The Punjab Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Act, 2020

1. Short title, exlent and commencement. (1) This Act may be called the Punjab Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Act, 2020. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Punjab. (3) It shall come into force on and with effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) “Agriculture” includes horticulture; (b) "Appellate Authority" means Director, Department of Horticulture, Punjab; (c) “certification agency” means the Punjab State Seed Certification Authority or any other such agency as may be notified by the State Government; (d) “Committee” means the Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Committee constituted under section 3 of this Act; (e) "Licensing Authority" means the Department of Horticulture, Punjab which shall issue the license for seed potato production through tissue culture based aeroponics or nethouse facility in the State of Punjab; (f) “notified variety”, in relation to seed potato, means a variety thereof notified under section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966; (g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (h) "Schedule" means the Schedule appended to this Act; (i) “seed potato” means potato minitubers or tubers raised through tissue culture based aeroponics or nethouse technology and its successive field generations used for sowing or planting; (j) ''seed potato grower'' means the Farmer Producer Organisation (FPOs) or Society or group of farmers or seed producing company or individual grower; (k) 'State Government' means the Government of the State of Punjab in the Department of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare; (l) “State Seed Laboratory”, means the State Seed Laboratory established under sub-section (2) of section 4 of the Seeds Act, 1966 or any other laboratory notified as such by the State Government; and (m) "variety" means a sub-division or grouping of plants within the cultivated potato identifiable by growth, yield, plant, fruit, seed or other characteristics.

3. Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Committee. (1) The State Government shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, constitute a Committee to be called the Tissue Culture Based Seed Potato Committee to advise the State Government on matters arising out of the administration of this Act and matters related thereto and to carry out such other functions as may be assigned to it by the Government. (2) The Committee constituted under sub-section (1) may appoint one or more Sub-Committees consisting wholly of members of the Committee or wholly of other persons or partly of members of the Committee and partly of other persons, as it thinks fit, for the purpose of discharging such of its functions as may be delegated to such Sub-Committee or Sub-Committees by the Committee.

4. Minimum seed certification standards. The specified minimum seed certification standards shall be as per the Schedule appended to this Act.

5. Certification agency . The Punjab State Seed Certification Authority established under Section 8 of the Seeds Act, 1966 or any other agency, as may be notified by the State Government shall be the certification agency for certification and traceability for such other purposes.

6. Grant of certificate by certification agency. (1) Any seed potato grower involved in the production, multiplication of tissue culture based seed potato, if he desires to have such seed certified by the certification agency, may apply to the certification agency for the grant of a certificate for the purpose. (2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be made in such form, and shall contain such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fees, as may be prescribed. (3) On receipt of any such application for the grant of a certificate, the certification agency may, after such enquiry as it thinks fit and after satisfying itself that the seed to which the application relates conforms to the minimum seed certification standards specified for that seed under section 4 of this Act, grant a certificate in such form and subject to such conditions, as may be prescribed. (4) The certification agency shall ensure full traceability of each certified class of seed and that the material being initiated for producing mini-tubers is of notified variety and confirmed identity, including all documentation with respect to its origin.

7. Revocation of certificate. If the certification agency is satisfied, either on a reference made to it in this behalf or otherwise, that,- (a) the certificate granted by it under section 6 has been obtained by misrepresentation as to an essential fact; or (b) the holder of the certificate has, without reasonable cause, failed to comply with the conditions subject to which the certificate has been granted or has contravened any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under, then, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the certificate may be liable under this Act, the certification agency may, after giving the holder of the certificate an opportunity of showing cause, revoke the certificate.

8. Appeal. (1) Any person aggrieved by a decision of a certification agency under section 6 or section 7, may, within thirty days from the date on which the decision is communicated to him and on payment of such fees, as may be prescribed, prefer an appeal to Appellate Authority: Provided that the Appellate Authority may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by a sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the said period of thirty days. (2) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Appellate Authority shall, after giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as it thinks fit. (3) Every order of the Appellate Authority under this section, shall be final.

9. Review of order. The Additional Chief Secretary (Development) may, suo moto or on the application of the person to a reference, call for and examine the record of any proceedings in which no appeal under section 8 of this Act lies before the Appellant Authority, as the case may be, for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of any decision or order passed and if in any case appears to the Additional Chief Secretary (Development) that any such decision or order should be modified, annulled or revised, the Additional Chief Secretary (Development), as the case may be, may, after giving persons affected thereby an opportunity of being heard, pass such order thereon, as he may deem fit.

10. Penalty. (1) If any seed potato grower contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or any rule made there under, he shall be liable,- (a) to pay for the first offence with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, and (b) in the event of such person having been previously convicted of an offence under this section, to undergo imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both. (2) The Sub-Committee constituted under sub-section (2) of section 3 of this Act shall recommend the licensing authority to cancel the license and blacklist the person restricting him for dealing with any kind of seed production for a minimum period of three years.

11. Forfeiture of seed. When any person has been convicted under this Act for the contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under, the seed in respect of which the contravention has been committed shall be forfeited and destroyed.

12. Protection of action taken in good faith. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the Government or any officer of the State Government for anything which is done in good faith or intended to be done in good faith under this Act or the rules made thereunder.

13. Power to make rules. (1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide, for all or any of the following matters, namely:- (a) the functions of the committee referred in section 3 of this Act; and (b) any other matter, which is to be or may be prescribed, under this Act. (3) Every rule made under this section, shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is made, before the house of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of ten days, which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and if, before the expiry of the session in which, it is so laid or the successive sessions as aforesaid, the house agrees in making any modification in the rules or the house agrees that the rules should not be made, the rules shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be, so however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done or omitted to be done under that rule.

14. Power to remove difficulties. If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the State Government may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such provision not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appears to the Government to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty: Provided that no such order shall be made under this section, after the expiry of a period of three years from the date of commencement of this Act.