Jammu and Kashmir State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1997
No: 37 Dated: Nov, 14 1997
THE JAMMU AND KASHMIR STATE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETING (REGULATION) ACT, 1997
(Act No. XXXVI of 1997)
An Act to provide for the better regulation of marketing of agricultural produce and the establishment and proper administration of markets for agricultural produce and matters connected therewith in the State of the Jammu and Kashmir.
Be it enacted by the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature in the Forty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows :-
CHAPTER-I
Preliminary
1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act maybe called the Jammu and Kashmir State Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1997.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Government Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1) "A Grader-cum-packer" means a persons who is engaged in sorting, grading and packing any of the produce as notified in person;
(2) "A Preharvest Contractor" means a person engaged in purchase/deal of any Agriculture Commodity on preharvest contract terms from the producer and is engaged in sale/purchase or export of such commodities as notified in person or through his agent .
(3) "Agricultural Produce" mean anything produced from land in the course of agricultural or horticulture and includes forest produce or any produce of like nature either processed or unprocessed and declared by the Government by notification to be agricultural produce for purposes of this Act;
(4) "Agriculturist" means a persons who ordinarily by his own labour or by the labour of any member of his family or who by labour of his tenants or by servants or hired labour or otherwise is engaged in the production or growth of agricultural produce, but does not include a trader, commission agent, processor or broker or a partner in a trading firm or in Industrial concern in or in relation to agricultural produce;
Explanation. - If a question arises whether any person in an agriculturist or not for the purposes of this Act, the decision of the Collector of the District in which such person is engaged in the production or growth of agricultural produce shall be final.
(5) "Board" means the State Agricultural Marketing Board, established under section 45 of this Act;
(6) "Broker" means an agent who in consideration of a commission merely negotiates and brings about a contract for the purchase or sale of notified agricultural produce on behalf of his principal, but does not receive, deliver, transport, pay for the sale/purchase of or collect the payment for the sale of the notified agricultural produce;
(7) "Buyer (Purchaser)" means a persons, a firm, a firm, a Company or Co-operative- society or Government Agency, Public Undertaking Agency or Corporation, Commission Agent who himself or on behalf of any person argent buys or agrees to buy agricultural produce in the market area as notified under this Act;
(8) "Bye-laws" means the bye-laws made under rules framed under this Act;
(9) "Collector" means the Collector of the District and includes an Additional Collector;
(10) "Commission Agent" or "Arthi" means a persons who, in the ordinary course of business, makes or offers to make a purchase or sale of agricultural produce, on behalf of the seller or purchaser of agricultural produce within or outside the market area or keeps it in his custody and controls it during the process or of its sale or purchase and collects payment thereof for a commission or Arthi;
(11) "Director" means the person appointed by the Government by notification, as Director of Agricultural Marketing and includes any officer or officers empowered by the Government by notification, to exercise or perform such of the powers or functions of the Director under the provisions of the rules or this Act bye-laws made thereunder as may be specified in such notification;
(12) "Government" means the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir;
(13) "Grower" means a person who is engaged in raising/ producing any commodity of agricultural produce and brings it for sale and is engaged in sale/purchase or export of such commodities as notified in person or through his agent;
(14) "Hamal" means a labourer, hamal or coolie engaged for Dara making, loading, unloading, filling, stitching, emptying or carrying any agricultural produce in the notified market area;
(15) "Licence" mean a licence granted under this Act;
(16) "Licensee" means a persons or association, firm, company, public sector undertaking or society holding a licence issued under this Act;
(17) "Local Authority" means, for the purpose of representation on the market committee in relation to an area within the local limits of any Municipal area, the Municipal Corporation, the Municipal Council, the Cantonment Board, the Sanitary Board, the Town Area or Notified Area or Panchayat constituted under the law in force in the State;
(18) "Market Area" means area notified under section 4 of this Act;
(19) "Market Charges" include charges on account or in respect of commission, brokerage, weighting, measuring, grading and packing, Family (loading, unloading and carrying), cleaning, drying, serving, stretching, stacking, hiring gunny bags, Stamping, bagging, storming warehousing, grading, surveying, transporting and processing;
(20) "Market Committee" means the Agricultural produce Market Committee established under this act;
(21) "Market Functionary" includes dealer, broker, commission agent, buyer, hamal, grower, purchaser, gradener packers, processor, stockist, trader and such other persons as may be declared under the rules or bye-laws to be market functionary;
(22) "Market Proper" means any area including all lands with the buildings and structures thereon within such distance of the principal or sub-market yard as the Government may by a notification, declare to be a market proper;
(23) "Marketing" means buying and selling of agricultural produce and includes grading, processing, storage, transport and any other functions associated with the buying and selling;
(24) "Market Yard" in relation to a market area means a specified place and includes any enclosure, building or locality declared as such in any market area by the State Government or the Director by notification;
(25) "Notification" means the notification published in the Government Gazette;
(26) "Notified Agricultural Produce" mans any agricultural produce notified under section 4 of this Act;
(27) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(28) "Processing" means any one or more of a series of treatments relating, to crushing, decorticating polishing, curing or any other manual, mechanical, chemical or physical treatment to which raw agricultural produce or its product is subjected to;
(29) "Processor" means a person who processes any notified agricultural produce on his own accord or on payment of a charge;
(30) "Regulation" means regulation made by the Board or Market Committee, in accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(31) "Retail Sale" in relation to a notified agricultural produce means a sale not exceeding such quantity as the market committee may by bye-laws, determine to be a retail sale in respect thereof;
(32) "Rules" means rules made under this Act;
(33) "Seller" means a person who sells or agrees to sell any agricultural produce and includes a person who sells on behalf of any other person as his agent or servant or commission agent;
(34) "Trade allowance" means anything realised in cash or kind by the purchaser from seller in any transaction relating to agricultural produce, either by deduction from the price agreed upon or otherwise;
(35) "Trader" means any person who in his normal course carries on the business of buying or selling, storing or processing of any notified agricultural produce as a principal or as a duly authorised agent.