
An Act to develop and regulate the marketing of agricultural and certain other produce in market areas and markets including private markets and farmer consumer markets to be established therefore in the State; to confer powers upon Market Committees to be constituted in connection with or acting for purposes connected with such markets; to establish Market Fund for purposes of the Market Committees and to provide for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.
Whereas it is expedient to develop and regulate the marketing of agricultural and certain other produce in market areas and markets including private markets and farmer consumer markets to be established therefore in the State; to confer powers upon Market Committees to be constituted in connection with or acting for purposes connected with such markets; to establish Market Fund for purposes of the Market Committees and to provide for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid;
It is hereby enacted in the Fourteenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
CHAPTER I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing Development and Regulation Act, 1963.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint.
2. Definitions. - (1) In this Act, unless the contest otherwise requires,-
(a) "agricultural produce" means all produce (whether processed or not) of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, apiculture, pisciculture fisheries and forest specified in the Schedule;
(b) "agriculturist" means a person who ordinarily by himself or by hire labour or otherwise is engaged in the production or growth of agricultural produce which has not been processed, but does not include a trader, commission agent, processor or broker, an employee of Government or of any co-operative society or of a Market Committee, or a partner in trading firm or an industrial concern in or in relation to agricultural produce although such trader, commission agent, processor or broker, an employee of Government or of any co-operative society or of any Market Committee or a partner in trading firm or an industrial concern may also be engaged in the production or growth of agricultural produce;
(c) "broker" means an agent who contrives, makes and concludes a bargain or contracts on behalf of his principal for the purchase or sale of agricultural produce for which he receives a fee or remuneration, but does not receive, deliver, transport, or for the purchase, or collect payment for the sale, of the agricultural produce;
ca) "buyer" means a person, the Central Government or any State Government, who himself for itself or on behalf of any person or agent buys or agrees to buy agricultural produce in the market area;
(d) "bye-laws" means bye-laws made under section 61;
(e) "commission agent" means a person who by himself or through his servant buys and sells agricultural produce for another person, keeps it in his custody and controls it during the process of its sale or purchase, and collects payment therefore from the buyer and pays it to the seller, and receives by way of remuneration a commission or percentage upon the amount involved in each transaction;
(e1) "Contract farming" means farming by a Contract Farming Producer under written agreement with Contract Farming Sponsor to the effect that farm produce shall be purchased by the Contract Farming Sponsor as specified in the agreement;
(e2) "Contract Farming Agreement" means the written agreement made for Contract Farming;
(e3) "Contract Farming Producer" means an agriculturist or an association of agriculturists who have agreed to produce and supply agricultural produce as per the Contract Farming Agreement;
(e4) "Contract Farming Sponsor" means a person who has entered into the Contract Farming Agreement;
(ea) "direct marketing" means the purchase of the agriculture produce directly from the agriculturists by a direct marketing licence holder under subsection (1) of section 5D;
(f) "Director" means a person appointed as the Director of Agricultural Marketing for the State of Maharashtra and includes any officer or officers empowered by the State Government by notification in the Official Gazette to exercise or perform such of the powers and functions of the Director under the provisions of this Act or rules or bye-laws made thereunder as may be specified in such notification;
(f1a) "District Deputy Registrar" means the District Deputy Registrar of Co-operative Societies appointed under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960;
(f1b) "Electronic trading" or "E-trading" means the trading of agricultural produce in which registration, auctioning, billing, booking, contracting, negotiation, information exchanging, record keeping and other connected activities are done electronically on electronic trading platform;
(f1c) "Electronic trading platform" or "E-trading Platform" means the electronic platform set up either by the State Government or the Government Agencies or a person licensed under this Act for conducting trading in agricultural produce through electronic media or by any means of communication in which registration, buying and selling, billing, booking, contracting and negotiating are carried out online through computer network or internet or any other such electronic device. Such Electronic trading platform shall be regulated by such authority as may be notified by the Government;
(f1) "farmer-consumer market" means a market established by a licence holder under sub-section (2) of section 5D;
(f2) "Government Agency" means the agency so notified by the State Government which includes the State Agricultural Marketing Department, the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board and the Agricultural Produce Market Committee established or constituted under this Act;
(fa) "hamal" means a hamal or a coollie or a labourer, engaged for loading unloading, filling, emptying, stacking, stitching, sorting, cleaning or carrying any agricultural produce or doing any work preparatory or incidental thereto in the market area and who holds a valid licence for the purpose from the Market Committee;
(fb) "licence" means licence granted under the provisions of this Act and the term "licensee" shall be construed accordingly;
(g) "local authority" includes a Panchayat Samiti;
(ga) "Managing Director" means a person appointed by the State Government, as the Managing Director of the State Marketing Board under section 39B-1;
(h) "market" means any principal market established for the purposes of this Act and also a subsidiary market;
(i) "market area" means an area specified in a declaration made under section 4 and includes the area deemed to be a market area under clause (a) of sub-section 40(1A) of section 13.
(j) "Market Committee" or "Committee" means a committee constituted for a market area under section 11 and includes the Bombay Agricultural Produce Market Committee established under clause (a) of sub-section (1A) and the Divisional or Regional Market Committee declared under clause (a) of sub-section (IB) of section 13 a committee or committees constituted as a result of amalgamation of Market Committees or division of a Market Committees under section 44;
(k) "member" means a member of a Market Committee;
(l) "Panchayat Samiti" means a Panchayat Samiti established under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961;
(m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(ma) "private market" means a market established by a licence holder under sub-section (1) of section 5D;
(n) "processor" means, a person who processes any agricultural produce either of his own account, or on payment of charge;
(o) "retail sale" means, in relation to any agricultural produce, sale of that produce no exceeding such quantity as a Market Committee may by bye-laws determine to be a retail sale;
(p) "rules" means rules made under this Act;
(q) "Schedule" means the Schedule to this Act;
(r) "Secretary" means a Secretary of a Market Committee and includes a Joint Deputy or Assistant Secretary;
r1) "special commodity market" means a market declared under sub-section (4) of section 4;
(r2) "State Co-operative Election Authority" means the State Co-operative Election Authority constituted under section 73-CB of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960;
(ra) - State Marketing Board" means the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board established under section 39A;
(s) "Surveyor" means a person who on arrival of a consignment of agricultural produce for sale in any market area or market surveys it for ascertaining the quality, refraction, adulteration and other like factors;
(t) "trader" means a person who buys or sells agricultural produce, as a principal or as duly authorized agent of one or more persons;
(u) "Zilla Parishad" means a Zilla Parishad established under the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samits Act, 1961.
(2) If any question arises whether a person is or is not an agriculturist for the purposes of this Act, the matter shall be referred to the Director, and the decision of the Director thereon shall be final.