West Bengal Markets Regulation Act, 1968
No: 28 Dated: Oct, 31 1968
THE WEST BENGAL MARKETS REGULATION ACT, 1968
Act No. 28 of 1968
An Act to provide for the regulation of markets in the State of West Bengal which agricultural produce is bought or sold.
In exercise of- the powers conferred by section 3 of the West Bengal State Legislature (Delegation of. Powers) Act, 1968 the President is pleased to enact as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Markets Regulation Act, 1968.
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different, areas.
2. Definition:- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(1) "agricultural produce" means any produce of agriculture, horticuliture, pisciculture, forestry or animal husbandry or any other produce declared by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, to be agricultural produce for the purposes of this Act, and includes any such produce which has been 'e holly or partly processed;
(2) "broker" means an. agent whose ordinary course of business is to negotiate and make contracts on payment of commission for the purchase or sale of agricultural produce on behalf of his .principal, but does not include a servant of such principal engaged in negotiating or making such contracts;
(3) "Calcutta" has the same meaning as in the Calcutta Municipal Act, 1951;
(4) "commission agent" means a person who buys and sells agricultural produce for any person, keeps it. in hiscustody and controls it during the process of its sale or purchase, and collects payment therefor 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;
(5) "Director" means the Director of Agriculture, West Bengal, and includes the Additional Director of Agriculture (Marketing), West Bengal;
(6) "District Magistrate" means the chief officer charged with the executive administration of a district in criminal matters by whatever designation called, and includes an Additional District Magistrate;
(7) "Inspecting Officer" means an Inspecting -Officer appointed under section 23;
(8) "licensing authority" means the authority referred to in, section 3 for issuing a licence under that section;
(9) "market" means any place at which people ordinarily assemble, either daily or on fixed days for the purchase or sale of agricultural produce, irrespective of whether any other commodity is purchased or sold in such place or not, and includes any place at which any fair or niela is held for more than three consecutive days :
Provided that the State Government may, if it so thinks fit in the public interest, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare any such place not to be a market and thereupon such place shall not be deemed to be a market for the purposes of this Act ;
(10) "market committee" means a market committee constituted under sub-section (1) of section 9 and includes a special market committee constituted under the proviso to that sub-section;
(11) "measurer" means a person whose business is to measure a consignment of agricultural produce for sale;
(12) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(13) "proprietor" in relation to a market includes the lessee thereof ;
(14) "rent", in relation to a market, means anything lawfully payable in cash or in kind to the proprietor of the market for the use or occupation of any land, with or without any structure thereon, in the market;
(15) "standard weight" and "standard measure" have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in the West Bengal Standards of Weights and Measures (Enforcement) Act, 1958;
(16) "Sub-divisional Magistrate" means any Magistrate in charge of a sub-division of a district and includes an Additional Sub-divisional Magistrate;
(17) "trade allowance" means anything realised in cash or in kind by the purchaser from the seller in any transaction relating to agricultural produce either by deduction from the price agreed upon or otherwise;
Explanation.—In this clause "purchaser" includes a commission agent;
(18) "warehouseman" means a person whose business is to store agricultural produce in any building, structure or enclosure on behalf of persons depositing such produce; and (19) "weighman" means a •person who, in the ordinary course of business, is engaged in the weighing of agricultural produce in connection with a transaction of sale or purchase thereof.