Chapter VIII Regulation of Trading

1. (1) No person shall, except in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules and bye-laws made thereunder,—
   • (i) use any place in the market area for the marketing of notified agricultural produce; or
   • (ii) operate in the market area as a market functionary.
2. (2) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall apply to:—
   • (i) the sale of agricultural produce which is made by the producer himself to any person for his domestic consumption upto the quantity of one quintal;
   • (ii) notified agricultural produce which is brought for sale by head load, provided that the Government may by notification, withdraw this exemption specifying the reasons therein in respect of such market area as is specified in the notification;
   • (iii) the purchase or sale of notified agricultural produce which is made by a petty trader;
   • (iv) purchase of notified agricultural produce which is made by an authorized fair price shop dealer from the Food Corporation of India, the State Commodities Trading Corporation or any other agency or institution authorized by the Government for distribution of essential commodities through the public distribution system;
   • (v) the transfer of agricultural produce to a co-operative society for the purpose of securing an advance therefrom.

1. (1) Entire notified agricultural produce shall be ordinarily sold in the market yards/sub-market yards or in the private yards of the licence holder, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2): Provided that the notified agricultural produce may be sold at other places also to a licence holder under section 52 of this Act: Provided further that it shall not be necessary to bring agricultural produce covered under Contract Farming to the market yard/sub-market yard/private yard and it may be directly sold to contract farming sponsor from farmers' fields.
2. (2) The notified agricultural produce brought by the licensed/registered trader from a place outside the market area or within the market area in the course of commercial transaction may be bought or sold anywhere in the market area.
3. (3) The price of the notified agricultural produce, brought for sale into the market yard, shall be settled by a tender bid or open auction or any other transparent system and no deduction shall be made from the agreed price on any account whatsoever by the seller: Provided that the price of notified agricultural produce in the private yard shall be settled in the manner prescribed.
4. (4) Weighment or measurement or counting of the agricultural produce so purchased shall be done by such a person and such system as is provided in the bye-laws or at any other place specified for the purpose by the Marketing Board.

1. (1) Except in the commercial transaction between two traders, any other person who buys notified agricultural produce in the market area, shall execute an agreement in triplicate, in such form, as may be prescribed, in favour of the seller and one copy of such agreement shall be kept by the buyer, second copy shall be supplied to the seller and the third copy shall be kept in the records of the Marketing Board.
2. (2) (a) The price of the notified agricultural produce brought in the market yard/sub- market yard/private yard shall be paid on the same day to the seller in market yard/submarket yard/ /private yard, as the case may be, and that the payment for notified agricultural produce purchased from such yard, shall be made to the seller, if he is not a trader, on the same day there itself;
   • (b) In case the purchaser does not make payment as provided under clause (a), he shall be liable to penalty at the rate of one percent per day on the total price of the agricultural produce payable to the seller, for five days from the date on which such amount is payable;
   • (c) In case the purchaser does not make payment to the seller as provided under clause
   • (b) above, within five days, his license and registration shall be deemed to have been cancelled on the sixth day of such purchase and he shall not be registered or granted any license or permitted to operate under this Act for a period of one year from the date of such cancellation.
3. (3) No wholesale transaction of notified agricultural produce shall be entered directly by licensed/registered trader with producer of such agricultural produce in the market yard/submarket yard/private yard or at such place except in accordance with the provisions contained in the bye-laws: Provided that agricultural produce, produced under contract farming, may be directly bought by contract farming sponsor anywhere.
4. (4) The commission agent shall recover his commission only from his principal trader at such rate as may be specified in the bye-laws including all expenses as may be incurred by him in storage of the agricultural produce and for other services rendered by him.
5. (5) Every commission agent shall be liable,—
   • (a) to keep the goods of his principal in safe custody without any charge other than the commission payable to him; and
   • (b) to pay the price of the goods to the principal as soon as the goods are sold by him irrespective of the fact that whether he has received or has not received the price from the buyer of such goods.

1. (1) No agricultural produce shall be removed out of the market area or brought in the market area from outside the State of Goa or outside India except in the manner and in accordance with the permit issued in such form as may be specified by the Secretary of the Marketing Board: Provided that the bill issued by the seller shall be retained till the time of transportation of processed product of agricultural produce out of the market area: Provided further that the producer of agricultural produce himself may take the agricultural produce from one place to another without a permit.
2. (2) Under commercial transactions, any agricultural produce may be transported in the market area in the manner as specified by the Secretary of the Marketing Board.

1. (1) Any person who desires to operate in the market area as trader, commission agent, weighman, hamal, surveyor, warehouseman, contract farming buyer, owner or occupier of processing factory or as any other market functionary, in respect of any notified agricultural produce, shall apply to the Marketing Board for his registration or renewal of such registration, in such manner and within such period as may be prescribed: Provided that any person may buy agricultural produce in the market yard/sub-market yard on day-to-day basis without getting himself registered: Provided further that any person who desires to carry on trade or transact, in any notified agricultural produce in more than one market area, shall get himself registered, for that respective function, with the prescribed authority.
2. (2) Every application for registration or renewal of registration shall be accompanied with such fee as the Government may prescribe.
3. (3) The Marketing Board may, on receipt of an application for registration or renewal of registration, together with the fees prescribed therefor, grant a certificate of registration or renewal, as the case may be, for such period as may be prescribed.
4. (4) The Marketing Board may refuse to register or refuse to renew the registration on any of the following grounds:—
   • (i) the applicant is a minor or the application is not bonafide;
   • (ii) the applicant has been declared defaulter under any Act or rules on bye-laws made thereunder;
   • (iii) the applicant has been found guilty under this Act.
   • (iv) 1[The applicant has not traded in notified Agriculture Produce during period of licence.]
5. (5) (i) The application received under sub-section (1) shall be disposed off by the 1 Inserted clause by the Goa Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development & Regulation) (Amendment) Act,2018 (Goa Act,1 of 2018) published in Official Gazette Extraordinary Sr. I No.42 dated 18 January, 2018. Marketing Board within four weeks from the date of it's receipt, but if the Marketing Board fails to dispose off any application within such four weeks time then the applicant shall remind, in writing the Marketing Board, in respect of his application; and the applicant shall also inform about the same, in writing, to the authority specified by the Secretary of the Marketing Board in this regard.
   • (ii) On expiry of the period of two weeks from the date of receipt of the reminder by the Marketing Board and receipt of information by such authority, if the application is not disposed off, it shall be deemed that the registration or it's renewal, as the case may be, has been granted.
   • (iii) The authority, on the basis of information received by it and after expiry of period of two weeks specified above, shall confirm that the application for registration/renewal was submitted to the Marketing Board and due action has not been taken by the Marketing Board for disposal of the same and then it shall issue a certificate as per clause (ii) of sub-section (5) regarding grant of deemed registration or its deemed renewal within two weeks time.
6. (6) The registration granted or renewed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of this Act, and the rules and bye-laws made thereunder.
7. (7) No commission agent shall act in any transaction between the agriculturist, seller, trader or purchaser or on their behalf, nor shall he deduct any amount towards commission from the sale proceeds payable to the agriculturist, seller, trader or purchaser.

agriculturist (direct purchasing from producer).— The State Marketing Officer may grant a license to purchase agricultural produce, by establishing private yard, directly from the agriculturist, in one or more market areas for,—

1. (a) the purpose of processing the notified agricultural produce;
2. (b) trade of notified agricultural produce of particular specification;
3. (c) export of notified agricultural produce;
4. (d) grading, packing and any other activity so as to add value to agricultural produce.

1. (1) Consumer/Farmer market may be established by developing infrastructure as prescribed, by any person in any market area and that the producer of agricultural produce himself may sell his produce as prescribed directly to the consumer at such place: Provided that the consumer shall not purchase the agricultural produce more than the prescribed quantum in the consumer market.
2. (2) Market service charge shall be collected on sale of the agricultural produce by the seller and shall be remitted to the proprietor of the consumer market.
3. (3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, no market fee shall be leviable on the transaction undertaken in the consumer/farmer market.
4. (4) License for establishment of consumer/farmer market shall be granted by the Government.

1. (1) Any person who, under section 52 desires to purchase notified agricultural produce directly from the agriculturist or wishes to establish a private yard or under section 53 desires to establish a consumer/farmer market in one or more than one market area, shall apply to the State Marketing Officer for grant of licence or renewal of such license, as the case may be, in the manner and for the period, as may be prescribed.
2. (2) Alongwith every such application for license or renewal of license, fees as prescribed, shall be deposited.
3. (3) The State Marketing Officer may, on receipt of an application for grant of license or renewal of license together with the prescribed fees therefor, grant a license or renew it, as the case may be, for such period as may be prescribed.
4. (4) Application received under sub-section (1) for grant of license or renewal of such license may be rejected with reasons in writing. Such application may be rejected on any of the following grounds:—
   • (i) the Marketing Board's dues are outstanding against the applicant;
   • (ii) the applicant is minor or the application is not bonafide;
   • (iii) the applicant has been declared defaulter under any Act or rules and bye-laws made thereunder;
   • (iv) the applicant has been declared guilty in any criminal case and convicted by imprisonment;
   • (v) any other ground, as may be prescribed.
5. (5) The license granted or renewed under this section shall be subject to the provisions of this Act, rules or bye-laws made thereunder.

1. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the State Marketing Officer or the Marketing Board who has issued license or registration, as the case may be, may, for reasons to be communicated to the license holder/registration holder in writing, suspend or cancel, license/registration, if, —
   • (a) the license or registration has been obtained through willful misrepresentation or fraud; or
   • (b) the holder of the license or registration or any of his servants or any one acting on his behalf with his express or implied permission, commits breach of any of the terms or conditions of license/registration; or
   • (c) the holder of the license/registration in combination with other license/registration holder commits any act or abstains from carrying on his normal business in the market area with the intention of wilfully obstructing, suspending or stopping the marketing of notified agricultural produce in the market yard/sub-market yard as a consequence of which the marketing of any notified agricultural produce has been obstructed, suspended or stopped; or
   • (d) the holder of the license/registration has been adjudged as an insolvent; or
   • (e) the holder of the license/registration incurs any disqualification, as may be prescribed; or
   • (f) the holder of license/registration is convicted of any offence under this Act.
2. (2) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the Chairman or Secretary of the Marketing Board may, for reasons to be communicated in writing to the registration holder, by order, suspend registration for a period not exceeding one month on any reasons for which the Marketing Board may suspend a registration under sub-section (1): Provided that such order shall cease to have effect on expiry of a period of ten days, from the date on which it is made, unless confirmed by the Marketing Board before expiry of such ten days.
3. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) but subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the State Marketing Officer may, for reasons to be communicated in writing to the registration holder, by order, suspend or cancel the registration granted or renewed by the Marketing Board: Provided that no order under this sub-section shall be made without giving notice to the Marketing Board.
4. (4) No license or registration shall be suspended or cancelled under this section without giving a reasonable opportunity to it's holder to show cause against such suspension or cancellation.

1. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order, passed under sections 51, 54 or 55, as the case may be, prefer an appeal in such manner, as may be prescribed,—
   • (a) to the State Marketing Officer, where such order is passed by the Chairman/Secretary of the Marketing Board, within seven days of receipt of the order;
   • (b) to the State Marketing Officer, where such order is passed by the Marketing Board, within thirty days of receipt of the order; and
   • (c) to the Government, where such order is passed by the State Marketing Officer, within thirty days of receipt of the order. (2)The Appellate Authority, if it considers necessary to do so, grant a stay of the order appealed against for such period as it may deem fit. (3)The order passed by the Chairman/Secretary of the Marketing Board or the Marketing Board or the State Marketing Officer shall, subject to the order in the appeal under this section, be final and shall not be called in question in any Court of law.

1. (1) Dispute between the farmer market or consumer market and Marketing Board shall be referred to the State Marketing Officer or his representative or any other officer authorized by the Government in this regard. The dispute shall be resolved after giving both parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard, in the manner prescribed.
2. (2) The decision given by the authority under sub-section (1) above shall be final and shall not be called in question in any Court of law.

No trade allowance or deduction, other than specified by or under this Act, shall be made or received by any person in any market area in any transaction in respect of the notified agricultural produce and no Civil Court, shall, in any suit or proceeding arising out of any such transaction, have regard to any trade allowance not so specified.

(1) Every trader, processor, proprietor of a private yard, proprietor of consumer/farmer market or commission agent connected with the business of notified agricultural produce shall before the 30th June of every year submit to the Secretary of the Marketing Board, a statement of transactions undertaken by or through him during the previous financial year ending on 31st March in the prescribed manner.

1. (2) The Secretary of the Marketing Board shall accept or reject the statement submitted to him under sub-section (1) after necessary examination and verification on the basis of information available in the Marketing Board and shall assess the balance amount payable by the functionary and levy the assessed amount.
2. (3) Any person aggrieved by the proceedings of the Secretary, may within 30 days from the date of receipt of notice by him, appeal to the Marketing Board.
3. (4) An officer authorized by the Government may, on his own motion or on an application made to the Government, start the process of re-verification of the statement which was verified by the Secretary, within two years from the date of verification made by the Secretary and for this purpose such officer shall exercise the powers under section 36 of this Act.
4. (5) The re-verification made by the Officer authorized by the Government, shall be final.

licensed/registered functionaries.— If any person required to produce accounts or furnish information under sub-section (1) of section 69 fails to produce such accounts or to furnish information or knowingly furnishes incomplete or incorrect account or information or has not maintained proper accounts of the business of the notified agricultural produce, then, the Secretary of the Marketing Board on his own motion, shall assess such person for levying fees levied under section 34 on the basis of the information available with the Marketing Board.