The Andhra Pradesh Cotton Seeds (Regulation of Supply, Distribution, Sale and Fixation of Sale Price) Act, 2007

THE ANDHRA PRADESH COTTON SEEDS (REGULATION OF SUPPLY,
DISTRIBUTION, SALE AND FIXATION OF SALE PRICE) ACT, 2007
(ACT No. 29 OF 2007)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTIONS
1. Short title and commencement
2. Definitions
3. Appointment of Controller
4. Powers of Controller
5. Functions of Controller
6. State Seed Testing Laboratory
7. Compensation to farmer
8. Seed Inspector
9. Seed Analyst
10. Report of Seed Analyst
11. Direction to price fixing
12. Penalties
13. Offences by companies
14. Cognizance of offences
15. Protection of action taken in good faith
16. Appeal
17. Forfeiture of property
18. Power to give directions
19. Exemption
20. Power to make rules
21. Guidelines for interpretation of Act
22. Repeal of Ordinance No. 4 of 2007
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Salient features of Act
THE ANDHRA PRADESH COTTON SEEDS (REGULATION OF SUPPLY,
DISTRIBUTION, SALE AND FIXATION OF SALE PRICE) ACT, 2007
(ACT No. 29 OF 2007)
[16th August, 2007]
AN ACT TO REGULATE THE SUPPLY, DISTRIBUTION SALE AND FIXATION
OF SALE PRICE OF COTTON SEEDS AND FOR THE MATTERS
CONNECTED THEREWITH OR INCIDENTAL THERETO.
Whereas, cotton seeds of certain varieties are not notified under Section
5 and consequently no sale of such seeds are regulated under Section 7 of the
Seeds Act, 1966;
And whereas, cotton seed is not an essential commodity within the
meaning of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 as amended by the Essential
Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2006;
And whereas, the provisions of the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983 issued
under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 are not applicable in
so far as they relate to the cotton seeds w.e.f. 12-2-2007;
And whereas, there is no provision in the Environmental Protection Act,
1986 to regulate the supply, distribution and sale of transgenic and genetically
modified cotton seed and to control the sale price of such cotton seed in the
State;
And whereas, the traders in cotton seed including transgenic cottonseed
are exploiting poor farmers by collecting exorbitant prices;
And whereas, there is no provision to regulate, the supply distribution,
sale of cotton seeds and to control the sale prices of such cotton seeds in the
State;
And whereas, it has become imperative on the part of the State to
regulate the supply, distribution and sale of cotton seeds by fixing the sale
price in the interests of the farmers in the State;
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Andhra Pradesh in the
Fifty-eighth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-
1. Short title and commencement - (1) This Act may be called the Andhra
Pradesh Cotton Seeds (Regulation of Supply, Distribution, Sale and Fixation of
Sale Price) Act, 2007.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on and from the 28th June,
2007.
2. Definitions- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(1)"Agronomic Performance" means distinguishable agronomic
qualitative and quantitative characteristics of any cotton seed variety
considered for evaluation of performance as claimed by the producer on label;
(2)"Controller" means the Cotton Seed Controller appointed by the
Government under Section 3.
(3)"Cotton Seed" means cotton seed of any variety and includes
transgenic and genetically modified cotton seed varieties used for sowing;
(4)"Farmer" means any person who raises cotton crops either by
cultivating the land by himself or through any other person but shall not
include persons companies, traders, dealers who engage in the commercial
procurement and sale of seeds;
(5)"Government" means the State Government;
(6)"Misbranded" the seed shall be deemed to be misbranded,-
(i) if it is a substitute for or resembles in a manner likely to
deceive, another variety of seed under the name of which it is
sold and is not plainly and conspicuously labelled so as to
indicate its true nature;
(ii) if it is falsely stated to be the produce of any place or
Country;
(iii) if it is sold by a name which belongs to another kind or
variety of seed;
(iv) if false claims are made for it upon the label or otherwise;
(v) if, when sold in a package which has been sealed or prepared
by or at the instance, of the dealer and which bears his name
and address, the contents of each package are not conspicuously
and correctly stated on the outside thereof within the limits of
variability prescribed under this Act;
(vi) if the package containing it or the label on the package bears
any statement, design or device regarding the quality of cotton
seed contained therein, which is false or misleading in any
material particular or if the package is otherwise deceptive with
respect of its contents;
(vii) if it is not registered in the manner required by or under this
Act; or
(viii) if its label does not contain a warning or caution which may
be necessary and sufficient, if complied with, to prevent risk to
human beings or animals; or
(ix) if the package containing it or the label on the package bears
the name of a fictitious individual or company as the dealer of
the kind or variety; or
(x) if it is not labelled in accordance with the requirements of this
Act or rules made there under;
(7)"Notification" means a notification published in the Andhra Pradesh
Gazette and the word 'notified' shall be construed accordingly;
(8)"Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(9)"Producer" means a person, group of persons, firm or company or
organisation who grows or organizes the production of cotton seed;
(10)"Spurious seed" means that which is not genuine or true to its type;
(11)"State" means the State of Andhra Pradesh;
(12)"State Referral Seed Testing Laboratory" means a laboratory
established or declared as notified by the State;
(13)"Substandard" means cotton seed which does not meet the
prescribed seed standards for the cotton seed;
(14)"Transgenic variety" means seed or planting material synthesized or
developed by modifying or altering the genetic composition by means of genetic
engineering;
(15)"Variety" means a plant grouping except micro organism within a
single botanical tax on of the lowest known rank, which can be,-
(i) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting from
a given genotype of that plant grouping;
(ii) distinguished from any other plant grouping by expression of
atleast one of the said characteristics; and
(iii) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for being
propagated, which remains unchanged after such propagation
and includes propagating material of such variety, extant
variety, transgenic variety, farmers' variety and essentially
derived variety.
(16) The words and expressions used in this Act but not defined shall
have the same meaning assigned to them in the Seeds Act, 1966, the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955, the Seeds Control Order, 1983, issued thereunder and
the Environmental Protection Act, 1986.
3. Appointment of Controller - The State Government may, by notification
appoint any authority dealing with the subject to be the Cotton Seeds
Controller, for the State.
4. Powers of Controller - (1) Subject to the control of the State Government,
the controller, so far as it appears to him to be necessary or expedient for
regulating, maintaining or increasing the supply or distribution or sale of
Cotton Seeds, may, by order in writing.
(a) require any person holding stock of cotton seed to sell the
whole or specified part thereof at such prices as may be fixed by
the Government from time to time and to such persons in such
circumstances as may be specified in the order.
(b) require any person engaged in the supply, distribution and
sale of Cotton Seeds to comply with such directions as may be
specified in the order as to the variety, quality or quantity of the
Cotton Seeds to be sold or delivered by him from time to time.
(2) Any person to whom an order is issued under sub-section (1) shall
comply with such order, notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith
contained in any contract or other instrument to which he is a party.
5. Functions of Controller - (1) The Controller appointed under this Act shall
perform the following functions-
(a) mandatory registration of cotton seed firms which are
engaged in trade of cotton seed duly indicating the production
aspects and areas of operation etc.,
(b) Payment of compensation to the farmers;
(2) The Controller shall advice the State Government on matters relating
to,-
(i) regulations of sale of cotton seed by way of compulsory DNA
finger printing test or genetic purity test; and
(ii) such other matters as assigned by the Government.
6. State Seed Testing Laboratory- The Government may in consultation with
Controller and by notification,-
(a) establish one or more State Seed Testing Laboratories or
declare any seed testing laboratory in the Government or non-
Government sector as a State Seed Testing Laboratory where
analysis of cotton seed shall be carried out under this Act in the
prescribed manner;
(b) Recognizes one or more seed testing laboratories as referral
seed testing laboratories for the purpose of referral analysis in
the manner prescribed.
7. Compensation to farmer - (1) The producer or distributor or vendor of
cotton seeds or whose address appears on the label shall as the case may be
disclose the expected performance of such seed, under given condition to the
Controller and if such seed fails to provide the expected performance under
such given conditions the Government or farmer may claim compensation in
such manner as may be prescribed. In respect of transgenic seed all the
conditions that are imposed by Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, has
to be complied.
2) In case the claim of expected performance found factitious, the
possessor of such cotton seed shall be responsible for payment of all such
claims related to agronomic performance as specified in sub-section (1);
(3) The compensation payable under sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be
assessed and fixed by the Committee appointed for each agro-climatic zone
separately, consisting of crop experts and representatives of the Government as
may be notified.
8. Seed Inspector - (1) The Government may, by notification, appoint such
persons as it thinks fit, to be Seed Inspector and specify the areas within which
he shall exercise jurisdiction.
(2) The Seed Inspector, if he has information that any person dealing in
trade of Cotton Seed, has contravened any of the conditions issued by the
Controller, or suspecting the quality of the Cotton Seed or any person about to
commit offence in respect of Cotton Seed, he shall enter, search of any
premises and draw samples and detain or seize the stock of Cotton Seed and
records and after receiving the reports of Seed Analyst, shall take all further
action as specified in the Act.
(3) Every Seed Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within
the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and shall be officially
subordinate to such authority as the Government may specify in this behalf.
9. Seed Analyst - The Government may, by notification, appoint such person
as it thinks fit, to be the Seed Analyst and specify the areas within which he
shall exercise his jurisdiction.
10. Report of Seed Analyst - (1) The Seed Analyst shall, as soon as may be
after the receipt of the sample from the Seed Inspector, analyze the sample at
the State Seed Laboratory and furnish a report on the result of the analysis to
the Seed Inspector.
(2) The Laboratory to which a sample has been sent by a Seed Inspector
for analysis shall send the analysis report to the concerned Seed Inspector
within thirty days from the date of receipt of the sample to the laboratory.
(3) The Seed Inspector may, on the basis of the report of the Seed Analyst
under sub-section (1) institute proceedings for the prosecution of the producer
or vendor, as the case may be of the said seed.
(4) After institution of Prosecution under this Act, the accused vendor or
the complainant may as the case may be on payment of the prescribed fee,
make an application to the court for seeding any of the sample retained with
seed inspector or vendor as per discretion of Magistrate to any of the referral
Laboratory as may be prescribed under Section 6 of the Act, for its report, the
court shall first ascertain the mark or seal or fastening as prescribed or intact.
On receipt of the application, the Court may dispatch the sample under its own
seal to any of the referral Laboratory specified for the purpose, which shall
there upon send its report to the Court in the prescribed form, specifying the
result of the analysis within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of
sample.
(5) The report sent by the referral laboratory under sub-section (4) shall
supercede the report given by the Seed Analyst under sub-section (1).
(6) The report sent by the referral Laboratory under sub-section (3) is
produced in any proceedings, it shall not be necessary to produce any such
proceedings of any sample or part thereof taken for analysis.
11. Direction to price fixing - The Government after taking into consideration
of costs of production etc., including trait value wherever necessary obtained
from various agencies concerned, may fix maximum sale price from time to
time of all types of cotton seed every year.
12. Penalties - (1) If any person contravenes any order issued to him by the
Controller under Section 4, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to rupees
five thousand or with both.
(2) If any person commits any act of misbranding, sale of spurious and
substandard seed shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to three years or with fine which may extend to rupees Five thousand or
with both.
13. Offences by companies - If the person contravening any order issued by
the Controller under Section 4 is a company or other body corporate, every
Director, Manager, Secretary or other officer or agent thereof shall, unless he
proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge or that he
exercised all due diligence to prevent such contravention, be deemed to be
guilty of such contravention.
14. Cognizance of offences- No court shall take cognizance of any offence
punishable under this Act except on a report in writing of the facts constituting
such offence made by the Controller or any other authority authorized by him.
15. Protection of action taken in good faith - (1) No suit, prosecution or
other legal proceedings shall lie against any person (including the Controller)
for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of
any order issued under Section 4.
(2) No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the State
Government, the Controller or any other person, in-respect of any damage
caused or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or
intended to be done in pursuance of any order issued under Section 4.
16. Appeal - (1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Controller under
Section 4 or Section 5 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 appellant was
prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.
(2) On receipt of an appeal under subsection (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.
17. Forfeiture of property - When any person has been convicted under this
Act for the contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made
thereunder, the cotton seed in respect of which the contravention has been
committed may be forfeited to the Government.
18. Power to give directions - The Government may give such directions as
may appear to it to be necessary for carrying into execution in the State any of
the provisions of this Act or of any rule made thereunder.
19. Exemption - Nothing in this Act shall apply to any cotton seed grown by a
farmer and sold or delivered by him on his own premises directly to another
farmer for being used by that farmer for the purpose of sowing.
20. Power to make rules - (1) The Government may by notification in the
Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act shall immediately after it is made, be
laid before each House of the State Legislature, if it is in session and if it is not
in session in the session immediately following, for a total period of fourteen
days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions and
if, before the expiration 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 in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall, from the date on which the
modification or annulment is notified in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, have
effect only in such modified form or shall stand annulled, as the case may be,
so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of any thing previously done under that rule.
21. Guidelines for interpretation of Act - The explanatory statement to this
Act shall constitute the guidelines for the interpretation and implementation of
this Act.
22. Repeal of Ordinance No. 4 of 2007 - The Andhra Pradesh Cotton Seeds
(Regulation of Supply, Distribution, Sale and Fixation of Sale Price) Ordinance,
2007 is hereby repealed.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
The provisions of the Seeds Act, 1966 (Central Act 54 of 66) in its
application to the State of Andhra Pradesh regulate the quality of seed in
respect of notified varieties. For the past few years, in view of substantial
change of pattern of agriculture particularly in usage of seed, the said
provisions are found to be inadequate for enforcement in respect of quality of
cotton seed and regulation of trade of non-notified cotton varieties, research
hybrid varieties etc., as a result the entire economy of farmers is affected.
By the recent amendment of Essential Commodities Act, 1955, cotton
seed is deleted from the Schedule of the Act. The Environmental Protection Act,
1986, the rules, 1986 and the Rules for Manufacture, Use/Import/Export and
Storage of Hazardous Micro Organisms/Genetically Engineered Organism or
Cells, 1989 deals with only biosafety aspects of transgenic cotton seed. The
traders who are dealing in cotton seed including transgenic cottons seed have
been resorting to dubious methods and exploitation of poor farmers,
particularly in respect of scarce type of cotton seed, causing unjustified burden
towards seed cost which is essential and vital input in the process of
agriculture, which lead the several farmers into debt trap and some times
leading to suicides also. The multinational companies are taking undue
advantage of their monopoly in respect of scarce type of cotton seed.
Article 39(b) of the Constitution of India enjoins the State to make
suitable statutory prescriptions, so as to make available the commodities
essential to the citizens at fair price. Therefore, in the interest of farming
fraternity and to have free flow of supply, equi-distribution and price of all
kinds of cotton seed including transgenic cotton seeds and to protect the
farmers economy, it is expedient and necessary that there is every need to
bring a Cotton Seed Regulation law in consonance with National Seed Policy,
2002.
Salient features of Act:
To constitute and appoint a controller at the State level.
To notify the seed testing laboratories;
To curtail the supply of spurious or inferior quality of seed.
To evolve an effective regulatory system which will enable effective quality
assurance, supply, distribution and at fair price.
To provide punishments in the event of violations of the provisions of the Act.
The provide adequate mechanism to pay compensation to the farmers in the
event of supply of inferior quality of cotton seed.
To bring regulatory mechanism for regulation of trade of transgenic and
genetically modified varieties by way of compulsory DNA Finger printing tests
or genetic purity test. Mandatory registration of all types of cotton seed
produced in the State or imported to the State.

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