Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest-produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) Act, 1983
No: 22 Dated: Apr, 15 1983
THE MAHARASHTRA FOREST DEVELOPMENT (TAX ON SALE OF FOREST-PRODUCE BY GOVERNMENT OR FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION) (CONTINUANCE) ACT, 1983
ACT No. XXII OF 1983
An Act to levy and collect forest development tax on sales of forest-produce by or on behalf of the State Government or the Forest Development Corporation.
Whereas both Houses of the State Legislature were not in session and the Governor of Maharashtra promulgated the Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest-produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) Ordinance, 1982, on the 4th December 1982 (hereinafter referred to as "the said Ordinance");
And Whereas thereafter the State Legislature reassembled on the 13th December 1982;
And Whereas the Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax "on sale of forest produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) Bill, 1982 (L. A. Bill No. LVIII of 1982), for converting the said Ordinance, with certain modifications, into an Act of the Legislature, was introduced in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on the 16th December 1982, but was not passed in that session, which was prorogued on the 24th December 1982;
And Whereas when the State Legislature had reassembled on the 13th December 1982 and the said Ordinance had not been replaced by an Act of the State Legislature, the said Ordinance would have ceased to operate after the 23rd January 1983;
And Whereas both Houses of the State Legislature were not in session then, and the Governor of Maharashtra was satisfied that circumstances still existed which rendered it necessary for him to take immediate action to continue the operation of the provisions of the said Ordinance, with the modifications proposed to be made by L. A. Bill No. LVIII of 1982 referred to above; and, therefore, promulgated the Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest-produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) (Continuance) Ordinance, 1983, on the 17th January 1983;
And Whereas it is expedient to replace the Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest-produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) (Continuance) Ordinance, 1983, by an Act of the State Legislature; it is hereby enacted in the Thirty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest-produce by Government or Forest Development Corporation) Act, 1983.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Maharashtra.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 7th December, 1982.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(a) "Appellate Authority" where the Recovery Officer is the Forest Officer or the officer of the Forest Development Corporation, means the officer of the Forest Department or of the Forest Development Corporation, as the case may be, immediately superior to the Recovery Officer, and where the Recovery Officer is the officer of a co-operative society, means the Divisional Forest Officer, or the Sub-Divisional Forest Officer in-charge of an independent Forest Sub-Division, as the case may be, within whose territorial jurisdiction the sale takes place. If any question arises as to who is the Appellate Authority, in respect of any sale, the same shall be referred to and decided by the Chief Conservator of Forests and his decision shall be final;
(b) "co-operative society" means a co-operative society registered or deemed to be registered under the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960;
(c) "Forest Development Corporation" means the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra Limited, being a private company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956, and having its registered office in Nagpur in the State of Maharashtra;
(d) "forest-produce" means forest-produce as defined in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, in its application to the State of Maharashtra;
(e) "Recovery Officer", in relation to any sale of forest-produce, means the Forest Officer, or the officer of the Forest Development Corporation, or the officer of co-operative society, as the case may be, by whom the sale is effected, and if any question arises as to who is the Recovery Officer in respect of the sale, the same shall be referred to and decided by the Chief Conservator of Forests and his decision shall be final;
(f) "sale" or "sale" of forest-produce" means any sale of forest-produce by or on behalf of the State Government or the Forest Development Corporation, for cash or deferred payment or other valuable consideration, whether described as sale price, purchase price or royalty, and includes any such sale of forest-produce by a co-operative society on behalf of the State Government of the Forest Development Corporation;
(g) "sale price" means the amount of valuable consideration, whether described as sale price, purchase price or royalty, paid or payable by any purchaser for sale of any forest-produce to him; and the words "sell" and "purchase" with all their grammatical variations and cognate expressions, shall he construed accordingly;
(h) "tax" means the forest development tax on the sale of any forest-produce by or on behalf of the State Government or the Forest Development Corporation levied and collected under this Act;
(i) words and expressions used in this Act, but not defined herein, shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indian Forest Act, 1927, in its application to the State of Maharashtra or in the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act, 1960, as the case may require.