The West Bengal Drugs ( Control ) Act, 1950

West Bon. 
Ord. VIII 
of 1949. 
XXIII of 
1940. 
West Bengal Act XXXVI of 1950 
THE WEST BENGAL DRUGS (CONTROL) ACT, 1950. 
[Passed by the West Bengal Legislature.] 
[Assent of the President was first published in the Calcutta Gazette, 
of the 4th May, 1950.] 
An Act to provide for the control of the sale, supply and 
distribution of drugs. 
WnER-EAs it is expedient to provide for the control of the 
sale, supply and distribution of drugs; 
It is hereby enacted as follows ;- 
1. (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Drugs Short 
(Control) Act, 1950. 	 title, 
(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal. 	 extent 
and corn- 
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force imme- mene°-  
1949, ceasing to operate. 	
ment. diately on the West Bengal Drugs (Control) Ordinance, 
2. (1) In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant 
in the subject or context,— 
(a) "dealer" means a person carrying on, either 
personally or through any other person, the busi-
ness of selling any drugs, whether wholesale or 
retail ; 
(b) "drug;' means any drug, as defined in clause (b) of 
section 3 of the Drugs Act, 1940, in respect of 
which a declaration has been made under section 
3; 
(c) "offer for sale" includes a reference to an intimation 
by a person of the price proposed by him for a 
sale of any drug, made by the publication of a 
price list, by exposing the drug for sale in 
association with a mark indicating price, by the 
furnishing of a quotation or otherwise howsoever; 
(d) "producer" includes a manufacturer. 
(2) A drug shall be deemed to be in the possession of a 
person— 
(i) when it is held on behalf of that person by another 
person; 
(ii) notwithstanding that it is mortgaged to another 
person. 
3. The State Governmentmay, by notification in Drugs to 
the Official Gazette, declare any drug to be a drug to which which this 
this Act shall apply. 	 Act 
applies. 
4. (1) The State Government may, by notification in Fixing of 
the Official Gazette, fix in respect of any drug— 	 maximum 
prices and 
(a) the maximum price or rate which may be charged maximum 
by a dealer or producer ; 	 quantities 
which 
(b) the maximum quantity which may at any one time may be 
be possessed by a dealer or producer; 	 held or 
sold. 
Inter- 
preta- 
tion. 
Duty to 
declare 
posses-
sion of 
excess 
stocks. 
Refusal 
to sell. 
Cash me-
moran-
dum to be 
given of 
certain 
sales. 
1111111W 
Restric-
tions on 
sale, etc., 
where 
maximum 
is fixed 
under 
section 4. 
2 	
The West Bengal Drugs (Control) Act, 1950. 
[West Sen. Act 
.(Sections 5-9.) 
(a) the maximum quantity which may in any one trans-
action be sold to any person. 
(2) The prices or rates and the quantities fixed in respect 
of any drug under this section may be different in different 
localities or for different classes of dealers or producers. 
5. No dealer or producer shall— 
(a) sell, agree to sell, offer for sale or otherwise dispose 
of to any person any drug for a price or at a rate 
exceeding the maximum fixed by notification 
under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4; 
(b) have in his possession at any one time a quantity of 
any drug exceeding the maximum fixed by 
notification under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of 
section 4; or 
(c) sell, agree to sell or offer for sale to any person in 
any one transaction a quantity of any article 
exceeding the maximum fixed by notification 
under clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 4. 
General 	 6. (1) No person shall have in his possession at any one 
limitation time a greater quantity of any drug to which this section on quan- applies than the quantity necessary for his reasonable needs. tity which 
may be 	 (2) This section shall apply only to such drugs as the possessed State Government may, by order published in the at one 	 Official Gazette, specify for the purpose : time. 
Provided that nothing contained in this section shall 
apply to a dealer or producer in respect of any drug sold or 
produced by him. 
7. Any person having in his possession a quantity of any 
drug exceeding that permitted by or under this Act shall 
forthwith report the fact to the State Government or 
other officer empowered in this behalf by the State 
Government, and shall take such action as to the storage, 
distribution or disposal of the excess quantity as the State 
Government may direct. 
8. No dealer or producer shall, unless previously 
authorised to do so by the State Government, without 
sufficient cause refuse to sell to any person any drug within 
the limits as to quantity, if any, imposed by this Act. 
Explanation.—The -possibility or expectation of obtaining 
a higher price for a drug at a later date shall not be deemed 
to be a sufficient cause for the purpose of this section. 
9. (1) Every dealer or producer when selling any drug 
for cash shall, if the amount of the purchase is five rupees 
or.  more, in all cases, and, if the amount of the purchase is 
less than five rupees, when so requested by the purchaser, 
give to the purchaser a cash memorandum containing parti-
culars of the transaction. 
(2) The State Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, prescribe the particulars to be contained 
in any such cash memorandum. 
The West Bengal Drugs (Control) Act, 1950. 
xxxvi o! 1950.] • 
(Sections 10-12 . ) 
(3) The State Government may, by notification in 
the Official Gazette, exempt specified areas, classes of dealers 
or producers, or classes of drugs from the operation of this 
section. 
y. 
10. (1) The State Government may direct dealers 
or producers in general, or any dealer or producer in 
particular, to mark any drug exposed .or intended for sale 
with the sale prices or to exhibit on the premises a price list 
of drugs held for sale, and may further give directions as to 
the manner in which any such direction as aforesaid is to be 
carried out. 
(2) No dealer shall destroy, efface or alter any label or 
mark affixed to a drug and indicating the price marked by a 
producer. 
11. Where a dealer or producer makes an offer to enter 
into a transaction for a consideration to be given as a whole 
in respect both of a sale of any drug and of some other 
matter, the dealer or producer making the offer shall state 
in writing the price which he assigns to that drug, if he 
is required to -do so by any person to whom the offer is made, 
and the offer shalt be deemed for the purposes of this Act to 
be an offer to sell that drug at the price so stated. 
12. (1) If in the opinion of the State Government 
it is necessary or expedient so to do, it may by order in 
writing— 
(a) prohibit the disposal of any drug except in • such 
circumstances and under such conditions as may 
be specified in the order; 
(b) direct the sale of any drug to any such dealer or 
class of dealers and in such quantities as may be 
specified- in the order; 
(c) requisition any drug (whether at the place of import 
or at any other place); 
and make such further orders as appear to it to be necessary 
or expediftt in connection with any order issued under this 
sub-section. 
(2) Where the State Government has requisitioned 
any drug under sub-section (1), it may use or deal with the 
drug in such manner as may appear to it to be expedient, and 
may acquire it by serving on the owner thereof, or, where 
the owner is not readily traceable or the ownership is in 
dispute, by publishing in the Official Gazette a notice stat-• 
ing that the State Government has decided to acquire it 
in pursuance of this section. 
(3) Where a notice of acquisition is served on the owner 
of the -drug or published in the Official Gazette under sub-section (2), then at the beginning of the day on which the 
notice is so served or published, the drug shall vest in the 
State free from any encumbrance and the requisition 
thereof shall be deemed to have ended. 
Marking 
of prices 
and exhi-
biting 
price 
list. 
Obligation 
to state 
price 
separately 
on com-
posite 
offer. 
Prohibi-
tion of 
sale, etc., 
and re-
quisi-
tioning 
of drugs. 
4 	 The West Bengal Drugs (Control) Act, 1950. 
[West Ben. Act 
(Sections 13-15j 
(4) Whenever in pursuance of this section, the State 
Government requisitions or acquires any drug, the State 
Government shall pay to the owner thereof such amount as 
compensation as in the opinion of the State Government 
fairly represents the loss caused to the owner by such 
requisition or acquisition. 
(5) The State Government may, with a view to 
requisitioning any drug under sub-section (1) or determining 
the compensation payable under sub-section (4), by order— 
(a) require any person to furnish to such authority as 
• may be specified in the order such information in 
his possession relating to the drug as may be so 
specified; 
(b) direct that the owner of the drug shall not, without 
the permission of the State Government, 
dispose of it till the expiry of such period as may 
be specified in the order. 
Penalties. 	 13.. (1) Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of 
this Act or of any direction made under authority conferred 
by this Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for a 
term which may extend to three years or with fine or with 
both. 
(2) A Court convicting any person of an offence punish-
able under this Act may order that the whole or any part of 
the stock of drugs in respect of which the offence was com-
mitted shall be forfeited to the State. 
(3) It shall be a defence for a person charged with a 
contravention of any of the provisions of this section to 
prove that, in relation to the matter in respect of which he 
is charged, he acted in the course of his employment as a 
servant or agent of another person on the instructions of 
his employer or of some other specified person. 
14. Where a person committing an offence punishable 
under this Act is a company or an association or a body of 
persons, whether incorporated or not, every director, 
manager, secretary, agent or other officer or person concerned 
with the management thereof, shall, unless he proves that 
the offence was. committed without his knowledge or that he 
has exercised all due diligence to prevent its commission, be . 
deemed to be guilty of such offence. 
Procedure. 	 15. (1) No person other than a police officer of or above 
.the rank of an .  Inspector of Police or an officer other than 
a police officer, authorised in this behalf by the . State 
Government by notification in the Official Gazette, shall 
investigate any offence under this Act. 
(2) No prosecution for any offence punishable under this 
Act shall •be instituted except with the previous sanction in 
the Presidency town of Calcutta, of the Commissioner of 
Excise, West Bengal, and elsewhere, of the District 
Magistrate. 
Offences 
by cor-
porations. 
The West Bengal Drugs (Control) Act, 1950. 
xxxv I of 1950.] 
(Sections 16-20.) 
16. Any person competent to investigate any offence Powers of 
under this Act may search any place in which he has reason search 
to believe that an offence under this Act has been, or is being aein dare.s committed, and take possession of any stock of drugs in 
respect of which the offence has been or is being committed. 
17. (1) The State Government may make rules to Power to 
carry out the purposes of this Act. 	 make 
rules. 
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality 
of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any 
of the following matters, namely :— 
the maintenance by dealers and producers generally, 
or by any dealer or producer in particular, of 
records of all sale and purchase transactions made 
by them ; 
(b) the furnishing of any information as may be 
required with respect to the business carried on 
by any dealer or producer; 
the inspection of any books of account or other 
documents belonging to or under the control of 
any dealer or producer. 
18. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall 
lie against any person for anything in good faith done or 
intended to be done under this Act. 
19. The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and 
not in derogation of any other law for the time being in 
force regulating any of the matters dealt with in this AA. 
(a) 
(0) 
Protec-
tion of 
action 
taken in 
good 
faith. 
Saving of 
other 
laws. 
West Ben. 
Ord. V.IIT 
of 1949. 
20. Any rule, order, 	 declaration, 	 requisition or savin gs 
acquisition made, any notification or direction issued, any and 
proceedings commenced, any compensation or punishment validation.  
awarded, any action taken, and anything done in exercise 
of any power conferred by or under the West Bengal 
Drugs (Control) Ordinance, 1949, shall, on the said 
Ordinance ceasing to operate, be deemed to have been 
made, issued, commenced, awarded, taken or done in 
exercise of powers conferred by or under this Act as if this -- 
Act had commenced on the 3rd day of October, 1949. 
WBGP-50/1-3470A-4,500 

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