KARACHI, Sept 28: The Sindh governor on Thursday issued an ordinance providing a mechanism to check prices of essential commodities and to curb profiteering and hoarding.
The ordinance authorises government functionaries to take action against profiteers and hoarders creating price hike.
According to the ordinance, nobody would sell or resell any essential commodity at a price higher than the maximum price fixed.
The dealers and producers shall supply information regarding production, purchase sale or distribution of essential commodities as required by the district controller.
Any person who contravenes any order shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or fine which may extend to Rs10,000 or with both.
The district controller may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix specific maximum prices of essential commodities and different prices may be fixed for different localities or for different classes or categories of any essential commodities.
No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Ordinance except upon a complaint in writing by concerned inspector.
The ordinance may provide for:
a) controlling prices at which any essential commodity may be bought or sold in any area;
b) for regulating the production, treatment and keeping of any essential commodity;
c) for regulating, by license, permit or otherwise, the transport movement and distribution between the districts of an essential commodity;
d) for prohibiting the withholding of sale of an essential commodity ordinarily kept for sale;
e) for requiring any person holding stock in a district of an essential commodity to sell in another district the whole or specified part of the stock at such price, to such persons or class of persons and under such conditions as may be specified in the order;
f) for fixing the maximum quantity of any essential commodity which may at any time be possessed by a producer or dealer;
g) for collecting any information or statistics with a view to regulating or prohibiting any of the matters aforesaid;
h) for requiring persons engaged in any of the matters aforesaid in respect of any essential commodity to maintain and produce for inspection such books, accounts and records relating to their business, and to furnish such information relating thereto, as may be specified in the order;
i) for requiring every producer and dealer to mark the essential commodities with the sale prices and to exhibit on his premises a price list of the essential commodities held by him for sale;
j) for specifying duties and functions of the Inspectors; and k) for any incidental and supplementary matters, including in particular entering and search of premises, vehicles, the seizure by an inspector authorized to make such search of any article of essential commodities in respect of which such an Inspector has reason to believe that a contravention of the order has been, is being or is about to be committed, or any records connected therewith, the grant or issue of licenses, permits or other documents and the charging of fees therefore.
Government may, by notified order, direct that any power conferred on it by or under this Ordinance shall, in relation to such matters and subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the direction, be exercisable also by such officer or authority subordinate to government as may be specified in the direction.
(1) The Deputy District Officer (Revenue) shall be responsible to check the prices, stock and record of essential commodities.
(2) The District Officer (Revenue) shall be responsible for the implementation of the Ordinance under the supervision of executive District Officer (Revenue);
(3) The Executive District Officer (Revenue) may give such directions and issue such instructions to the district officer
(Revenue) and the Deputy district officer (Revenue) as he deems fit for proper implementation of the (Ordinance).
Any order made under section 3 shall have effect not withstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Ordinance or any instrument having effect by virtue of any enactment of other than this Ordinance.
(1) Subject to such general or special order as may be made by government under section 3, the district controller may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix specific maximum prices of essential commodities and different prices may be fixed for different localities or for different classes or categories of any essential commodities.
If a person convicted for offenses punishable is again convicted for such offenses, the terms of imprisonment awarded to him shall not be less than three days.
Any person who attempts to contravene or abets a contravention of, any order made under section 3 shall be deemed to have contravened the order; Provided that, a person who buys an essential commodity for his personal consumption or use and not for sale shall not be deemed to have abetted the contravention of an order controlling the price at which the essential commodity may be sold.
If the person contravening an order made under section 3 is a company or other body corporate or a partnership or other body of individuals, every director, manager, secretary, member or other office or agent there of shall, unless he proves that the contravention took place without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent such contravention, be deemed to be guilty of such contravention.
If any person: i) when required by an order made under section 3 to make a statement or furnish any information makes any statement or furnishes any statement which is false and which he knows or has reasonable cause to believe to be false, or does not believe to be true; or ii) makes any statement as aforesaid in any book, account, record, declaration return or other document which he is required by any such order to maintain or furnish.
He shall be punished with imprisonment for a terms which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.
No court shall take cognizance of an offence under this Ordinance except upon a complaint in writing by concerned inspector.
(1) where any person in the opinion of an inspector is committing an offence mentioned in the Second Schedule in respect of an essential commodity the inspector may, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Ordinance, charge such person on the spot by issuing a ticket for payment of fine specified in the ticket:
Provided that in case the offence is repeated the amount of fine shall be double of the amount specified in the Schedule.
(2) The ticket under sub-section (1) shall be issued in quadruplicate by delivering three copies to the person committing the offence after obtaining his signatures or thumb impression on the fourth copy to be retained by the Inspector for record.
(3) A person charged with an offence under this section shall unless contest the charge, before the court having jurisdiction, pay, within 10 days from the date of delivery of the ticket to him, the penalty specified for the offence mentioned in the ticket through cash in the assigned post office or a branch of the National Bank of Pakistan empowered to receive government dues.
(4) The Bank or Post Office shall provide two copies of the ticket to the offender with endorsement of receipt of amount of fine and forward one copy to the concerned Treasury Officer.
(5) The offender shall deliver one copy of duly paid ticket in the office of the concerned Inspector within 10 days.
(6) If the fine is not paid, the inspector issuing the ticket shall lay a complaint against the offender before the court having jurisdiction.
The Inspector shall maintain record of offences in which tickets were issued, the cases which were not contested or contested before the court, complaints are filed for prosecution, the recovery of fines, punishment awarded and similar ancillary matters.
The Inspector shall furnish monthly reports on the 10 day of each month, regarding the enforcement activities within the area of his jurisdiction in the manner as may be prescribed.
To enforce the provisions, of this Ordinance, if the situation so warrants, the Inspector shall be provided police assistance by the Station House Officer at the concerned Police Station.
Government may, be notification, in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance.
Government may, by notification in official Gazette, amend a Schedule so as to add, or omit from it any commodity or class of commodities.
Where any person is prosecuted for contravening any order made under section 3 which prohibits him from doing an act or being in possession of a thing without lawful authority or without a permit, license of other document, the burden of proving that he has such an authority, permit, license or other documents shall be on him.
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Ordinance.—APP
