(1) The Board or a market committee with the permission of the Board shall create and develop the infrastructure at its own, in general, to facilitate the marketing of agricultural produce in the notified market area.
(2) The Board or a market committee or a group of market committees with the permission of the Board, may create, promote, manage and maintain infrastructure for a market yard or for value addition such as cleaning, standardization, grading and post harvest handling of agricultural produce including cold storages, precooling facilities and pack houses in notified market area through public private partnership.]
[8. Control of sale and purchase of Agricultural produces. - (1) From the date of issue of notification under Section 6 or from such later date as may be specified therein, no person, unless exempted by rules made under this Act, shall, either for himself or on behalf of another person or the State Government, within the notified market area set up, establish or continue or allow to be continued any place for the purchase sale, storage and processing of the agricultural produce or purchase, sell, store or process such agricultural produce except under a licence granted in accordance with the provisions of this act, the rules and bye-laws made thereunder and the conditions specified in the licence]:
[Provided that a licensee may apply for licence to be operative in one or more Market Committee or for the entire State, on payment of such fee, as may be prescribed :
Provided further that the licensee shall have to comply with provisions of other Central and State Acts and obtain permission or licence etc. from the competent authority for carrying out national or international trade by way of import or export of any agricultural or horticultural produce or product.]
[(2) From the date on which the State Government has, by a notification under section 7, declared any place to be principal market yard, sub-market yard, consumer's market, farmer's market, market of national or international importance, special commodity market, special market, spot exchange or terminal market, no person, Municipal Committee, Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti or any other local authority, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or in any enactment relating to such Municipal Committee, Panchayat Samiti, Panchayat or local authority, shall be competent to set up, establish or continue or allow to be continued any place within a distance of five kilometres from the outer limits of such market yard for the purchase or sale of any agricultural produce:
Provided that nothing herein contained shall apply to the sale of agricultural produce stored in a coldstorage or processed and kept in a factory.]
(3) Nothing contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply to -
(a) the sale of agricultural produce by a producer himself to any person who purchase it for his private consumption;
(b) the purchase by a person from any person of any agricultural produce for his private consumption;
(c) the sale or purchase of agricultural produce through retail sale; and
(d) The storage or he sale of hypothecated agricultural produce by a schedule bank or warehouse establish under the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962 or the Punjab Warehouses Act, 1957.
(4) The State Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, exempt any class of dealers from the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2).
[8A. Procedure and form of contract farming agreement. - (1) The contract farming agreement shall be governed as under :-
(i) contract farming sponsor shall register himself with the Committee or with a prescribed officer in such manner as may be prescribed;
(ii) contract farming sponsor shall get the contract farming agreement executed with the contract farming producer and get the same registered with the officer prescribed in this behalf. The contract farming agreement shall be in such form containing such particulars and terms and conditions as may be prescribed for marketing of contract farming produce.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in contract farming agreement, no title, rights, ownership or possession of the land shall be transferred or alienated or vested in the contract farming sponsor or his successor or his agent as a consequence arising out of the contract farming agreement.
(3) The contract farming sponsor shall be the buyer of the agricultural produce covered under the contract farming agreement. The business premises of the sponsor shall be deemed to be the market yard for the purpose of sale and purchase of agricultural produce covered under contract farming agreement of that sponsor.
(4) Disputes arising out of the contract farming agreement may be referred to any authority prescribed in this behalf for settlement. The prescribed authority shall resolve the dispute in the summary manner within thirty days after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the manner prescribed.
(5) The party aggrieved by the decision of the prescribed authority under sub-section (4) may prefer an appeal to an appellate authority as may be prescribed, within thirty days from the date of decision. The appellate authority shall dispose of the appeal within thirty days after giving the parties reasonable opportunity of being heard and the decision of the appellate authority shall be final.
(6) The decision by the prescribed authority under sub-section (4) and decision in appeal under subsection (5) shall have force of the decree of the civil Court and shall be enforceable as such and the decretal amount shall be recovered as an arrear of land revenue.
(7) Disputes relating to and arising out of contract farming agreement shall not be called in question in any civil Court.]
[8B. Establishment of collection centre. - The Chief Administrator may, from time to time, specify particular area or location or premises in notified area of any Market Committee as a dedicated collection centre for horticultural produce and other commercial crops, as may be notified by the State Government, from time to time. Further, the Chief Administrator may grant a licence on terms and conditions, as may be prescribed from time to time to any person, for purchase of horticultural produce and other such crops directly from farmers in such collection centre: -
Provided that such licensee shall be at liberty to conduct onward transaction of horticultural produce and other such crops, in retail, wholesale or by transfer, as the case may be:
Provided further that the Chief Administrator may allow any person including a licence holder to provide facilities such as processing, packaging, sorting, grading, storage, sale and export of the produce and refrigeration in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode or otherwise by charging appropriate user charges along with such fee, security and other terms and conditions, as may be prescribed, from time to time.]
[8C. Establishment of e-trading platform. - (1) Any person who desires to establish a private market yard in any notified market area under section 7, shall apply to the State Government or any officer authorized by it along with requisite fee for grant of license and such authority shall grant the licence for such period, in such form, on such terms and conditions, as may be prescribed.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules made there under, the State Government or any officer authorized by it in this behalf, may grant permission to any person for setting up an e-trading platform for marketing of notified agricultural produce in the State on fulfilment of such terms and conditions and in such manner, as may be prescribed:
Provided that owner or service provider of e-trading platform shall neither be permitted for the sale or purchase of agricultural produce in the e-trading platform.
(3) Save as provided in sub-sections (1) and (2), the State Government or its agencies may establish and run e-trading platform for trading in notified agricultural produce including livestock, in such manner, as may be prescribed.