The
Seeds Act, 1966
(Act
No.54 of 1966)
[29th December, 1966]
An Act to
provide for regulating the quality of certain seeds for sale,
and for
matters connected therewith.
BE it enacted by
Parliament in the Seventeenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:
Short Title,
Extent and Commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the Seeds Act, 1966.
(3) It shall come
into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different
provisions of this Act, and for different States or for different areas
thereof.
Definitions
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,
1.
"Agriculture"
includes horticulture;
2.
"Central Seed
Laboratory" means the Central Seed Laboratory established or declared as
such under sub-section (1) of section 4;
3.
"Certification
agency" means the certification agency established under Section 8 or
recognised under Section 18;
4.
"Committee"
means the Central Seed Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of Section
3;
5.
"Container"
means a box, bottle, casket, tin, barrel, case, receptacle, sack, bag, wrapper
or other thing in which any article or thing is placed or packed;
6.
"Export"
means taking out of India to a place outside India;
7.
"Import"
means bringing into India from a place outside India;
8.
"Kind" means
one or more related species or sub-species of crop plants each individually or
collectively known by one common name such as cabbage, maize, paddy and wheat;
9.
"notified kind or
variety" , in relation to any seed, means any kind or variety thereof
notified under Section 5;
10.
"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made
under this act;
11.
"seed" means any of the following classes
of seeds used for sowing or planting-
I.
seeds of food crops
including edible oil seeds and seeds of fruits and vegetables;
II.
cotton seeds;
III.
seeds of cattle fodder;
and includes seedlings, and tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, cuttings, all types
of grafts and other vegetatively propagated material, of food crops or cattle
fodder;
12.
"Seed Analyst" means a Seed Analyst
appointed under section 12;
13.
"Seed Inspector" means a Seed Inspector
appointed under section 13;
14.
"State Government", in relation to a Union
territory, means the administrator thereof;
15.
"State Seed Laboratory", in relation to any
State, means the State Seed Laboratory established or declared as such under
sub-section (2) of section 4 for that State; and
16.
"variety" means a sub-division of a kind
identifiable by growth, yield, plant, fruit, seed, or other characteristic.
Central Seed
Committee
3. (1) The Central Government shall, as soon as may be
after the commencement of this Act, constitute a Committee called the Central
Seed Committee to advise the Central Government and the State Governments on
matters arising out of the administration of this Act and to carry out the
other functions assigned to it by or under this Act.
i.
a Chairman to be
nominated by the Central Government;
ii.
eight persons to be
nominated by the Central Government to represent such interests that Government
thinks fit, of whom not less than two persons shall be representatives of
growers of seed;
iii.
one person to be
nominated by the Government of each of the States.
(3) The members
of the Committee shall, unless their seats become vacant earlier by
resignation, death or otherwise, be entitled to hold office for two years and
shall be eligible for renomination.
(4) The Committee
may, subject to the previous approval of the Central Government, make bye-laws
fixing the quorum and regulating its own procedure and the conduct of all
business to be transacted by it.
(5) The Committee
may appoint one or more sub-committees, consisting wholly of members of the
Committee or wholly of other persons or partly of members of the Committee and
partly of other persons, as it thinks fit, for the purpose of discharging such
of its functions as may be delegated to such sub-committee or sub-committees by
the Committee.
(6) The functions
of the Committee or any sub-committee thereof may be exercised notwithstanding
any vacancy therein.
(7) The Central
Government shall appoint a person to be the secretary of the Committee and
shall provide the Committee with such clerical and other staff as the Central
Government considers necessary.
Central Seed
Laboratory and State Seed Laboratory
4. (1) The Central Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, establish a Central Seed Laboratory or declare any seed
laboratory as the Central Seed Laboratory to carry out the functions entrusted
to the Central Seed Laboratory by or under this Act.
(2) The State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish one or more
State Seed Laboratories or declare any seed laboratory as a State Seed
Laboratory where analysis of seeds of any notified kind or variety shall be
carried out by Seed Analysts under this Act in the prescribed manner.
Power to
notify kinds or varieties of seeds
5. If the Central Government, after consultation with
the Committee, is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient to regulate the
quality of seed of any kind or variety to be sold for purposes of agriculture,
it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such kind or variety to
be a notified kind or variety for the purposes of this Act and different kinds
or varieties may be notified for different States or for different areas
thereof.
Power to
specify minimum limits of germination and purity, etc.
6. The Central Government may, after consultation with
the Committee and by notification in the Official Gazette, specify-
a.
the minimum limits of
germination and purity with respect to any seed of any notified kind or
variety;
b.
the mark or label to
indicate that such seed conforms to the minimum limits of germination and
purity specified under clause (a) and the particulars which such mark or label
may contain.
Regulation of
sale of seeds of notified kinds or varieties
7. No person shall, himself or by any other person on
his behalf, carry on the business of selling, keeping for sale, offering to
sell, bartering or otherwise supplying any seed of any notified kind or
variety, unless-
a.
such seed is
identifiable as to its kind or variety;
b.
such seed conforms to
the minimum limits of germination and purity specified under clause (a) of
section 6;
c.
the container of such
seed bears in the prescribed manner, the mark or label containing the correct
particulars thereof, specified under clause (b) of section 6; and
d.
he complies with such
other requirements as may be prescribed.
Certification
agency
8. The State Government or the Central Government in
consultation with the State Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, establish a certification agency for the State to carry out the
functions entrusted to the certification agency by or under this Act.
Grant of
certificate by certification agency
9. (1) Any person selling, keeping for sale, offering
to sell, bartering or otherwise supplying any seed of any notified kind or
variety may, if he desires to have such seed certified by the certification
agency, apply to the certification agency for the grant of a certificate for
the purpose.
(2) Every
application under sub-section (1) shall be made in such form, shall contain
such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fees as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of
any such application for the grant of a certificate, the certification agency
may, after such enquiry as it thinks fit and after satisfying itself that the
seed to which the application relates conforms to the minimum limits of
germination and purity specified for that seed under clause (a) of section 6,
grant a certificate in such form and on such conditions as may be prescribed.
Revocation
of certificate
10. If the certification agency is satisfied, either on
a reference made to it in this behalf or otherwise, that-
a.
the certificate granted
by it under section 9 has been obtained by misrepresentation as to an essential
fact; or
b.
the holder of the
certificate has, without reasonable cause, failed to comply with the conditions
subject to which the certificate has been granted or has contravened any of the
provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder;
then, without
prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the certificate may be
liable under this Act, the certification agency may, after giving the holder of
the certificate an opportunity of showing cause, revoke the certificate.
Appeal
11. (1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of a
certification agency under section 9 or section 10, may, within thirty days
from the date on which the decision is communicated to him and on payment of
such fees as may be prescribed, prefer an appeal to such authority as may be
specified by the State Government in this behalf:
Provided that the
appellate authority may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period
of thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellate was prevented by
sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
(2) On receipt of
an appeal under sub-section (1), the appellate authority shall, after giving
the appellant an opportunity of being heard, dispose of the appeal as
expeditiously as possible.
(3) Every order
of the appellate authority under this section shall be final.
Seed Analysts
12. The State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint such persons as it thinks fit, having the prescribed
qualifications, to be Seed Analysts and define the areas within which they
shall exercise jurisdiction.
Seed
Inspectors
13. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint such persons as it thinks fit, having the prescribed
qualifications, to be Seed Inspectors and define the areas within which they
shall exercise jurisdiction.
(2) Every Seed
Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section
21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and shall be officially subordinate to
such authority as the State Government may specify in this behalf.
Powers of Seed
Inspector
14. (1) The Seed Inspector may-
a.
take samples of any
seed of any notified kind or variety from-
i.
any person selling such
seed; or
ii.
any person who is in
the course of conveying, delivering or preparing to deliver such seed to a
purchaser or a consignee; or
iii.
a purchaser or a
consignee after delivery of such seed to him;
b.
send such sample for
analysis to the Seed Analyst for the area within which such sample has been
taken;
c.
enter and search at all
reasonable times, with such assistance, if any, as he considers necessary, any
place in which he has reason to believe that an offence under this Act has been
or is being committed and order in writing the person in possession of any seed
in respect of which the offence has been or is being committed, not to dispose
of any stock of such seed for a specific period not exceeding thirty days or,
unless the alleged offence is such that the defect may be removed by the
possessor of the seed, seize the stock of such seed;
d.
examine any record,
register, document or any other material object found in any place mentioned in
clause (c) and seize the same if he has reason to believe that it may furnish
evidence of the commission of an offence punishable under this Act; and
e.
exercise such other
powers as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act or any
rule made thereunder.
(2) Where any
sample of any seed of any notified kind or variety is taken under clause (a) of
sub-section (1), its cost, calculated at the rate at which such seed is usually
sold to the public, shall be paid on demand to the person from whom it is
taken.
(3) The power
conferred by this section includes power to break-open any container in which
any seed of any notified kind or variety may be contained or to break-open the
door of any premises where any such seed may be kept for sale:
Provided that the
power to break-open the door shall be exercised only after the owner or any
other person in occupation of the premises, if he is present therein, refuses
to open the door on being called upon to do so.
(4) Where the
Seed Inspector takes any action under clause (a) of sub-section (1), he shall,
as far as possible, call not less than two persons to be present at the time
when such action is taken and take their signatures on a memorandum to be
prepared in the prescribed form and manner.
(5) The
provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), shall, so far
as may be, apply to any search or seizure under this section as they apply to
any search or seizure made under the authority of a warrant issued under
section 98 of the said Code.
Procedure
to be followed by Seed Inspectors
15. (1) Whenever a Seed Inspector intends to take sample
of any seed of any notified kind or variety for analysis, he shall-
a.
give notice in writing,
then and there, of such intention to the person from whom he intends to take
sample;
b.
except in special cases
provided by rules made under this Act, take three representative samples in the
prescribed manner and mark and seal or fasten up each sample in such manner as
its nature permits.
(2) When samples
of any seed of any notified kind or variety are taken under sub-section (1),
the Seed Inspector shall-
a.
deliver one sample to
the person from whom it has been taken;
b.
send in the prescribed
manner another sample for analysis to the Seed Analyst for the area within
which such sample has been taken; and
c.
retain the remaining
sample in the prescribed manner for production in case any legal proceedings
are taken or for analysis by the Central Seed Laboratory under sub-section (2)
of section 16, as the case may be.
(3) If the person
from whom the samples have been taken refuses to accept one of the samples, the
Seed Inspector shall send intimation to the Seed Analyst of such refusal and
thereupon the Seed Analyst receiving the sample for analysis shall divide it
into two parts and shall seal or fasten up one of those parts and shall cause
it, either upon receipt of the sample or when he delivers his report, to be
delivered to the Seed Inspector who shall retain it for production in case
legal proceedings are taken.
(4) Where a
Seed Inspector takes any action under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section
14:
a.
he shall use all
despatch in ascertaining whether or not the seed contravenes any of the
provisions of section 7 and if it is ascertained that the seed does not so
contravene, forthwith revoke the order passed under the said clause or, as the
case may be, take such action as may be necessary for the return of the stock of
the seed seized;
b.
if he seizes the stock
of the seed, he shall, as soon as may be, inform a magistrate and take his
orders as to the custody thereof;
c.
without prejudice to
the institution of any prosecution, if the alleged offence is such that the
defect may be removed by the possessor of the seed, he shall, on being
satisfied that the defect has been so removed, forthwith revoke the order
passed under the said clause.
(5) Where as Seed
Inspector seizes any record, register, document or any other material object
under clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 14, he shall, as soon as may be,
inform a magistrate and take his orders as to the custody thereof.
Report of Seed
Analyst
(1) The Seed
Analyst shall, as soon as may be after the receipt of the sample under
sub-section (2) of section 15, analyse the sample at the State Seed Laboratory
and deliver, in such form as may be prescribed, one copy of the report of the
result of the analysis to the Seed Inspector and another copy thereof to the
person from whom the sample has been taken.
(2) After the
institution of a prosecution under this Act, the accused vendor or the
complainant may, on payment of the prescribed fee, make an application to the
court for sending any of the samples mentioned in clause (a) or clause (c) of
sub-section (2) of section 15 to the Central Seed Laboratory for its report and
on receipt of the application, the court shall first ascertain that the mark
and the seal or fastening as provided in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of
section 15 are intact and may then despatch the sample under its own seal to
the Central Seed Laboratory which shall thereupon send its report to the court
in the prescribed form within one month from the date of receipt of the sample,
specifying the result of the analysis.
(3) The report
sent by the Central Seed Laboratory under sub-section (2) shall supersede the
report given by the Seed Analyst under sub-section (1).
(4) Where the
report sent by the Central Seed Laboratory under sub-section (2) is produced in
any proceedings under Section 19, it shall not be necessary in such proceedings
to produce any sample or part thereof taken for analysis.
Restriction
on export and import of seeds of notified kinds or varieties
17. No person shall, for the purpose of sowing or planting by
any person (including himself), export or import or cause to be exported or
imported any seed of any notified kind or variety, unless-
Recognition of
seed certification agencies of foreign countries
18. The Central Govt. may, on the recommendation of the
Committee and by notification in the Official Gazette, recognise any seed
certification agency established in any foreign country, for the purposes of
this Act.
Penalty
a.
contravenes any provision
of this Act or any rule made thereunder; or
b.
prevents a Seed
Inspector from taking sample under this Act;or
c.
prevents a Seed
Inspector from exercising any other power conferred on him by or under this
Act;
he shall, on
conviction, be punishable-
i.
for the first offence
with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, and
ii.
in the event of such
person having been previously convicted of an offence under this section, with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may
extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Forfeiture
of property
Offences
by companies
21. (1) Where an offence under this Act has been
committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed
was in charge of, and was responsible to the company for the conduct of the
business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty
of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly:
Provided that
nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to
any punishment under this Act if he proves that the offence was committed
without his knowledge and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the
commission of such offence.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under
this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has
been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any
neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of
the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be
deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and punished accordingly.
Explanation. – For the purpose of this section,-
a.
"company" means any body corporate and
includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
b.
"director", in relation to a firm, means a
partner in the firm.
Protection of action taken in good faith
22. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall
lie against the Government or any officer of the Government for anything which
is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
Power to give
directions
23. The Central Government may give such directions to
any State Government as may appear to the Central Government to be necessary
for carrying into execution in the State any of the provisions of this Act or
of any rule made thereunder.
Exemption
24. Nothing in this Act shall apply to any seed of any
notified kind or variety grown by a person and sold or delivered by him on his
own premises direct to another person for being used by that person for the
purpose of sowing or planting.
Power to make
rules
25. (1) The Central Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purpose of this Act.
(2) In particular
and without prejudice to the generality of the fore-going power, such rules may
provide, for-
a.
the functions of the
Committee and the travelling and daily allowances payable to members of the
Committee and members of any sub-committee appointed under sub-section (5) of
section 3;
b.
the functions of the
Central Seed Laboratory;
c.
the functions of a
certification agency;
d.
the manner of marking
or labelling the container of seed of any notified kind or variety under clause
(c) of Section 7 and under clause (b) of section 17;
e.
the requirements which
may be complied with by a person carrying on the business referred to in
section 7;
f.
the form of application
for the grant of a certificate under section 9, the particulars it may contain,
the fees which should accompany it, the form of the certificate and the
conditions subject to which the certificate may be granted;
g.
the form and manner in
which and the fee on payment of which an appeal may be preferred under section
11 and the procedure to be followed by the appellate authority in disposing of
the appeal;
h.
the qualifications and
duties of Seed Analysts and Seed Inspectors;
i.
the manner in which
samples may be taken by the Seed Inspector, the procedure for sending such
samples to the Seed Analyst or the Central Seed Laboratory and the manner of
analysing such samples;
j.
the form of report of
the result of the analysis under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 16
and the fees payable in respect of such report under the said sub-section (2);
k.
the records to be
maintained by a person carrying on the business referred to in section 7 and
the particulars which such records shall contain; and
l.
any other matter which is
to be or may be prescribed.
(3) Every rule
made under this Act shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made, before
each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty
days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and
if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session
immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule
or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, that rule shall, thereafter
have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be;
so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice
to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
THE SEEDS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1972
(No. 55 OF
1972)
(9th September, 1972)
An Act to
amend the Seeds Act, 1966
Be it
enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-
Short
title and commencement
1. (1) This Act may be called the Seeds (Amendment)
Act, 1972
(2) It shall come
into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint.
Amendment of
Section 2 of 1966
2. In section 2 of the Seeds Act, 1966 (hereinafter
referred to as the principal Act), in clause (11), after sub-clause (iii), the
following sub-clause shall be inserted, namely:-
"(iv) jute
seeds,"
Insertion of
new sections 8A to 8E
3. After section 8 of the principal Act, the following
sections shall be inserted, namely:-
The Central
Seed Certification Board
"8A. (1) The
Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a
Central Seed Certification Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) to
advise the Central Government and the State Governments on all matters relating
to certification and to co-ordinate the functioning of the agencies established
under section 8.
(2) The Board
shall consist of the following members, namely:-
i.
a Chairman, to be
nominated by the Central Government;
ii.
four members, to be nominated
by the Central Government from out of the persons employed by the State
Governments as Directors of Agriculture;
iii.
three members, to be
nominated by the Central Government from out of the persons employed by the
Agricultural Universities as Directors of Research;
iv.
thirteen persons, to be
nominated by the Central Government to represent such interests as that
Government thinks fit, of whom not less than four persons shall be
representatives of seed producers or tradesmen.
Provided that a
person nominated under clause (ii) or clause (iii) of sub-section (2) shall
hold office only for so long as he holds the appointment by virtue of which his
nomination was made.
Other
Committees
8B. The Board may
appoint as many Committees as it deems fit consisting wholly of the members of
the Board or wholly of other persons or partly of members of the Board and
partly of other persons as it thinks fit to exercise such powers and perform
such duties as may be delegated to them, subject to such conditions as it may
think fit, by the Board.
Proceedings
of Board or Committee not to be invalid by reason of any vacancy therein
8C. No proceeding
of the Board or any Committee thereof shall become invalid merely by reason of
the existence of any vacancy therein or any defect in the constitution thereof.
Procedure for
Board
8D. The Board
may, subject to the previous approval of the Central Government, make bye-laws
for the purpose of regulating its own procedure and the procedure of any
Committee thereof and the conduct of all business to be transacted by it or
such Committee.
Secretary
and other officers
8E. The Central
Government shall-
Amendment of
section 9
(i)
in sub-section (3), for the words, brackets, letter and figure "minimum
limits of germination and purity specified for that seed under clause (a) of
section 6", the words " prescribed standards" shall be
substituted;
(ii)
to sub-section (3), the following proviso shall be added, namely:-
"Provided
that such standards shall not be lower than the minimum limits of germination
and purity specified for that seed under clause (a) of section 6."
Amendment of section 25
"(ff) the standards to which seeds should
conform,";
(b) in sub-section (3), for the words "in two successive
sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or
the session immediately following", the words "in two or more
successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid" shall be
substituted.
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