The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961

1961: Pb. Act 23] THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

289

THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKETS ACT,
1961

SECTIONS.

(PUNJAB ACT No. 23 OF 1961)

Arrangement of sections

1. Short title, extent and commencement.

2. Definitions.

2-A. Construction of certain references in the Act.

3. State Agricultural Marketing Board, constitution,
powers and duties.

3-A. The power of the Board in respect of the transferred
territory and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

4. Advisory Committees.

5. Notification of intention of exercising control over
purchase, sale, storage and processing of agricultural
produce in specified area.

6. Declaration of notified market area.

7. Declaration of market yards.
8. No private market to be opened in or near places

declared to be markets.

9. Authority to whom applications for grant of licences
are to be made.

10. Applications for licences, fees to be paid and can-
cellation or suspension of licences.

11. Establishment of market committee.

12. Constitution of committee.

13. Duties and powers of committee.

14. Term of office of members.

15. Removal of members.

16. Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman.

17. Filling of vacancies.

18. Incorporation of committees.

19. Appointment of sub-committees and joint committees
and delegation of powers.

20. Appointment and salaries of officers and servants
committees.

of

21. Persons who are to be deemed public servants, within
the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.



290
THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL [1961: Pb. Act 23

PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

22. Execution of Contracts.

23. Levy of fees.

24. Octroi not payable on certain agricultural produce.

25. Marketing Development Fund.

26. Purposes for which the Marketing Development Fund
may be expended.

27. Market Committee Fund.

28. Purposes for which the Market Committee Funds may
be expended.

29 Liability of member or employee of Committees or
the Board.

30. No Trade Allowance permissible except as prescribed.

31. Bar of suit in absence of notice.

32. Power to borrow.

33. Power to call information, inspect, enforce attend-
ance and to suspend actions, etc., of Committees.

34. Acquisition of land for the Board and Committees.

35. Supersession of Committees.

36. Emergency powers.

37. Penalties.

38. Power of State Government to amend the Schedule.

39. Trial of offences.

40. Appeal.

41. Recovery of sums due to State Government from
Committees.

42. Revision.

43. Power to make rules.

44. Bye-laws.

45. Power to write off irrecoverable fees, etc.

46. Power to compound offences.

47. Repeal and Savings.

THE SCEDULE.



1961: Pb. Act 23] THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

'[THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE
MARKETS ACT, 1961.

(PUNJAB Aст, No. 23 OF 1961)

291

[Received the assent of the President of India on the18th May, 1961, and first published for generalinformation in the PUNJAB GOVERNMENT GAZETTE(EXTRAORDINARY), Legislative Supplement, of the26th May, 1961.]

1 2 3

Year No. Short title

1961 23 The Punjab Agricultural
Produce Markets Act,
1961

4

Whether Affected
by Legislation

Amended by Punjab Act 3 of 1962.

Amended by Punjab Act 23 of 1962.

Amended by Punjab Act 40 of 19634.

Amended by Punjab Act 2 of 1966

Amended by G.O.I. Order S.O. 3021,dated 18th July, 1969.

Amended by Punjab Act 25 of 1969

Amended by Punjab Act 17 of 19737

An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating tothe better regulation of the purchase, sale, storageand processing of agricultural produce and theestablishment of markets for agricultural producein the State of Punjab.
BE it enacted by the Legislature of the State ofPunjab in the Twelfth Year of the Republic of India asfollows :-

1. (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Agri- Short title,
extent andcultural Produce Markets Act, 1961.

1For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab GovernmentGapette (Extraordinary), 1961, page 1047.
2For Statement of Objects and Reasons,

Gazette (Extraordinaryq, 1962, page 512.
3For Statement of Objects and Reasons,

Gazette (Extraordinary), 1962, page 1640.

see Punjab Government

see Punjab Government

4For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab GovernmentGazette (Extraordinary), 1963, page 1343.
5For Statement of Objects and Reasons,

Gazette (Extraordinary), 1965, page 11.06.
see Punjab Government

eFor Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab GovernmentGazette (Extraordinary) 1969, page 1070.
For Statement of Objects and Reasons, see Punjab GovernmentGazetet (Extraordinary) 1973, page 319.

commence-

ment.



Definitions.

292 THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL [1961: Pb. 
Act 23

PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

'[(2) It extends to the States of Punjab and

Haryana, the territories transferred to the Union

territory of Himachal Pradesh under 
section 5 of the

Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (31 of 1966)
 and the

Union territory of Chandigarh.]

(3) It shall come into force at once.

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise re-

quires,-

(a) "agricultural produce" means all produce,

whether processed or not, of agriculture,

horticulture, animal husbandry or forest as

specified in the Schedule to this Act;

(9)]

"Board" means the Punjab State

Agricultural Marketing Board or the

Haryana State Agricultural Marketing
Board established under the Act for the

State of Punjab or the State of Haryana

and includes the Administrator of the

Union territory of Himachal Pradesh

functioning as the Board for the trans-

ferred territory and the Administra-

tor of the Union territory of Chandigarh

functioning as the Board for the Union

territory of Chandigarh.]

(c) "broker" means a person, other than a

private servant or an auctioneer, usually

employed on commission to enter into con-
tracts on behalf of others for the purchase

or sale of agricultural produce;

(d) "Committee" means a market committee
established and constituted under section

11 and 12 ;

(е) "Со-оperative Society" means a Co-opera-

tive Society registered or deemed to be re-

gistered under the Punjab Co-operative

1Substituted by G. O. I. S. O. No. 3021, dated 18th July, 1969.

2Substituted by ibid.



1961: Pb. Act 23] THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

(f)

293

Societies Act, 1954, '[or any other corres-
ponding law for the time being in force]
which deals in the purchase, sale, process-
ing or storage of agricultural produce, or is

otherwise engaged in the business of dis-
posal of agricultural produce;

"dealer" means any person who within the
notified market area sets up, establishes or
continues or allows to be continued any

place for the purchase, sale, storage or
processing of agricultural produce notified
under sub-section (1) of section 6 or pur-

chases, sells, stores or processes such agri-
cultural produce ;

*[(g) "Director" means the Director of Market-

ing, for the State of Punjab, or the State of
Haryana or the transferred territory or the
Union territory of Chandigarh, as the case
may be, and includes a Joint Director of

Marketing ;]
(h) “Godown keeper" means a person, other

than a producer, who stores agricultural
produce for himself for sale or stores agri-
cultural produce of others in lieu of storage
charges;

(i) "market" means a market established and

regulated under this Act for the notified

market area, and includes a market proper,
a principal market yard and sub-market
yard; L * * *J

(5) [**

(k) "market proper" means any area including
all lands with the buildings thereon, within
such distance of the principal market or

sub-market yard, as may be notified in the
official gazette by the State Government, to
be a market proper;

'[(kk) 'member' includes the Chairman of the

Board;]

1Inserted by G.O.I., S. O. No, 3021, dated 18th July, 1969.
2Substituted by ibid.
sOmitted by Punjab Act 40 of 1963, section 2.

'Inserted by Punjab Act 40 of 1963, section 2.



294 THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL [1961: Pb. Act 23
PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

(l) "notified market area" means any area

notified under section 6;

(m) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules
made under this Act ;

(n) "principal market yard" and "sub-market
yard" mean an enclosure, building or loca-
lity declared to be a principal market yard
and sub-market yard under section 7

(o) "producer" means a person who in his nor-
mal course of avocation grows, manufac-

turers, rears or produces, as the case may

be, agricultural produce personally,
through tenants or otherwise, but does not
include a person who works as a dealer or
broker or who is a partner of a firm of

dealers or brokers or is otherwise engaged
in the business of disposal of agricultural
produce other than that grown, manufac-

tured, reared, or produced by himself,
through his tenants or otherwise. If a

question arises as to whether any person is

a producer or not for the purposes of this
Act, the decision of the Deputy Commis-
sioner of the District in which the person

carries on his business or profession shall
be final :

Provided that no person shall be disqualified
from being a producer merely on the

ground that he is a member of a Co-opera-
tive Society;

Explanation :-The term 'producer' shall also
include tenant.

'[* * * *[

(q) "retail sale" means sale of agricultural pro-
duce not exceeding such quantity as may
be prescribed;

1Deleted by G. O. I. S. O. No, 3021, dated 16th July, 1969.



1961: Pb. Act 23] THE PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCE MARKETS ACT, 1961

295

(r) "Secretary" means the Executive Officer ofa Committee and includes an Assistant
Secretary or a person officiating or actingas Secretary;

(s) "trade allowance" includes an allowancehaving the sanction of custom in the notifi-ed market area concerned and market
charges payable to various functionaries.

'[(t) "transferred territory" means the terri-tory transferred to the Union territory ofHimachal Pradesh under section 5 of the
Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 (31 of1966).]

[2A. In the application of the provisions of this Construction ofcertain refer-Act,-

(1) to the State of Haryana, any referencetherein to any expression mentioned in
column (1) of the Table below shall be
construed as a reference to the correspond-
ing expression mentioned in column (2)
of the said Table].

ences in the
Act

TABLE

(1)

State Government.

Punjab State or State of
Punjab except in section 1
of the Act.

(2)

The Govenment of the
State of Haryana

State of Haryana.

State Agricultural Market- Haryana State Agricul-ing Board. tural Marketing Board

(2) to the territory transferred to Himachal
Pradesh any reference therein to any ex-
pression mentioned in column (1) of the

1Inserted clause (t) by G.O.I. S.O. No. 3021, dated 18th July, 1969.

2New section inserted by ibid.