Provided further that the period intervening the close of the financial year to which the reports pertain and the laying of reports, shall not exceed nine months.

Power to make rules

1. (1) The State Government may make rules, consistent with this Act, for carrying out all or any of the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for :—
   • (i) the appointment of members of the Board and market committees;
   • (ii) the powers to be exercised and the duties to be performed by the market committee or the Board, their officers and servants; (ii-a) the powers to be exercised and duties to be performed by the Chairman of the Board and the remuneration and allowances to be paid;
   • (iii) the election of the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of market committee, their powers and term of office;
   • (iv) the filling of casual vacancies in the office of members or in the office of Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the market committee;
   • (v) the time, place and manner in which a contract between buyer and seller is to be entered into and the money is to be paid to the seller;
   • (vi) generally for the guidance of the market committees;
   • (vii) management of the market, maximum fees which may be levied by the Board in respect of the agricultural produce bought or sold by licencees in any notified market area and the recovery and disposal of such fees;
   • (viii) the issue by a market committee of licences to brokers, weighmen, measurers, surveyors and godown-keepers or other functionaries, the form in which, and the conditions under which, such licences shall be issued or renewed and the fees, if any, to be charged therefor;
   • (ix) the place or places at which the agricultural produce shall be weighed, the kind and description of the scales, weights and measures which alone may be used in transactions in agricultural produce in a notified market area;
   • (x) the inspection, verification, regulation, correction and confiscation of scales, weights and measures in use in a notified market area;
   • (xi) the trade allowances which may be made or received by any person in any transaction in an agricultural produce in a notified market area;
   • (xii) the provision of facilities for the settlement, by arbitration, or otherwise, of any dispute between a buyer and a seller of agricultural produce of their agents including disputes regarding the quality or weight of the article, the price or rate to be paid, allowances for wrapping, dirt or impurities or deductions for any cause;
   • (xiii) the prohibition of brokers from acting in the same transaction on behalf of both the buyer and the seller of agricultural produce;
   • (xiv) the provision of accommodation for storing any agricultural produce brought into the market;
   • (xv) the preparation of plans and estimates for works proposed to be constructed partly or wholly at the expense of a market committee or the Board and the grant of sanction to such plans and estimates;
   • (xvi) the form in which the accounts of a market committee shall be kept, the audit and publication of such accounts, and the charges, if any, to be made for such audit;
   • (xvii) the management and regulation of provident funds which may be established by market committee or Board for the benefit of its employees; (xviii) the preparation and submission for sanction of an annual budget and the reports and returns to be furnished by the Board or market committees;
   • (xix) the investment and disposal of the surplus funds of the Board or market committees;
   • (xx) the manner in which auctions of agricultural produce shall be conducted and bids made and accepted in any market;
   • (xxi) determining the scale of fees payable for the issue or renewal of licences and for prescribing the form of a licence and the conditions under which a licence shall be issued to dealers;
   • (xxii) fixing the maximum annual fees which may be levied by market committee in respect of licences granted and maximum fees which may be levied on the agricultural produce bought or sold in the notified market area and the recovery of such fees; (xxiii) exemption of persons or classes of persons from the obligation of obtaining licences under section 4;
   • (xxiv) specifying the authority to which applications for obtaining licences shall be made;
   • (xxv) the realisation or disposal of fees recoverable under the Act or under any rules or bye-laws made under this Act;
   • (xxvi) the travelling expenses that may be paid to the Chairman, members and employees of the Board and committees; (xxvi-a) operation of the Himachal Pradesh Marketing Board Fund; (xxvii) the settlement of any question as to whether any person is producer or not; (xxviii) the grading and standardisation of the agricultural produce, the prevention of adulteration of the agricultural produce;
   • (xxix) imposing on the persons holding licences under this Act, the duty of making returns to committees at regular intervals of transactions of sale, purchase, storage and processing done by them, and of producing accounts and records for inspection and furnishing information when called by an authority empowered and prescribing the form and mode of verification of and the particulars to be entered in such returns as well as the nature of such information;
   • (xxx) the payment to the employees of the Board and market committee or leave allowance, gratuities or compassionate allowance and contribution to any provident fund which may be established for the benefit of such employees;
   • (xxxi) the penalties to be imposed upon the employees of the Board and market committees, including the manner of imposing such penalties and the rights of appeal against such penalties; (xxxii) nature and status of the servants of the Board and market committees; (xxxiii) the regulation of advances, if any, given to producers by brokers or dealers; and (xxxiv) any other matter which is to be or may be prescribed.
3. (3) The rules made under this section shall, as soon as may be after they are made, be laid before the Legislative Assembly.