AGRICULTURAL AND PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ACT

THE AGRICULTURAL AND PROCESSED FOODPRODUCTS EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ACT, 1985

ACT No. 2 OF 1986

8th January, 1986.

An Act to provide for the establishment ofan Authority for the development and promotion of exports of certainagricultural and processed food products and for matters connected therewith.

BE it enacted by Parliament in theThirty-sixth Year of the Republicof India as follows: –

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1.Short title, extent and commencement: (1) This Act may be called theAgricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act,1985.

(2) It extends to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on such date 1as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of thisAct.

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1. 13th February, 1986, vide NotificationNo. S. O. 55 (E), dated 13-2-1986, Gazette of India, 1986,Extraordinary, Part II, Section 5 (ii).

2.Definitions: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "Authority" means theAgricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authorityestablished under section 4;

(b) "Chairman" means the Chairmanof the Authority;

(c) "export"means taking out of Indiaby land, sea or air:

(d) "exporter"means a person registered as an exporter of Scheduled products under section12;

(e) "member"means a member of the Authority and includes the Chairman;

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

(g) "processing" in relation toScheduled products includes the process of preservation of such products suchas canning, freezing, drying, salting, smoking, peeling or filleting and anyother method of processing which the Authority may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, specify in this behalf;

(h) "regulations"means regulations made under this Act;

(i) "Scheduled product" means anyof the agricultural or processed food products included in the Schedule.

3.Power to amend Schedule: The Central Government may, having regard to theobjects of this Act, and if it considers necessary or expedient so to do, bynotification in the Official Gazette, add to, or, as the case may be, omitfrom, the Schedule any agricultural or processed food product and on suchaddition, or as the case may be, omission, such product shall be, or shallcease to be, a Scheduled product.

CHAPTER II

AGRICULTURAL AND PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTSEXPORT DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

4.Establishment and constitution of theAuthority: (1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, bynotification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, there shall beestablished for the purposes of this Act, an Authority to be called theAgricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

(2) The Authority shall be a body corporateby the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, withpower to acquire hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, andto contract, shall by the said name sue and be sued.

(3) the headoffice of the Authority shall be at Delhi andthe Authority may, with the previous approval of the Central Government,establish offices or agencies at other places in or outside India.

(4) The Authority shall consist of the followingmembers, namely: –

(a) a Chairman, tobe appointed by the Central Government;

(b) theAgricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of India, ex officio;

(c) one member tobe appointed by the Central Government to represent the Planning Commission;

(d) three membersof Parliament of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and oneby the council of States;

(e) eight membersto be appointed by the Central Government to represent, respectively, theMinistries of the Central Government dealing with-

(i) agricultureand rural development;

(ii) commerce;

(iii) finance

(iv) industry;

(v) food;

(vi) civilsupplies;

(vii) civilaviation;

(viii) shippingand transport;

(f) five membersto be appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical orderto represent the States and the Union territories:

Provided that an appointment under thisclause shall be made on the recommendation of the Government of the State, oras the case may be, the Union territory concerned;

(g) seven membersto be appointed by the Central Government to represent, –

(i) the IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research;

(ii) the NationalHorticulture Board;

(iii) the NationalAgricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation;

(iv) the CentralFood Technological Research Institute;

(v) the IndianInstitute of Packaging;

(vi) the SpicesExport Promotion Council; and

(vii) the Cashewnut Export Promotion Council;

(h) twelve membersto be appointed by the Central Government to represent, –

(i) fruit andvegetable products industries;

(ii) meat, poultryand dairy products industries;

(iii) otherScheduled products industries;

(iv) packagingindustry:

Provided that the number of membersappointed to represent any of the groups of industries specified in sub-clauses(i) to (iii) or the industry specified in sub-clause (iv) shall in no case beless than two;

(i) two members tobe appointed by the Central Government from amongst specialists and scientistsin the field of agriculture, economics and marketing of Scheduled products.

(5) The term of office of the members,other than the member referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (4) and themanner of filling vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed in thedischarge of their functions by, the members shall be such as may beprescribed.

(6) Any officer of the Central Government,not being a member of the Authority, when deputed by that Government in thisbehalf, shall have the right to attend meetings of the Authority and take partin the proceedings thereof but shall not be entitled to vote.

(7) No act or proceeding of the Authorityor any committee appointed by it under section 9 shall be invalid merely byreason of –

(a) any vacancyin, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority or such committee; or

(b) any defect inthe appointment of a person acting as a member of the Authority of suchcommittee or;

(c) anyirregularity in the procedure of the Authority or such committee not affectingthe merits of the case.

(8) The Authority shall meet at such timesand places and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to thetransaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at its meetings)as may be provided by the regulations.

5.Salary and allowances and other conditionsof service of Chairman and allowances of members: (1) The Chairman shall beentitled to such salary and allowances and shall be subject to such conditionsof service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and other matters asmay, from time to time, be fixed by the Central Government.

(2) The other members of the Authorityshall receive such allowances as may be fixed by the Central Government.

(3) A member, other than the ex officiomember, may resign his office by giving notice thereof in writing to theCentral Government and on such resignation being accepted, he shall be deemedto have vacated his office.

6.Chairman to be chief executive: The Chairman shall be the chief executive ofthe Authority and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may beprescribed.

7.Secretary of the Authority and otherstaff: (1) The Central Government shall appoint a Secretary to the Authoritywho shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed oras may be delegated to him by the Chairman.

(2) The Secretary shall be entitled to suchsalary and allowances and shall be subject to such conditions of service inrespect of leave, pension, provident fund and such other matters as may, fromtime to time, be fixed by the Central Government.

(3) Subject to such control andrestrictions as may be prescribed, the Authority may appoint such otherofficers and employees, as may be necessary, for the efficient performance ofits functions and the method of appointment, the scale of pay and allowancesand other conditions of service of such other officers and employees of theAuthority shall be such as may be provided by the Authority by regulations.

(4) The Chairman, the Secretary and otherofficers and employees of the Authority shall not undertake any workunconnected with their duties under this Act except with the permission of theCentral Government.

8.Special provision for transfer of employees to the Authority: (1) On theestablishment of the Authority, it will be lawful for Central Government totransfer to the Authority, by order, and with effect from such date or dates asmay be specified in the order, any officer or other employee holding office assuch in the Processed Foods Export Promotion Council (hereafter in this Sectionreferred to as the Council) immediately before the date on which the Authorityis established:

Provided that the scale of pay of the postin the Authority to which such officer or other employee is transferred shallnot be lower than the scale of pay of the post he was holding immediatelybefore such transfer and the other terms and conditions of service (includingpension, leave, provident fund and medical benefits) of the post to which he istransferred shall not be less favourable than the terms and conditions ofservice in relation to the post held by him immediately before such transfer.

(2) An order under sub-section (1) may bemade so as to have retrospective effect from a date not earlier than the dateof the commencement of this Act.

(3) Before any order is issued undersub-section (1) , all officers and employees of theCouncil shall be given an option to express, in such form as may be prescribed,and within such time as maybe specified in that behalf by the CentralGovernment, their willingness or otherwise to become employees of the Authorityand such option once exercised shall be final:

Provided that no order under sub-section(1) shall be made in relation to any officer or other employees of the Councilwho has intimated his intention of not becoming an employee of the Authoritywithin the time specified in that behalf:

Provided further that such of the officersand employees of the Council who do not express, within the time specified inthat behalf, their intention of becoming the employees of the Authority, shallbe dealt with in the same manner and in accordance with the same laws andstanding orders as would have applied immediately before the commencement ofthis Act to the employees of the Council in the event of the reduction of thestrength of the officers and employees of the Council.

(4) An officer or other employeetransferred by an order made under sub-section (1) shall, on and from the dateof transfer, cease to be an employee of the Council and become an officer orother employee of the Authority with such designation as the Authority maydetermine and shall, subject to the provisions of the proviso to sub-section(1) , be governed by the regulations made by the Authority under this Act inrespect of remuneration and other conditions of service (including pension,leave, provident fund and medical benefits) and shall continue to be an officeror other employee of the Authority unless and until his employment is dulyterminated by the Authority:

Provided that till such time as theregulations referred to above governing the conditions of service of itsofficers or other employees are framed by the Authority, the relevant laws andstanding order applicable to the officers and employees of the Council shallcontinue to be applicable to them.

(5) If a question arise whether the termsand conditions of service prescribed in the regulations framed by the Authorityin respect of any mater, including remuneration, pension, leave, provident fundand medical benefits, are less favourable than those attached to the post heldby an officer or other employee immediately before his transfer to theAuthority, the decision of the Central Government in the matter shall be final.

9.Committees of the Authority: (1) The Authority may appoint such committees asmaybe necessary for the efficient discharge of its duties and performance ofits functions under this Act.

(2) The Authority shall have the power toco-opt as members of any committee appointed under sub-section (1) such numberof persons, who are not members of the Authority as it may think fit and thepersons so co-opted shall have the right to attend the meetings of thecommittee and take part in its proceedings but shall not have the right tovote.

(3) The persons co-opted as members of acommittee under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to receive such allowancesfor attending meetings of the committee as may be fixed by the CentralGovernment.

10.Functions ofthe Authority: (1) It shall be the duty of the Authority to undertake, by suchmeasures at it thinks fit, the development and promotion, under the control ofthe Central Government, of export of Scheduled products.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality ofthe provisions of sub-section (1) , the measuresreferred to therein may provide for-

(a) the development of industries relatingto the Scheduled products for export by way of providing financial assistanceor otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participation inthe equity capital through joint ventures and other reliefs and subsidyschemes;

(b) theregistration of persons as exporters of the Scheduled products on payment ofsuch fees as may be prescribed;

(c) the fixing ofstandards and specifications for the Scheduled products for the purposes ofexport;

(d) the carrying out of inspection of meatand meat products in any slaughterhouse, processing plant, storage, premises,conveyances or other places where such products are kept or handled for thepurpose of ensuring the quality of such products;

(e) the improvingof packaging of the Scheduled products;

(f) the improvingof the marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;

(g) the promotionof export oriented production and development of the Scheduled products;

(h) the collection of statistics from theowners of factories or establishments engaged in the production, processing,packaging, marketing or export of the Scheduled products or from such otherpersons as may be prescribed on any matter relating to the scheduled products;and the publication of the statistics so collected, or of any portions thereofor extracts therefrom;

(i) the trainingin various aspects of the industries connected with the Scheduled products;

(j) such othermatters as may be prescribed.

11.Power to supersede the Authority: (1) Ifthe Central Government is of the opinion that the Authority is unable toperform, or has persistently made default in the performance of, the dutyimposed on it by or under this Act or has exceeded or abused its powers or haswilfully or without sufficient cause, failed to comply with any directionissued by the Central Government under section 20, the Central Government may,by notification in the Official Gazette, supersede the Authority for suchperiod as may be specified in the notification:

Provided that before issuing a notificationunder this sub-section, the Central Government shall give reasonable time tothe Authority to show cause why it should not be superseded and shall considerthe explanation and objections, if any, of the Authority.

(2) Upon the publication of a notificationunder sub-section (1) superseding the Authority,-

(a) all themembers of the Authority shall, notwithstanding that their term of office hasnot expired as from the date of supersession, vacate their offices as suchmembers;

(b) all the powersand duties which may, by or under the provisions of this Act, be exercised orperformed by or on behalf of the Authority shall, during the period ofsupersession, be exercised and performed by such person or persons as theCentral Government may direct;

(c) all propertyvested in the Authority shall, during the period of supersession, vest in theCentral Government.

(3) On the expiration of the period ofsupersession specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1) , the Central Government may –

(a) extend theperiod of supersession for such further period as it may consider necessary; or

(b) reconstitutethe Authority in the manner provided in section 4.

CHAPTER III

REGISTRATION

12.Registration ofexporters: (1) Every person exporting any one or more of the Scheduled productsshall, before the expiration of one month from the date on which he undertakessuch export or before the expiration of three months from the date of cominginto force of this section, whichever is later, apply to the Authority to beregistered as an exporter of the Scheduled product or Scheduled products:

Provided that the Authority may, forsufficient reason, extend the time-limit for registration by such period as itthinks fit.

(2) Registration once made shall continueto be in force until it is cancelled by the Authority.

13.Application,cancellation fee payable and other matters relating to registration: The formof application for registration under section 12 and for the cancellation ofsuch registration, the fee payable on such applications, the particulars to beincluded in such applications, the procedure to be followed in granting andcancelling registration and the registers to be kept by the Authority shall besuch as may be prescribed.

14.Returns to be made by exports: (1) Everyexporter, referred to in sub-section (1) of section 12, shall furnish to theAuthority at the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner such returns asmay be prescribed.

(2) The Authority may authorise a member orany of its officers to inspect any processing plant or any other establishmentof the exporter at any time to verify the accuracy of any return made underthis section.

CHAPTER IV

FINANCE ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT

15.Grants or loans by the CentralGovernment: The Central Government may, after due appropriation made byParliament by law in this behalf, pay to the Authority by way of grants orloans such sums of money as the Central Government may think it for beingutilised for the purposes of this Act.

16.Constitution ofAgricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Fund: (1) Thereshall be formed a Fund to be called the Agricultural and Processed FoodProducts Export Development Fund and there shall be credited thereto-

(a) any sums of money which the CentralGovernment may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in thisbehalf, provide from and out of the proceeds of the cess credited under section4 of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Cess Act, 1985, afterdeducting therefrom the expenses of collection of the cess and the amount, ifany, refunded;

(b) all feeslevied and collected in respect of registration and other matters under thisAct or the rules made thereunder;

(c) any grants orloans that may be made by the Central Government for the purposes of this Actunder section 15; and

(d) any grants orloans that may be made by any State Government, voluntary organisation or otherinstitution for the purposes of this Act:

Provided that no such grant, loan ordonation shall be credited to the Fund except with the prior approval of theCentral Government.

(2) The Fund shall be applied for-

(a) meeting thecost of the measures referred to in section 10;

(b) meeting thesalaries, allowances and other remuneration of the members, officers and otheremployees, as the case may be, of the Authority;

(c) meeting theother administrative expenses of the Authority and any other expensesauthorised by or under this Act; and

(d) repayment ofany loan.

17.Borrowingpowers of the Authority: Subject to such rules as may be made in this behalf,the Authority shall have power to borrow on the security of the Agriculturaland Processed Food Products Export Development Fund or any other asset for carryingout the purposes of this Act.

18.Accounts and audit: (1) The Authorityshall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annualstatement of accounts, in such form as may be prescribed by the CentralGovernment in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

(2) The accounts of the Authority shall beaudited by the comptroller and Auditor-General of India at such intervals asmay be specified by him and any expenditure incurred in connection with suchaudit shall be payable by the Authority to the Comptroller and Auditor-General.

(3) The Comptroller and Auditor-General ofIndia and any person appointed by him in connection with the audit of theaccounts of the Authority shall have the same rights and privileges and theauthority in connection with such audit as the Comptroller and Auditor-Generalgenerally has in connection with the audit of Government accounts and, inparticular, shall have the right to demand the production of books, accounts,connected vouchers and other documents and papers and to inspect any of theoffices of the Authority.

(4) The accounts of the Authority ascertified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any other personappointed by him in this behalf together with the audit report thereon shall beforwarded annually to the Central Government and that Government shall causethe same to be laid before each House of Parliament.

CHAPTER V

CONTROL BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

19.Power to prohibit or control imports andexports of Scheduled products: (1) The Central Government may, by orderpublished in the Official Gazette, made provision for prohibiting, restrictingor otherwise controlling the import or export of the Scheduled products, eithergenerally or in specified classes of cases.

(2) All Scheduled products to which anyorder under sub-section (1) applies, shall be deemed to be goods of which theexport has been prohibited under section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of1962), and all the provisions of that Act shall have effect accordingly.

(3) If any person contravenes any ordermade under sub-section (1), he shall, without prejudice to any confiscation orpenalty to which he may be liable under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962(52 of 1962), as applied by sub-section (2) , bepunishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or withfine, or with both.

20.Directions bythe Central Government: The Authority shall carry out such directions as may beissued to it from time to time by the Central Government for the efficientadministration of this Act.

21.Returns andreports: (1) The Authority shall furnish to the Central Government at such timeand in such form and manner as may be prescribed or as the Central Governmentmay direct, such returns and statements and such particulars in regard to anyproposed or existing programme for the promotion and development of the exportof the Scheduled products, as the Central Government may, from time to time,require.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions ofsub-section (1) , the Authority shall, as soon as possible, after the end ofeach financial year, submit to the Central Government a report in such form andbefore such date, as may be prescribed, giving a true and full account of itsactivities, policy and programmes during the previous financial year.

(3) A copy of the report received undersub-section (2) shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is received, beforeeach House of Parliament.

CHAPTER VI

MISCELLANEOUS

22.Penalty formaking false reports: Any person who, being required by or under this Act tofurnish any return, fails to furnish such return or furnishes a returncontaining any particular which is false and which he knows to be false or doesnot believe to be true shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fivehundred rupees.

23.Penalties forobstructing a member or officer of the Authority in the discharge of his dutyand for failure to produce books and records: Any person who-

(a) obstructs any member authorised by theChairman in writing or any officer or other employee of the Authorityauthorised in this behalf by the Central Government or by the Authority, in theexercise of any power conferred, or in the discharge of any duty imposed on himby or under this Act; or

(b) having controlover or custody of any account book or other record fails to produce such bookor record when required to do so by or under this Act,

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to sixmonths, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.

24.Other penalties: Whoever contravenes orattempts to contravene or abets the contravention of the provisions of this Actor of any rules made thereunder other than the provisions, the punishment for thecontravention where of has been provided for in sections 19,22 and 23, shall bepunishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or withfine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both and in the case of acontinuing contravention with an additional fine which may extend to fiftyrupees for every day during which such contravention continues after convictionfor the first such contravention.

25.Offences bycompanies: (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, andwas responsible to, the company for the conduct for the business of the companyas well as the company shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall beliable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in thissub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment, if he provesthat the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised alldue diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained insub-section (1) , where an offence under this Act has been committed by acompany and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consentor connivance, of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, anydirector, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director,manager secretary, or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of thatoffence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Explanation: For the purposes of thissection, –

(a) "company"means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association ofindividuals; and

(b) "director",in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

26.Jurisdiction ofcourt: No court inferior to that of a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrateof the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.

27.Previoussanction of the Central Government: No prosecution for any offence punishableunder this Act shall be instituted except with the previous sanction of theCentral Government.

28.Protection ofaction taken in good faith: No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedingsshall lie against the Central Government, or the Authority or any committeeappointed by it, or any member of the Authority or such committee, or anyofficer or other employee of the Central Government or the Authority, or anyother person authorised by the Central Government or the Authority, foranything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act orthe rules made thereunder.

29.Power todelegate: The Central Government may, by order published in the OfficialGazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act (not being thepower to make rules under section 32) may also be exercised in such cases andsubject to such conditions, if any, as maybe specified in the order, by suchofficer or authority as may be specified therein.

30.Suspension of operation of this Act: (1)If the Central Government is satisfied that circumstances have arisen renderingit necessary that certain of the restriction imposed by this Act should ceaseto be imposed or if it considers necessary or expedient so to do in the publicinterest, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, suspend or relax tosuch extent and either indefinitely or for such period as may be specified inthe notification, the operation of all any of the provisions of this Act.

(2) Where the operation of any provision ofthis Act has under sub-section (1) been suspended or relaxed indefinitely, suchsuspension or relaxation may, at anytime while this Act remains in force, beremoved by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette.

31.Application ofother laws not barred: The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to andnot in derogation of the provisions of any other law for the time being inforce.

32.Power to makerules: (1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice tothe generality of the fore going power, such rules may provide for all or anyof the following matters, namely:-

(a) the term of office of the members[other than the member referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section4], the manner of filling vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed inthe discharge of their functions by the members, under sub-section (5) ofsection 4;

(b) the powerswhich may be exercised and the duties which may be performed by the Chairman asthe chief executive of the Authority under section 6;

(c) the powerswhich may be exercised and the duties which shall be performed by the Secretaryof the Authority under sub-section (1) of section 7;

(d) the controland restrictions subject to which other officers and employees may be appointedby the Authority under sub-section (3) of section 7;

(e) the form inwhich and the time within which option may be given by the officers and employeesof the Processed Foods Export Promotion Council under sub-section (3) ofsection 8;

(f) payment offees for the registration of exporters of Scheduled products under clause (b)of sub-section (2) of section 10;

(g) persons otherthan the owners from whom the collection of statistics in respect of any matterrelating to Scheduled products may be made under clause (h) of sub-section (2)of section 10;

(h) the additionalmatters in respect of which the Authority may undertake measures in the dischargeof its functions under clause (j) of sub-section (2) of section 10;

(i) the form and the manner application forregistration and for cancellation of registration, the fee payable on suchapplication and the procedure to be followed in granting and cancellingregistration and the conditions governing such registration, under section 13;

(j) the time atwhich and the manner in which and exporter shall furnish returns to theAuthority under sub-section (1) of section 14;

(k) the form inwhich the accounts of the Authority shall be maintained under sub-section (1)of section 18;

(l) the form andmanner in which and the time at which the Authority shall furnish returns andstatements to the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 21;

(m) the form inwhich and the date before which the Authority shall furnish to the CentralGovernment the report of its activities and programme under sub-section (2) ofsection 21;

(n) any othermater which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.

33.Power to makeregulations: (1) The Authority may, with the previous sanction of the CentralGovernment, by notification in the Official Gazette, make regulations notinconsistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder, toprovide for all matters, for which provision is necessary or expedient for thepurposes of giving effect tot he provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice tothe generality of the foregoing powers, such regulations may provide for all orany of the following matters, namely:-

(a) the times, andplaces at which meetings of the Authority or any committee thereof, shall beheld and the procedure to be followed threat and the number of members whichshall form a quorum at a meeting under sub-section (8) of section 4;

(b) the method ofappointment the conditions of service and the scales of pay and allowances ofany of the officers and other employees of the Authority under sub-section (3)of section 7;

(c) generally, forthe efficient conduct of the affairs of the Authority.

(3) The Central Government may, bynotification in the Official Gazette, modify or rescind any regulationsanctioned by it and the regulation so modified or rescinded shall have effectonly in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however,that any such modification or rescission shall be without prejudice to thevalidity of anything done under the regulation before its modification orrescission.

34.Rules and regulations to be laid beforeParliament: Every rule and every regulation made under this Act shall be laid,as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while itis in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in onesession or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of thesession immediately following the session or the successive session aforesaid,both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation, as thecase may be, or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation, as the case maybe, should not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter have effectonly in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however,that any such modification previously done under that rule or regulation.

THE SCHEDULE

[See section 2(i)]

1. Fruits,vegetables and their products.

2. Meatand meat products.

3. Poultryand poultry products.

4. Dairyproducts.

5. Confectionery,biscuits and bakery products.

6. Honey,jaggery and sugar products.

7. Cocoaand its products, chocolates of all kinds.

8. Alcoholicand non-alcoholic beverages.

9. Cerealproducts.

10. Cashewnuts,groundnuts, peanuts and walnuts.

11. Pickles,chutneys and papads.

12. GuarGum.

13. Floricultureand floriculture products

14. Herbaland medical plants.