Rubber Act, 1947 (Extracts)
An Act to provide for the development under the control of the Union of the rubber industry.

WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the development under the control of the union of the rubber industry;

It is hereby enacted as follows: -

1. Short title and extent. -(1) This Act may be called the Rubber Act, 1947.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir

2. Declaration as to expediency of Union control. -It is hereby declared that it is expedient in the public interest that the Union should take under its control the rubber industry.

3. Definitions. -In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -

(a) "Board" means the Rubber Board constituted under this Act;

(b) "dealer" means any person who deals in rubber whether wholesale or retail or holds stocks of rubber, and includes the representative or agent of a dealer;

(c) "estate" means any area administered as one unit which contains land planted with rubber plants;

(d) "export" and "import" means respectively taking out of, and bringing into India by sea, land or air;

(dd) "India" means the territory of India excluding the State of Jammu and Kashmir;

(e) "manufacturer" means any person engaged in the manufacture of any article in the making of which rubber is used;

(f) "owner" includes any agent of an owner and a mortgagee in possession and a lessee of an estate;

(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(h) "rubber" means -

(i) crude rubber, that is to say, rubber prepared from the leaves, bark of latex or any rubber plant;

(ii) the latex of any rubber plant, whether fluid or coagulated, in any stage of the treatment to which it is subjected during the process of conversion into rubber;

(iii) latex (dry rubber content) in any state of concentration, and includes scrap rubber, sheet rubber, rubber in powder and all forms and varieties of crepe rubber, but does not include rubber contained in any manufactured article;

(i) "rubber plant" includes plants, trees, shrubs or vines of any of the following: -

(i) Hevea Braziliensis (Para Rubber),
(ii) Manihot Glaziovii (Ceara Rubber),
(iii) Castilloa-elastica,
(iv) Ficus elastica (Rambong), and

(v) any other plant which the Board may, by notification in the Gazette of India, declare to be a rubber plant for the purposes of this Act;

(j) "Rubber Production Commissioner means the Rubber Production Commissioner appointed under this Act;

(k) "small grower means an owner whose estate does not exceed fifty acres in area.

12. Imposition of new rubber cess,-(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, there shall be levied as a cess for the purposes of this Act, a duty of excise on all rubber produced in india at such rate, not exceeding two rupees per kilogram of rubber so produced, as the Central Government may fix

(2) The duty of excise levied under sub-section (1) shall be collected by the Board in accordance with ,rules made in this behalf either, from the owner, of the estate on which the rubber, is produced 0, from the manufacture by whom such rubber, is used

(3) The owner or, as the case may be, the manufacture, shall pay to the Board the amount of the duty within one month from the date on which he, receives a notice of demand therefore from the Board and, if he fails to do so, the duty may be recovered from the owner or the manufacture as the case may be, as an area, of land revenue

(4) For, the purpose of enabling the Board to assess the amount of the duty of excise levied under, this section -

(a) the Board shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, fix a period in respect of which assessments shall be made; and

(b) without prejudice to the provisions of section 20, every owner and every manufacturer shall furnish to the Board a return not late, than fifteen days after, the expiry of the period to which the return ,elates, stating,- (i) in the case of an owner the total quantity of rubber produced on the estate in each such period

Provided that in respect of an estate situated only partly in India, the owner shall in the said return show separately the quantity of rubber produced within and outside india;

(ii) in the case of a manufacturer the total quantity of rubber used by him in such period out of the rubber produced in India;

(5) If any owner or manufacturer fails to furnish, within the time prescribed the return referred to in sub-section (4) or furnishes a return which the Board has reason to believe is incorrect or, defective, the Board may assess the amount of the duty of excise in such manner as may be prescribed.

(6) Any person aggrieved by an assessment made under this section may, within three months of the service of the notice under sub-section (3), apply to the District Judge for the cancellation or modification of the assessment, and the District fudge shall, after giving the Board an opportunity of being heard, pass such order which shall be final) as he thinks proper

(7) The proceeds of the duty of excise collected under this section reducedby the cost of collection as determined by the Central Government shall first be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India, and then be paid by the Central Government to the Board for being utilised for the purposes of this Act, if Parliament by appropriation made by law in this behalf so provides.

27 A. Jurisdiction of courts. -No court inferior to that of a presidency magistrate or a magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this Act.

28. Bar of legal proceedings. -No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Board or any officer of the Board for anything in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.