(1) Subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, a society which has as its chief object the promotion of the economic interest and general welfare of its members in accordance with cooperative principles laid down in Schedule 'A' may be registered under this Act, provided that a society established with the object of facilitating the operation of such a society including a society formed by the division of an existing registered society or amalgamation of existing two or more societies, may be registered under this Act with limited liability.
(2) No cooperative society with unlimited liability shall be registered after commencement of this Act.
(3) Where a cooperative society with unlimited liability was functioning before the commencement of this Act such society shall exercise the option within a period of one year from such commencement either to continue to function as such or to convert itself into a cooperative society with limited liability by following the procedure of amendment as specified in section 12.
EXPLANATION For the purpose of this sub section cooperative society with limited liability means a cooperative society in which the liability of its members for the debts of the cooperative society is limited by its bye laws, to such form and extent as they may undertake to contribute to any deficit in the assets of the cooperative society in the event of its being wound up.
(4) Where a cooperative society is ordered to be dissolved under any provision of this Act, the liability of a past member or of the estate of a deceased member, who ceased to be member or died during the period of two years immediately preceding the date of order for dissolution, shall continue unt». completion of the entire liquidation proceedings, but such liability shall be limited only to the debts of the cooperative society as they stood on the date of cessation of his C - membership or his death, as the case may be.
(5) No society shall be registered if in the opinion of the Registrar its >' declared objects are not likely to be achieved or if it is economically unviable, technically and cooperatively unsound or if it may have an adverse effect upon any registered co-operative society or the cooperative movement as a whole or if the members or the applicants do not need the services or are not in a position to use the services of the co-operative society:
Provided that no other organization, entity or societies registered under any other Act existing for the time being in force other than this Act shall be registered or converted or merged as a cooperative society.
“(6) The Co-operative Society to be registered as a Co-operative Bank shall specifically indicate in its byelaws submitted before the Registrar at the time of registration, that the society shall be a Co-operative Bank which shall carry on the business of banking as defined under section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 on the basis of which the Registrar shall register the said society as a Co-operative Bank as defined under this Act.
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(7) The existing Co-operative Societies carrying on the business of banking as defined under section 5(b) of the Banking Regulation Act, Act No. 10 1949 on the date of coming into force of this Act, shall amend their o f 1 9 4 9 Bye-laws indicating that the said societies have been carrying on the business of banking in the State of Assam and shall file a copy of the amended bye-laws before the Registrar for getting the societies registered as a Co-operative Bank and Registrar shall register the said societies accordingly under this Act.
Explanation For the purposes of this sub-section the term “existing A ssa m A c t Cooperative Societies" means the Co-operative Societies registered ^ 0 1 of under the Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 1949, and carrying on the business of banking at the commencement of this Act.” “CO OPERATIVE BANK TO BE ELIGIBLE CO OPERATIVE BANK
5.
AGE QUALIFICATION OF A MEMBER CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION 4A A Cooperative Society registered as a Co-operative Bank under this Act shall be an eligible Cooperative Bank within the meaning of clause
(gg) of section 2 of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 and shall be bound by the following - Act No 47 of 1961 X
(a) If so required by the Reserve Bank in the public interest or for preventing the affairs of the Cooperative Bank being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interests of the depositors or for securing the proper management of the bank, an order shall be made for the supersession of the committee of management or other managing body (by whatever name called) of the Co-operative Bank and the appointment of an administrator therefore for such period or periods not exceeding five years in the aggregate as may from time to time specified by the Reserve Bank.
(b) An order for the winding up of the Co-operative Bank or an order sanctioning a scheme of compromise or arrangement or of amalgamation or reconstruction or an order for the supersession of the committee of management or other managing body (by whatever name called) of the Co-operative Bank and the appointment of an administrator therefore made with the previous sanction in writing or on the requisition of the Reserve Bank shall not be liable to be called in question in any manner.
(c) The liquidator or the insured Co-operative Bank or the transferee Co operative Bank, as the case may be, shall be under an obligation to Act No. 47 repay the Corporation in the circumstances, to the extent and in the o f 1961 manner referred to in section 21 of the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 ” No person may become an individual member of a registered cooperative society unless he is above eighteen years of age, provided that the bye laws of a society may prescribe a higher minimum age and he is not otherwise disqualified under this Act.
(1) No society other than a society of which a member is a registered society shall be registered under this Act which does not consist of at least such number of eligible persons as may be prescribed by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies:
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(2)
(3) RESTRICTIONS 7. (1) ON ACQUISITION (TF SHARES IN A COOPERATIVE (2) SOCIETY
Provided that the number of members for the above purpose shali not in any case be less than 10 members competent to contract under section 11 of the Indian Contract Act,1872 and belonging to ten different families.
The word limited shall be the last word in the name of every society registered under this Act.
No society shall be registered under this Act in an area where there already exists another cooperative society with similar objectives:
Provided that Registrar may allow registration of more than one cooperative societies in the same area of operation in case the need or necessity, demand for organization of such types of societies requires registration of more such types of societies in the same area of operation e g. transport cooperative, labour contract cooperative, trading cooperative, housing cooperative.
However, in doing so proper justification must be obtained before allowing registration of such societies.
No member of a registered society shall hold more than such portion of the share capital of the society as may be prescribed by the rules, or the bye-laws of the society.
No member shall be allowed to acquire an additional share until he has paid in full the value of the whole of that portion of his share holding which he is required to pay in accordance with the bye-laws of the society IX of 1872 POWER OF T REGISTRAR TO DECIDE CERTAIN QUESTIONS All disputes regarding formation, registration or continuance of a society under this Act shall be decided by the Registrar.
BYELAWS 9. (1) A cooperative society shall frame their own bye-laws and the affairs of the cooperative society shall be managed in accordance with the terms, conditions and procedure specified in the bye-laws.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the functioning of every cooperative society shall be regulated by its bye-laws.
(3) The bye-laws may contain such matters as decided by the General Assembly and shall be specific and confined only to the matters provided in Schedule B. However, the bye-laws of a society shall in no case supersede the provisions of the Act.
APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION