(1) When any licence, permit or pass is liable to be cancelled or suspended under clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 30, or when any person is reasonably suspected of having committed an offence under this Act other than an offence under section 62 the Excise Commissioner or a Collector instead of enforcing such cancellation or suspension or instituting a prosecution in respect of such offence, may accept from the holder* of such licence, permit or pass or from such person a sum of money not exceeding five thousand rupees, and thereupon such holder or person, if in custody, shall be discharged, and no further proceedings in respect of such liability or offence shall be taken against him ;
And if in any such case any property has been seized as liable to confiscation under this Act, the Excise Commissioner or Collector may release the same on receiving payment of the value thereof as estimated by him or of such smaller sum as he may think fit.
(2) The Excise Commissioner or the Collector may also, after the institution against any person of a prosecution in respect of any offence under this Act other than offence under section 62 compound the offence on payment by such person of a sum of money not exceeding five thousand rupees.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section an Excise Officer not below the rank of an Inspector of Excise may, at any time, compounded an offence under this Act in respect of manufacture and possession of pachwai exceeding the quantity that may be exempted under section 79 but not exceeding five litres, on paym ent by the person THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY. OCTOBER 11, 2000 823 / - ■ ■ manufacturing or possession such pachwai of a sum not exceeding two hundred rupees.
Contempt of Court.
77. Every proceeding under this Act, before a Collector shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 228 of the Indian Penal Code and the Collector engaged in such proceedings shall be deemed to be a Revenue Court within the meaning of section 345 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Central Act 45 of 1860.
Central Act II of
1974.
CHAPTER-X Miscellaneous Exception of medicated article.
78. The foregoing provisions of this Act shall not appl to import, manufacture, possession, supply or sale of any bonafide medicated article for medicinal purposes by medical practitioners, chemists, druggists, apothecaries or keeper of dispensaries, except in so far as the State Government may, by notification, so direct.
Power of State Government to exempt intoxicants from the provisions of this Act.
79. The State Government may, by notification, either wholly or partially and subject to such conditions as it may think fit to prescribe, exempt any intoxicant from all or any of the provisions of this Act, either throughout the territories to which this Act applies or any specified area comprised therein or for any specified period or occasion or as regards any specified class of persons.
Certain provisions of Municipal Act not to apply-
80. Nothing contained in the Assam Municipal Act, 1956 shall apply to any brewery, distillery A ^s a ™v o f or warehouse established or licensed under this 1957.
Act, or to the premises used for the manufacture or sale of any intoxicant by the holder of a licence granted under this Act for such manufacturer or sale.
Publication of rules and notifica tions.
81. All rules made and notifications issued under this Act shall be published in the official Gazette and on such publication, shall have effect as if made under this Act.
824 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCTOBER 11, 2000 Bar of certain su it s .
L im itation
82. No suit shall lie against the Government or agains-Kny Excise officer in respect of anything done, or in good faith purporting to be done, in pursuance of this Act or of any other law for the time being in force relating to the excise revenue.
83. No suit, prosecution or other proceeding against the of suits and Government or against any Excise Officer in respect of proceed ings. a n ything done or alleged to have been done in pursuance of this- Act or of any other law for the time being in force relating to the Excise revenue, shall, except as provided in section 69, sub-section (2) be entertained in any court unless the suit, prosecution or other proceeding is instituted within six months from the date of the act complained of.
84. Power of the State Government to make rules -
(1) The State Government may make rules for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act or any other law for the time being in force relating to the excise revenue.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the State Government may make rules -
(a) regulating the delegation of any powers by the Government, the Excise Commissioner, Commissioners of divisions and Collectors under clause (g), sub-section
(2) of section 6 ;
(b) prescribing the powers, duties and subordination and control of officers of Excise Department;
(c) regulating appeals and revisions and in particulars -
(i) declaring the cases in which and authorities to whom * appeals shall lie under sub-section (1) of section 7 ;
(ii) prescribing the time and manner for presenting appeals •-> and the procedure for dealing with appeals under sub-section (1) of section 7 ;
(d) regulating the import, export, transport or possession of any intoxicant;
(e) regulating the manufacture, supply, storage or sale of any intoxicant; and in particular regulating -
(i) the erection, inspection, supervision, management and control of any place for the manufacture, supply, storage THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCTOBER 11, 2000 825 or sale of any such article ; and the fittings, implements and apparatus to be maintained therein ;
(ii) the cultivation of the hemp plant (canabis Sativa L) the collection of the sponteneous growth of such plant, and the preparation of any intoxicating drugs from such growth ;
(iii) the tapping of tari producing trees and the drawing of tari from such trees ;
(iv) the bottling of liquor for sale ;
(f) regulating the deposit of intoxicant in warehouses and the removal of such articles from warehouses, distilleries or breweries.
(g) regulating the period for which and the persons to whom the licences for the sale of any intoxicant may be granted and providing for the selection of sites at which shops may be opened ;
(h) prescribing the procedure to be followed and the matters to be ascertained before any licence for such sale is granted in any local area ;
(i) prescribing in the case of any intoxicant the manner in which the duty on such article shall be levied ;
(j) prescribing the sale or fees or the manner of fixing the fees payable in respect of storing of any intoxicant;
(k) prescribing the time, place and manner of payment of duty or fe e ;
(l) prescribing the restrictions under and the conditions on which any licence, permit or pass may be granted ; and in particulars providing for -
(i) the prohibition of the admixture with any intoxicant of any foreign substance;
(ii) the regulation or prohibition of the reduction of liquor by a licensed manufacturer or a licensed vendor from a higher to a lower strength ;
(iii) the fixing of the strength, price or quantity in excess of or below which any intoxicant shall not be supplied, sold or kept or exposed for sale, the fixing of the quantity in excess of which denatured spirit shall not be possessed, 826 THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCTOBER 11, 2000 the fixing of a standard of quality and determ ine g whether the price is excessive for any intoxicant.
(iv) the regulation or prohibition of the employment of the license holder or any person or class of persons in or upon his business premises during business hours or to assist him in his business in any capacity whatsoever ;
(v) the specifications of the persons or classes of persons to whom any intoxicant may or may not be sold ;
(vi) the prohibition of sale except for cash :
(vii) the prevention of drunkeness, intoxication, gambling or disorderly conduct in or near the business premises of the licence holder and of the meeting or remaining of persons of bad character in such premises ;
(viii) the fixing of the days and hours during which such premises may or may not be kept open, and the closure of such premises on special occasions ;
(ix) the specification of the nature of the premises in which any intoxicant may sold and the notice to be exposed at such prem ises;
(x) the accounts to be maintained and the return to be submitted by licence holders ; and
(xi) regulating or prohibiting the transfer of licenses ;
(m) (i) declaring the process by which spirit manufactured in India shall be denatured ;
(ii) for causing such spirit to be denatured through the agency or under the supervision of its own officers ;
(iii) for ascertaining whether such spirit has been denatured ;
(n) providing for the destruction or other disposal of any intoxicant deemed to be unfit for use.
(o) regulating the disposal of confiscated articles.
(p) providing for the grant of expenses to witnessess.
(q) regulating the power of Excise Officer to summon witnesses from a distance under the provisions of section 43 and
(r) providing for the grant of compensation to persons improperly arrested and subsequently released by an THE ASSAM GAZETTE, EXTRAORDINARY, OCTOBER 11, 2000 827 Excise Officer under section 43 and persons charged before a Magistrate with offences under this Act and acquitted.
Explanation Fees may be prescribed under clause
(j) at different rates for different classes of exclusive privileges, licences, permits, passes or storage and for different areas.
(3) The State Government may make rules regulating the ’ terms and conditions that may be required to be complied with and the factors to be taken into consideration, in issuing licenses, permits or passes under this Act or rules framed thereunder.
(4) While framing rules under this Act, the State Government may provide, from time to time for reservation to be made in favour of persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other Backward Classes and educated unemployed youths with particular reference to their economic backwardness for the purpose of this act, and may also provide for discouraging or preventing monopoly in matters relating to such licenses, passes and permits.
(5) Any rule framed under this Act shall be given retrospective effect from such date as may be considered necessary by the State Government.
4 Repeal and 85. (1) The Assam Excise Act, 1910 is hereby Eastern saving. repealed. Bengal and Assam Act I of 1910.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the Act so repealed shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act and the repeal of the said Act shall not affect any penality or punishment incurred in respect of any offences committed under this Act or affect any investigation legal proceeding in respect of such penality or punishment and any such investigation or legal proceeding may be instituted, continued or enforced any such penalty or punishment may be imposed as if the said Act had not been repealed.
M. K. DEKA, Secretary to the Govt, of Assam, Legislative Department.
GUW AH ATI—Primed & published by the Dy. Director (P&S), Directorate of Ptg. & Sty., Assam, Guwahati-21 (Ex-Gazette) No.411-500-600-11-10-2000.