Chapter I Preliminary

1. (1) This Act may be called the Goa Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007.
2. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Goa.
3. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (a) "agricultural produce" means all produce (whether processed or unprocessed) of agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, sericulture, livestock and products of livestock, forest produce, etc., as are specified in the Schedule or declared by the Government by Notification from time to time and also includes mixture of two or more than two of such products;
2. (b) "agriculturist" means a person who ordinarily by his own labour or by the labour of any member of his family or by the labour of his tenants or servants or hired labour or otherwise, is engaged in the production or growth of any notified agricultural produce, and includes—
3. (a) a member of a co-operative society registered in the State of Goa which is dealing with agricultural produce; or
4. (b) a person who has sold agricultural produce to the co-operative society, of the value not less than Rs. 5000/- or of such amount as may be determined by the State Marketing Officer from time to time in the preceding financial year; but does not include a trader, trading agent, broker, processor or commission agent;
5. (c) "bill" means a bill issued by the traders as prescribed;
6. (d) "business" means the purchase, sale, processing, value addition, storage, transportation or other connected activity of agricultural produce;
7. (e) "buyer" means a person or a firm or a company or a co-operative society or a Government agency or a public undertaking or a public agency or a corporation or a commission agent, who himself or on behalf of any other person or agent, buys or agrees to buy agricultural produce in the market area as notified under this Act;
8. (f) "bye-laws" means the bye-laws made by the Goa Agricultural Marketing Board under this Act;
9. (g) "Collector" means the Collector of the district or any officer empowered to discharge the duties of the Collector under the provisions of this Act;
10. (h) "commission agent" means a person who on behalf of his principal trader and in consideration of a commission on the amount involved in such transaction, buys agricultural produce and keeps it in his custody and delivers it to the principal trader in due course or receives and takes in his custody agricultural produce sent for sale within the market area or from outside the market area, sells the same in the market area and collects payment thereof from the buyer and remits the sale proceeds to his principal trader;
    • (i) "contract farming" means farming by a person called "Contract Farming Producer" under a written agreement with another person called "Contract Farming Sponsor" to the effect that his agricultural produce shall be purchased as specified in the contract farming agreement;
11. (j) "contract farming agreement" means the agreement made for contract farming between Contract Farming Producer and Contract Farming Sponsor;
12. (k) "contract farming producer" means an individual agriculturist or association of agriculturists, by whatever name called;

1. (1) "contract farming sponsor" means a person entering into contract with the contract farming producer in terms of section 46 of this Act;
   • (m) "District Council" means a Zilla Panchayat established under the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (Goa Act 14 of 1994);
   • (n) "export" means dispatch of agricultural produce outside India;
   • (o) "exporter" means such person or a firm who exports agricultural produce;
   • (p) "e-trading" means trading in which billing, booking, contracting, negotiating, information exchange, record keeping and other connected activities are done electronically on computer network or internet;
   • (q) "Government" means the Government of Goa;
   • (r) "hamal" means a labourer or coolie engaged for Dara-making, loading, unloading, filling, stitching, emptying or carrying any agricultural produce in the notified market area;
   • (s) "Import" means bringing agricultural produce in India from other country;
   • (t) "Importer" means a person or firm who imports agricultural produce;
   • (u) "Licence" means a licence granted under this Act;
     • (v) "Licensee" means a person or association or firm or company or public sector undertaking or society holding a licence issued under this Act;
   • (w) "local authority" means and includes a Village Panchayat or Zilla Panchayat or Municipal Council or Municipal Corporation, as the case may be;
     • (x) "Market" means a market area declared under section 4 of this Act and includes market yard and sub-yards;
   • (y) "market area" means area notified as market area under section 4 of this Act;
   • (z) "market charges" includes charges on account of or in respect of commission, brokerage, weighing, measuring, hamali (loading, unloading and carrying), cleaning, drying, stitching, stacking, hiring, stamping, bagging, storing, warehousing, grading, surveying, transporting and processing;
   • (za) "market functionary" means a trader, a commission agent, buyer, hamal, processor, stockist and such other person as may be declared under the rules or bye- laws to be a market functionary;
   • (zb) "market yard" means a specified place and includes any enclosure, building or locality declared as such in any market area by the Government;
   • (zc) "marketing" means all activities involved in the flow of agricultural produce commencing from the stage of harvest till it reaches to the ultimate consumers, viz. grading, processing, storage, transport, channels of distribution and all other activities involved in the process;
   • (zd) "Marketing Board or Board" means the Goa Agricultural Marketing Board established under section 10 of this Act;
   • (ze) "notified agricultural produce" means any agricultural produce notified under section 4 of this Act;
   • (zf) "Other Backward Classes" means the other backward classes of citizens as specified by the Government from time to time;
   • (zg) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
   • (zh) "private market yard" means such place other than the market yard or sub-market yard in the market area where infrastructure has been developed and managed by a person for marketing of notified agricultural produce by holding a licence for this purpose under this Act;
   • (zi) "processing" means any one or more of a series of treatments relating to powdering, crushing, decorticating, dehusking, parboiling, polishing, ginning, pressing, curing or any other manual, mechanical, chemical or physical mode of treatment to which agricultural produce or its product is subjected to;
   • (zj) "processor" means a person who undertakes processing of any notified agricultural produce on his own accord or on payment of a charge;
   • (zk) "registration" means registration done under this Act;
   • (zl) "retail sale" means a sale of notified agricultural produce not exceeding such quantity as the Marketing Board may, by bye-laws, determine for retail sale in respect thereof;
   • (zm) "rules" means rules made under this Act by the Government; (zn) "Schedule" means the Schedule to this Act;
   • (zo) "schedule castes/schedule tribes" shall carry the same meaning as assigned to them under clause (24) and (25) respectively of Article 366 of the Constitution of India;
   • (zp) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Marketing Board and includes a Joint, Deputy or Assistant Secretary of the Marketing Board;
   • (zq) "seller" means a person who sells or agrees to sell any agricultural produce;
   • (zr) "State Marketing Officer" means a person appointed as the State Marketing Officer for the State of Goa;
   • (zs) "Sub-market yard" means a specified place other than market yard and includes any enclosure, building or locality, declared as such in any market area by the Government or the State Marketing Officer, by notification;
   • (zt) "trader" means a person who in his normal course of business buys or sells any agricultural produce and includes a person engaged in processing of agricultural produce but does not include an agriculturist;
   • (zu) "transportation" means taking agricultural produce by pushcart, bullock cart, truck or other vehicle, in the course of business, for marketing, from one place to another;
   • (zv) "transporter" means a person who transports agricultural produce;
   • (zw) "Value addition" means processing, grading, packing or other activities due to which value is added to the agricultural produce;
   • (zx) "Year" means the financial year or such year as may be notified by the Government from time to time.