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Short title.
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1. This Act may be cited as the Tea Control Act.
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Appointment of Controller and other officers.
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2.
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(1) There may be appointed for the purposes of this Act-
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(a) a person, by name or by office, to be or to act as Tea Controller ;
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(b) a person, by name or by office, to be or to act as Assistant Tea Controller ; and
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(c) such other officers and servants as may from time to time be required for the purposes of this Act.
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(2)
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(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, in the exercise of his powers and in the discharge of his duties under this Act, the Controller shall be subject to the general direction and control of the Minister.
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(b) In the exercise of his powers and in the discharge of his duties under section 9 of this Act, the Controller shall be subject to the general direction and control of the Minister of Commerce and Trade.
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(3) All persons exercising powers or discharging duties under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code.
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(4) Every person functioning, on the day immediately preceding the appointed date, as an officer or servant for the purposes of the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, shall from that date be deemed to be an officer or servant appointed under subsection (1) of this section for the purposes of this Act.
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Delegation of Controller’s powers.
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3. In relation to any particular matter or class of matters or to any particular area or district, the Controller may, with the consent of the Minister, by writing under his hand, delegate any of his powers under this Act except this power of delegation. Any powers so delegated may be exercised by the delegate with respect to the matters or class of matters specified or to the area or district mentioned in the instrument of delegation.
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Establishment and constitution of Tea Advisory Board.
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4. There shall be established by the Minister a Tea Advisory Board which shall consist of the Controller for the time being, who shall be the chairman, and such other members, not exceeding six in number, as the Minister may appoint, two of such members being expressly selected to represent small holders.
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Duties and powers of Tea Advisory Board.
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5.
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(1) The Tea Advisory Board shall-
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(a) advise the Controller on all matters which he may refer to the board for advice, and
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(b) perform such other duties and exercise such powers as may be prescribed.
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(2) Regulations may be made providing for the conduct of the business of the board and prescribing the procedure to be followed at meetings of the board. Subject to any such regulations, the board may regulate its own procedure.
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Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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6.
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(1) The Controller shall register estates and small holdings and the names and addresses of their proprietors, and shall for that purpose keep a register which shall be called the Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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(2) The register of estates and small holdings kept under the Tea Control Ordinance shall, notwithstanding the expiry of that Ordinance, be deemed to be the Register of Estates and Small Holdings kept under subsection (1) of this section ; and accordingly that register in the form in which it stood on the 31st day of March, 1948, shall be reopened and maintained by the Controller for the purposes of this Act.
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(3) Every estate or small holding registered or deemed to have been registered under the Tea Control Ordinance shall be deemed to be registered under this Act.
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(4) Every proprietor registered or deemed to have been registered under the Tea Control Ordinance in respect of any estate or small holding shall, so long as he is in possession thereof, be deemed to be registered under this Act.
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Registration and amendment of Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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7.
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(1) No estate or small holding shall be registered by the Controller on or after the appointed date unless and until he has received a return duly furnished by the proprietor of that estate or small holding under subsection (2) of this section.
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(2) The proprietor of every land which is planted with tea and which has not been registered is an estate or small holding under the Tea Control Ordinance shall, within three months from the appointed date, furnish to the Controller a return, in the prescribed form, containing particulars of the prescribed matters.
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(3) The registered proprietor of any estate or small holding shall, within one month of the occurrence of any circumstances affecting the accuracy of any particulars contained in any return furnished by him under the Tea Control Ordinance or under this Act, notify those circumstances to the Controller in order that the Controller may make the necessary amendments in the entries relating to that estate or small holding in the Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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(4) In the event of a change in the ownership of any registered estate or small holding, it shall be the duty of the new owner of such estate or small holding to notify the change to the Controller within one month of the occurrence of the change in order that the Controller may amend the entries relating to the proprietor of that estate or small holding in the Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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(5) In the event of the death of the registered proprietor of any estate or small holding, it shall be the duty of the person entering into possession or having control of that estate or small holding or having charge of the business of that proprietor to give written information of the death to the Controller within one month thereof. That person shall be responsible for furnishing all such information in regard to that estate or small holding as may be required by the Controller, until the name of the new proprietor of that estate or small holding is duly entered in the Register of Estates and Small Holdings.
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Register of Manufacturers.
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8.
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(1) The Controller shall register manufacturers and shall for that purpose keep a register which shall be called the Register of Manufacturers.
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(2) The register of manufacturers kept under the Tea Control Ordinance and continued under the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, shall be deemed to be the Register of Manufacturers kept under this section and shall be continued and maintained by the Controller accordingly.
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(3) Every person registered as a manufacturer under the Tea Control Ordinance or under the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, shall be deemed to be registered as a manufacturer under this Act.
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(4) Every person who carries on business as a manufacturer and who has not been registered as a manufacturer under the Tea Control Ordinance or under the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, shall apply to the Controller, in the prescribed form, for registration.
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(5) A person who is registered as a manufacturer shall, if he ceases to carry on the business of a manufacturer, notify that fact to the Controller within fourteen days of his ceasing to carry on such business ; and the Controller may, if he is satisfied that such person has ceased to be a manufacturer, cancel the registration of such person.
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9. No person shall export made tea from Ceylon except under the authority of a general or special licence issued by the Controller ; and no made tea shall be received or accepted for exportation or shipment by any customs or other officer unless the exportation thereof is authorized by such a licence :
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Provided that no licence shall be required to
authorize-
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(a) the re-export, from Ceylon, of any made tea which is proved to the satisfaction of the Principal Collector of Customs to have been imported into Ceylon, or
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(b) the export, from Ceylon, of any quantity of made tea-
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(i) shipped as stores on board any vessel or aircraft, or
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(ii) despatched by parcel post, or
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(iii) taken as part of the personal baggage of a passenger on any vessel or aircraft, or
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(iv) sent as commercial samples.
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10.
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(1) Save as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no person shall export, from Ceylon to any other country, any seed, root, stump or bud of any tea plant, or any such cutting from or living portion of any tea plant as may be capable of being used for propagation.
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(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) of this section, any article referred to therein may be exported from Ceylon to India or to Pakistan, or to the Netherlands East Indies, or to any prescribed country, under the authority of a licence granted by the Controller and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
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Planting or replanting of tea.
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11. Except under a licence granted by the Controller and except in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed, no person shall plant or replant with tea any land which is not, or is not deemed to be, a registered estate or small holding or part thereof.
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12. Except under a licence granted by the Controller, no person shall plant tea, for the purposes of a nursery, on any land which is not, or is not deemed to be, a registered estate or small holding or part
thereof.
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Powers of Controller to call for
information.
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13.
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(1) It shall be lawful for the Controller by
written notice to direct any person who is the registered proprietor, or who applies for registration as the proprietor, of any estate or small holding-
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(a) to furnish before a specified date such information as the Controller may require in respect of that estate or small holding, or such explanation as the Controller may require in respect of any particulars stated in any return furnished by that person, or
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(b) to produce or cause to be produced before a specified date such documentary or other evidence as the Controller may require for the purpose of verifying any information furnished by that person in respect of that estate or small holding or any facts or particulars stated in any return furnished by that person.
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(2) It shall be lawful for the Controller by written notice to direct any person who is a registered manufacturer or who applies for registration as a manufacturer-
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(a) to furnish before a specified date such information as the Controller may require in respect of that person’s registration or application, or such explanation as the Controller may require in respect of any information furnished by that person, or
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(b) to produce or cause to be produced before a specified date such documentary or other evidence as the Controller may require for the purpose of verifying any information or explanation furnished by that person.
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(3) A notice under this section shall be deemed to have been duly served if it has been sent by post in a registered letter addressed-
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(a) in the case of a registered proprietor or a registered manufacturer, to the place specified in the Register of Estates and Small Holdings or the Register of Manufacturers as his address, and
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(b) in the case of any other person, to his usual place of residence or of business.
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Right to
enter estates or small holdings.
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14. The Controller, or any person authorized by him in writing, may at any time enter any estate or small holding for the purpose of carrying out an inspection or making a survey plan of that estate or small holding, and may, for that purpose, enter any factory, office, or other building on that estate or small holding.
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15.
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(1) There shall be established a Tea Control Fund for the purposes of this Act.
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(2) All moneys lying on the appointed date to the credit of the Tea Control Fund established under the Tea Control Ordinance and all moneys payable to the credit of that fund under section 36 (7) of that Ordinance and remaining unpaid on the appointed date, shall be paid to the Tea Control Fund established under subsection (1) of this section.
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(3) All such payments out of the Tea Control Fund established under the Tea Control Ordinance as may have been made for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the administration of the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, shall be deemed to have been validly made out of that fund.
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16.
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(1) In order to provide an income for the payment of the expenses authorized by section 17 there shall be charged, levied and paid an export duty on tea, of such amount as may be determined from time to time by a resolution of the House of Representatives:
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Provided that, until a duty is levied under the preceding provisions of this subsection, the duty authorized to be collected by any resolution which was passed under section 36 (3) of the Tea Control Ordinance and which was in force on the 31st day of March, 1948, shall be charged, levied and paid from and after midnight on the day immediately preceding the appointed date.
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(2) Every resolution under subsection (1) of this section shall be published in the Gazette, and the duty authorized to be collected thereunder shall be charged, levied and paid from the date specified in that resolution.
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(3) Any resolution under subsection (1) of this section may be varied or rescinded at any time by a resolution of the House of Representatives published in the manner specified in subsection (2) of this section.
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(4) This section shall have effect as though it formed part of the Customs Ordinance, and the provisions of that Ordinance shall apply accordingly.
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(5) The proceeds of the export duty recovered under this Act shall be paid over monthly to the Controller by the Principal Collector of Customs and shall be credited to the Tea Control Fund established under subsection (1) of section 15, and no part thereof shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund.
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(6) The export duty authorized to be imposed under this Act shall be in addition to the export duties levied under any other written law but shall not be taken into account in computing the export duty levied on tea under the law of Ceylon for the purposes of section 32*[*This is a reference to the section 32 which was repealed by Act No. 30 of 1950.] of the Income Tax Ordinance.
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Expenditure from Tea Control Fund.
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17.
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(1) There shall be paid out of the Tea Control Fund-
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(a) the salaries, wages and fees payable to persons employed for the purposes of this Act,
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(b) all other expenses of the administration of this Act,
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(c) the prescribed contributions to any gratuity scheme established or deemed to be established under this Act,
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(d) such of the expenses of the administration of the Controlled Articles (Tea) Order, 1948, as may remain unpaid on the appointed date, and
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(e) all expenses of the administration of the Tea Thefts Prevention Act.
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[ 2, 14 of 1950.]
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[ [ 2, 14 of 1950.]
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(2) Any surplus which may at the end of each year of control be found to the credit of the Tea Control Fund after all the payments authorized by subsection (1) of this section have been made may be applied for the furtherance and development of the tea industry and to purposes connected therewith or incidental thereto, in such manner as the House of Representatives may by resolution from time to time determine.
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Estimates of income and expenditure.
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18.
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(1) The Controller shall transmit to the Minister, not later than the fifteenth day of February in each year of control during the operation of this Act, estimates of the income likely to accrue to, and the expenditure likely to be incurred out of, the Tea Control Fund for the next succeeding year of control.
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(2) On receipt of the estimates of income and expenditure, the Minister shall, at the first convenient opportunity, place such estimates before the House of Representatives for its approval.
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19.
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(1) A person who furnishes any return, explanation or information under this Act shall verify it by a declaration that the statements contained therein are true and accurate.
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(2) Every declaration made under this section shall be free from stamp duty.
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20.
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(1) A gratuity scheme may be established, in accordance with such regulations as may be made in that behalf, for the payment of gratuities to all or any of the persons appointed or deemed to be appointed officers or servants for the purposes of this Act and to any of the dependants of such persons.
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(2) The gratuity scheme established under the Tea Control Ordinance shall be deemed to be a gratuity scheme established under subsection (1) of this section and shall be continued and maintained accordingly.
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(3) Any contribution or gratuity which on or before the 31st day of March, 1948, was payable to or from the gratuity scheme established under the Tea Control Ordinance and which on the appointed date remains unpaid, shall be deemed to be a contribution or . gratuity payable to or from the gratuity scheme deemed to be established under subsection (1) of this section and shall be paid accordingly.
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21.
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(1) Every person who-
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(a) commits a breach of any of the provisions of this Act or of any regulation, or
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(b) makes default in complying with any direction or requirement duly given or made under the powers conferred by this Act, or
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(c) resists or obstructs any person in the performance of the duties imposed or in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by or under this Act, or
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(d) makes any declaration or furnishes any return containing any particular which is false and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true,
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shall be guilty of an offence, and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, or to imprisonment of either description for a period not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
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(2) No prosecution for any offence under this Act shall be instituted except with the written sanction of the Controller.
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22.
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(1) The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Act.
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(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may make regulations for or in respect of all or any of the following matters :-
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(a) all matters stated or required in this Act to be prescribed;
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(b) the forms of the registers which the Controller is required by this Act to keep, and the particulars to be entered in those registers ;
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(c) the forms of the returns, notices and declarations required to be made or issued for the purposes
of this Act;
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(d) the registration of estates, small holdings, proprietors of estates or small holdings, and manufacturers.
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(3) Every regulation made by the Minister under this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation upon publication.
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(4) Every regulation made by the Minister under this section shall be brought before the Senate and the House of Representatives within a period of one month from the date of publication of that regulation in the Gazette, or, if no meeting of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, is held within that period, at the first meeting thereof after the expiry of that period, by a motion that such regulation shall be approved.
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(5) Any regulation which the Senate or the House of Representatives refuses to approve shall be deemed to be rescinded but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder or to the making of any new regulation. The date on which a regulation shall so be deemed to be rescinded shall be the date on which the Senate or the House of Representatives refuses to approve the regulation.
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(6) Notification of the date on which any regulation made by the Minister under this section is deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the Gazette.
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(7) Where any regulation made by the Minister under this section is approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives, notification of the approval shall be published in the Gazette.
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Saving of regulations made under the Tea Control Ordinance.
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23. Notwithstanding the expiry of the Tea Control Ordinance every regulation thereunder relating to any matter for or in respect of which regulations may be made under this Act shall, so far as it is not inconsistent with this Act, come into and be in force with effect from the appointed date, until amended or rescinded or replaced by a regulation made under this Act.
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24. This Act shall cease to be in force on such date as may be appointed by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette.
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Interpretation
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25. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
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” appointed date ” means the 1st day of July, 1949 ;
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” board ” means the Tea Advisory Board established under section 4 ;
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” Controller ” means the person appointed or deemed to be appointed under section 2 to be or to act as Tea Controller, and includes the Assistant Tea Controller ;
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” estate ” means an area of land, ten acres or more in extent, on which the tea plant is grown for the purpose of harvesting the leaf thereof for conversion into made tea ;
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” made tea ” means tea manufactured from the leaf of the tea plant but does not include red-leaf, fluff, or sweepings ;
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” manufacturer ” means any person who, being lawfully in possession of a tea factory, whether as owner, lessee, usufructuary mortgagee or otherwise, manufactures made tea at that factory ;
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” Netherlands East Indies ” includes, Java, Sumatra and all other islands in the Netherlands East Indies ;
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” prescribed ” means prescribed by regulation ;
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” proprietor ” means the owner, lessee, usufructuary mortgagee or other person lawfully in possession and taking the produce of any estate or small holding, and, where such owner, lessee, mortgagee or other person is absent from Ceylon, includes any duly accredited agent of such owner, lessee, mortgagee or other person ;
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” registered” means registered or deemed to be registered under this Act ;
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” regulation ” means a regulation made under this Act ;
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” small holding ” means an area of land less than ten acres in extent on which the tea plant is grown for the purpose of harvesting the leaf thereof for conversion into made tea ;
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” tea ” means the plant known as ” Thea Sinensis ” and includes the leaf thereof whether in a natural or manufactured state ;
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” Tea Control Fund ” means the Tea Control Fund established under section 15 (1) ;
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” Tea Control Ordinance ” means the Tea Control Ordinance, No. 12 of 1938 ; and
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” year of control ” means the period of twelve months commencing on the first day of April in any year.
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