The Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess Act, 2000

                                        
The Goa Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess Act, 2000
(Goa Act 29 of 2000) [28-9-2000]
AN
ACT
to provide additional resources for improvement of infrastructure and health with a view
to promote the welfare of people residing in the rural areas affected by the use of
plastics, dumping of garbage and spillage of materials.
Whereas  it  is  expedient  to  provide  additional  resources  for  improvement  of
infrastructure and health with a view to promote the welfare of people residing in the
rural areas affected by the use of plastics, dumping of garbage and spillage of materials.
Be  it  enacted  by  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  Goa  in  the  Fifty-first  Year  of  the
Republic of India as follows:—
1. Short title, extent and commencement.— (1) This Act may be called the Goa 
Rural Improvement and Welfare Cess Act, 2000.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Goa.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the 
Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.— In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “carrier” means any mode or conveyance of facility by which material is 
transported from one place to another by mechanical device;
(b) “Government” means the Government of Goa;
(c) “inspecting authority” means an officer appointed by the Government under 
section 6 of this Act;
(d) “material” means the material specified in Schedule I;
(e) “owner” means any person who is the immediate proprietor of items enlisted in 
Schedule I;
(f) “Plastic” means compounds of hydrocarbons that are non-biodegradable and
includes  Polypropelene,  Polyvinychloride,  Polyethylene,  Nylon  and  other  plastic
goods, such as, P.V.C., Polystyrene which are not capable of being destroyed by action
of living beings;
(g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(h) “Schedule I” means Schedule I appended to this Act;
(i) “Welfare Administrator” means an officer appointed by the Government under 
section 6 of this Act.
3. Levy and collection of cess.— (1) With effect from such date as the Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, there shall be levied and collected
from the owner a cess on all carrier transporting material and at such rates as specified in
Schedule I, for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Government may, from time to time, by notification in the Official Gazette, 
revise the items and the rates of cess by amending Schedule I.
4. Application of proceeds of cess.— An amount equivalent to the proceeds of cess
levied under this Act, reduced by the cost of collection as determined by the Government
in the prescribed manner together with any income from investment of the said amount
and any other moneys received by the Government for the purposes of this Act shall, after
due appropriation made by the State Legislature by law, be utilized by the Government to
meet the expenditure incurred in connection with measures which, in the opinion of the
Government, are necessary or expedient to promote the welfare of the people residing in
the rural areas affected by the movement of carriers transporting material on public roads
or dumping of garbage or use of plastics and in particular:—
(a) to defray the cost of measures taken for the benefit of the villagers affected by
the transportation of material on public roads, as well as, dumping of garbage, material
and plastics;
(b) for improvement of public health, the prevention of disease and the provision for
improvement of medical facilities;
(c) for provision and improvement of water supply;
(d) for improvement of public roads and the erection of tree barriers for arresting the
dust levels;
(e) to meet the allowances, if any, of the members of the Advisory Committee
constituted under section 5 of this Act and the salaries and allowances, if any, of the
officers appointed under section 6.
5. Advisory  Committee.—  (1)  The  Government  may  constitute  an  Advisory
Committee as it thinks fit to advise the Government on such matters arising out of the
administration of this Act as may be referred to it by the Government including matters 
relating to the amount of cess referred to in section 3.
(2) The Advisory Committee shall consist of such number of persons and chosen in 
such manner as may be prescribed:
Provided that the Advisory Committee shall include an equal number of members 
representing the Government, the owner of carrier and representatives of Zilla Panchayat.
(3) The Government shall appoint the Chairman of the Advisory Committee.
(4) The term of office of the members of the Advisory Committee, the allowances, if
any payable to them, and the manner in which the Advisory Committee shall conduct its
business shall be such as may be prescribed.
(5) The Government shall publish in the Official Gazette the names of all members of 
the Advisory Committee.
6. Appointment  of  Inspecting  Authority,  Welfare  Administrator  and  their
powers.—  (1)  The  Government  may  appoint  Inspecting  Authority,  Welfare
Administrator and such other officers and staff as it thinks necessary for the purposes of
this Act.
(2) Every person so appointed shall be deemed to be a public servant, within the 
meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
(3) Any Inspecting Authority or Welfare Administrator may—
(a) with such assistance, if any, as it thinks fit enter at any reasonable time, any 
place which he considers it necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act; and
(b) do within such place anything necessary for the proper discharge of his duties.
7.  Publication  of  annual  report  of  activities  financed  under  the  Act.— The
Government shall, as soon as may be, after the end of each financial year, cause to be
published in the Official Gazette a report giving an account of the activities financed
under this Act during the previous financial year, together with a statement of accounts.
8. Power to make rules.— (1) The Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying into
effect the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such 
rules may provide for:—
(a) the assessment and collection of cess levied under this Act;
(b) the period within which the cess shall be payable to the Government;
(c) the determination of the cost of collection of the cess;
(d) the manner in which the amount of cess and other moneys, if any, may be 
applied on the measures specified in section 4;
(e) the composition of the Advisory Committee constituted under section 5, the
manner in which the members thereof shall be chosen, the term of office of such
members,  the  allowances,  if  any,  payable  to  them  and  the  manner  in  which  the
Advisory Committee shall conduct its business;
(f) the furnishing by the owner of the carrier of statistical and other information.
9. Penalties.— Whoever fails to pay the cess levied under the provisions of section 3
within the prescribed period shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to two years or with fine, which may extend to twenty five thousand rupees or
with both.
10. Cognizance  of  offences.—  No  Court  shall  take  cognizance  of  any  offence
punishable under this Act or any rules made thereunder except upon complaint in writing
made by a person authorised in this behalf by the Government.
11. Offences by Companies.— (1) If the person committing an offence under this Act
or any rules made thereunder is 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, 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, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or
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  with  the  consent  or  connivance  or  any  director,  manager,
secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other
officer shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded
against and punished accordingly.
Explanation:— For the purposes of this section,—
(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of
individuals;
(b) “director” in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.
12. Compounding of offences.— (1) Any offence punishable under this Act or any
rule made thereunder may, either before or after the institution of the prosecution, be
compounded by the person authorised under section 10 to make a complaint to the court
with respect to that offence, on payment to that person, for credit to the Government of
such sum as that person may specify not exceeding rupees twenty thousand.
(2) Where an offence is compounded under sub-section (1), no proceeding or further
proceeding, as the case may be, shall be taken against the offender in respect of the
offence so compounded.
13. Recovery of certain sums as arrears of land revenue.—  Any sum due to the
Government under this Act or the rules made thereunder may, on a certificate of such
officer as may be specified by the Government in this behalf by general or special order,
be recovered in the same manner as an arrear of land revenue.
14. Rules and notifications to be laid before State Legislature.— Every rule made
and every notification issued by the Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as
may be after it is made or issued, as the case may be, before the State Legislature.
15. Power to revise.—  The Government may, of its own motion or on application
made within the prescribed time by an aggrieved party, revise any order made by the
Welfare Administrator or other authority/officer in exercise of the powers conferred on it
under this Act.
16. Power to remove difficulties.—  If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the
provisions of this Act, the Government may, by notification published in the Official
Gazette,  as  occasion  requires,  do  anything,  which  appears  to  it  to  be  necessary  for
removing the difficulty.
SCHEDULE - I
(See section 3)
Material Rate
1. Iron ore where royalty is paid to Government 1[Nil]
2. Manganese ore where royalty is paid to Government 2[Nil]
3. Bauxite ore where royalty is paid to Government 3[Nil]
4. Iron ore where royalty is not paid to Government 4[Rs. 50/- per metric ton]
5. Manganese ore where royalty is not paid to Government 5[Rs. 50/- per metric ton]
6. Bauxite ore where royalty is not paid to Government 6[Rs. 50/- per metric ton]
7[7.Coal Rs. 50/- per metric ton
8[8. Coke Rs.50/- per metric ton;
9. (a)Sand 9[Rs. 50/- per metric ton]10[(b) Sand where royalty is not paid to the Government Rs.10/- per Cubic meter]
10. Murrum Rs. 2/- per cubic meter
11. Debris other than local self Government Authority debris Rs. 2/- per cubic meter
12. Garbage other than local self Government Authority Garbage Rs. 2/- per cubic meter11[13. Packaged water supplied in plastic bottles or sachet made up Rs. 0.50 per litre.]
of plastic, sold for human consumption
12[13-A  Inflammable  and  hazardous  materials  other  than  those Rs.250/- per Metric ton]
listed hereunder :-
(i) Petrol, diesel and Light Diesel Oil.
(ii) Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
(iii) Nafta and Furnace Oil.
(iv) Kerosene sold through PDS.
(v) Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for domestic and commercial
use.
(vi) Waste and Pollutant gases including Argon gas.
(vii) Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid and Sulphuric Acid and other raw
material used in the manufacture of Chemical Fertilizers.
(viii)MS Scrap, MS Ingots, Sponge and Pig Iron.
(ix) Mineral ore used in the manufacture of Sponge Iron and Pig
Iron and MS ingots
13[(x) Paints and paints related material.;
(xi) Carbon Dioxide – liquid/solid/gas.]
14. Any other items as notified by Government from time to time.
Rs.  2/-  per  ton/cubic
meter/per  package,  as
specified  by  the
Government.
Secretariat Annexe, R. RaghuRaman,
Panaji, Secretary to the Government of Goa,
Dated : 16-10-2000. Law Department (Legal Affairs).
____________________________________
1Substituted vide Notification No. D.Tpt/EST/2397/2016/1202 dated 6-4-2016 published in the Official Gazette Series-I
No. 1 dated 7-4-2016
2Substituted vide Notification No. D.Tpt/EST/2397/2016/1202 dated 6-4-2016 published in the Official Gazette Series-I
No. 1 dated 7-4-2016
3Substituted vide Notification No. D.Tpt/EST/2397/2016/1202 dated 6-4-2016 published in the Official Gazette Series-I
No. 1 dated 7-4-2016
4Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 13-5-2008 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No.6
(Extraordinary) dated 13-5-2008
5Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 13-5-2008 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No.6
(Extraordinary) dated 13-5-2008
6Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 13-5-2008 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No.6
(Extraordinary) dated 13-5-2008
7Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008/3823 dated 29-10-2014 published in the Official Gazette Series –I
No. 31 dated 30-10-2014, thereafter vide Notification dt. 1-2-2011 published in the Official Gazette Series-I N. 45 dated 3-
2-2011 and came  into  force  from  the  date  of publication in  official  Gazette. Thereafter again vide  Notification  No.
5/4/2000-Tpt/2008/3823 dated 29-10-2014 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No. 31 dated 30-10-2014 present entry
substituted.
8Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008/3823 dated 29-10-2014 published in the Official Gazette Series –I
No. 31 dated 30-10-2014 thereafter vide Notification dt. 1-2-2011 published in the Official Gazette Series-I N. 45 dated 3-
2-2011 and came  into force  from the  date of publication in official Gazette. Thereafter again vide Notification No.
5/4/2000-Tpt/2008/3823 dated 29-10-2014 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No. 31 dated 30-10-2014 present
entry substituted.
9Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 13-5-2008 published in the Official Gazette Series-I No.6
(Extraordinary) dated 13-5-2008
10Substituted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 12-6-2008
11Substituted  vide  Notification  No.  CCT/12-10/2009-2010/2015/3768  dated  20-11-2015  published  in  the  Official
Gazette Series-I No. 35 dated 26-11-2015
12Inserted vide Notification No. 5/4/2000-Tpt/2008 dated 1-9-2009 published in the Official Gazette Series –I No. 22
(Extraordinary-2) dated 1-9-2009 and substituted vide Notification dated 28-1-2010 published in Official Gazette Series-I
No. 48 dated 25-2-2010 and come into force from the date of publication.
13Inserted vide Notification dt. 1-2-2011 published in the Official Gazette Series-I N. 45 dated 3-2-2011 and came into
force from the date of publication in official Gazette.

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