LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday promulgated the Punjab Sugar Factories (Control) (amendment) Ordinance 2020 making default into payment of cane purchase as a cognizable and non-bailable offence to ensure payments to the cane growers in a timely and transparent manner and to make provisions for the ancillary matters.
Violators of this ordinance may also face up to three years imprisonment or a maximum of 5 million rupees fine. The preamble of the ordinance claims that it is necessary to amend the Sugar Factories (Control) Act, 1950, to ensure payments to the cane growers in a timely and transparent manner and to make provisions for the ancillary matters.
The Ordinance said: "Cane Purchase Receipt (CPR)" means receipt of cane purchased by an occupier of a factory or a purchasing agent mentioning weight and price for cane purchased from a person who cultivates cane either by himself or by members of his family or by hired labour and who is not a member of a cane-growers cooperative society".
The Ordinance amending the section 13 said that an occupier of a factory shall purchase cane from a cane-grower or a cane-grower's cooperative society, as the case may be, against Cane Purchase Receipt (CPR) at the rate notified under section 16 of the Act, and shall make payment to the Cane-grower through a bank directly into the bank account of the Cane-grower.
Section 13-A of the ordinance defining powers of cane commissioner says that the Cane Commissioner shall determine liability of the occupier of a factory for payment of cane price to a cane-grower where a cane-grower applies for the same. When the Cane Commissioner makes a determination under subsection (1) and the amount so determined is not paid within the stipulated time period, the amount shall be recoverable as arrears of land revenue under the Punjab Land Revenue Act, 1967 (XVII of 1967).
An amount recoverable as arrears of land revenue under subsection (2) shall be recovered by the Additional Cane Commissioner of the concerned district from the occupier of a factory and the recovered amount shall be paid to the cane-grower in question.
Amendment of section 14 of Act XXII of 1950 says that the occupier of a factory shall purchase Cane from a Cane-grower or a Cane-growers' Co-operative Society or a Purchasing agent, duly authorised by the Cane Commissioner, and shall issue Cane Purchase Receipt (CPR) to the Cane-grower or the Cane- growers' Co-operative Society, as the case may be: provided that the Purchasing agent nominated by the Occupier of a factory shall also issue Cane Purchase Receipt (CPR).
If the occupier of a factory enters into an agreement with a Purchasing agent for purchase of Cane, the Purchasing agent shall issue Cane Purchase Receipt (CPR) of the sugar factory for purchase of Cane from Cane-grower and shall be liable to pay to the Cane-grower for the Cane purchased from him through a bank as may be prescribed.
Amendment in section says that any person contravening the provisions of this Act or any order or rule made there under shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five million rupees per day but shall not be less than one million rupees per day or with both: provided that the fine shall not be less than five million rupees per day in case of a repeated offence. The ordinance has also made the offence of default in payment as cognizable and non-bailable offence.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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