The Himachal Pradesh Warehouses Act, 1976

This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Warehouses Act, 1976.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

1. (a) "Co-operative Society" means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Himachal Pradesh Co-operative Societies Act, 1968;
2. (b) "depositor" means a person who tenders his goods to a warehouseman for storing in his warehouse;
3. (c) "goods" means all kinds of movable property, except actionable claims and money, and includes all kinds of agricultural produce;
4. (d) "Licensed Warehouse" means a warehouse licensed under this Act;
5. (e) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
6. (f) "Receipt" means a warehouse receipt issued by a warehouseman under this Act;
7. (g) "Warehouse" means any building, structure or other protected enclosure which is or may be used for the purpose of storing goods on behalf of depositors but does not include cloak-room attached to hotels, railway stations, air-ports or premises of like nature;
8. (h) "Warehouseman" means a person who has obtained a licence under this Act;
   • (i) "Warehousing" means the business of storing goods for hire.

1. (2) After considering the explanation, if any of the warehouseman, the prescribed authority may pass such orders as it deems fit.

When a licence expires or is suspended, revoked or cancelled, the warehouseman shall cease to work as such and shall return the licence to the prescribed authority, who shall give reasonable time to the warehouseman to enable him to wind up the business or, who may acquire the business in the manner as prescribed.

1. (1) Where a licence granted to a warehouseman is lost, destroyed, torn or defaced or otherwise becomes illegible, the prescribed authority shall issue a duplicate licence on the application of the warehouseman and on payment of the prescribed fee.
2. (2) When a duplicate licence is issued, it shall be clearly stamped "Duplicate" and shall be marked with the date of issue of the duplicate and that of the original from the record of the office issuing the licence.

Every warehouseman shall take such care of the goods deposited with him as a man of ordinary prudence would take of his own goods under similar circumstances and conditions.

1. (1) Every warehouseman shall keep his warehouse clean and free from damp, take all necessary precautions against rats and other pests, and fulfil such other conditions as my be prescribed.
2. (2) No warehouseman shall accept such goods for deposit as are likely to cause damage to other goods which are, or may be deposited, in the warehouse.

Every warehouseman shall keep the goods of one depositor separate from the goods of other depositors and from other goods of the same depositor for which a separate receipt has been issued, in such a manner as to permit at all times the identification and delivery of the goods deposited : Provided that where standardised and graded goods are stored in a warehouse, then, subject to any agreement between the warehouseman and a depositor, the same variety of goods belonging to different depositors may be stored together and each depositor shall be entitled only to his portion of the goods according to weight or quantity, as the case may be, as shown in his receipt.

1. (1) Whenever goods deposited in a warehouse begin to deteriorate, he shall forthwith give notice of such fact to the depositor requiring him to take delivery of the goods immediately, after surrendering the receipt duly discharged and paying all charges due to the warehouseman. Explanation.—Loss of weight or bulk by shrinkage, dryage or gain in weight or bulk by absorption of moisture shall, be deemed to amount to deterioration within the meaning of this sub-section, if the loss or gain exceeds such limits as may be prescribed.
2. (2) If the depositor does not, within a reasonable time as prescribed, comply with a notice given to him under sub-section (1), the warehouseman may cause the goods to be removed from the warehouse and sold by public auction on such conditions as may be prescribed at the cost and risk of the depositor.
3. (3) Any person having an interest in any goods deposited in a warehouse or in the receipt for such goods may inform the warehouseman in writing of the fact and nature of his interest and the warehouseman shall keep a record thereof ; and if such person requests in writing that intimation be given to him regarding the condition of the goods and agrees to pay the charges for giving such intimation, the warehouseman shall give him intimation accordingly.

1. (1) Every warehouseman, in the absence of any reasonable excuse, shall, without unnecessary delay deliver the goods deposited in his warehouse to the depositor on demand made by him and surrender of the receipt duly discharged and payment of all charges due to the warehouseman.
2. (2) Subject to any agreement between the warehouseman and the depositor the depositor may take partial delivery of the goods deposited in a warehouse.

1. (1) For the purposes of sub-section
2. (1) of section 15 and of section 16, loss of weight or bulk by dryage or shrinkage within prescribed limits and gain in weight by absorption of moisture within such limits shall not be deemed to amount to deterioration.
3. (2) If there is any excess in the goods stored in a warehouse by absorption of moisture or other causes, the warehouseman shall not be entitled thereto.
4. (3) If there is any shortage in the goods stored in a warehouse by dryage or other causes beyond his control, the warehouseman shall not be responsible therefor.
5. (4) In the event of a dispute arising as to whether such shortage or excess is due to dryage or absorption of moisture or is due to other causes beyond the control of the warehouseman, the matter shall be referred to the appellate authority referred to in section 29 whose decision thereon shall be final and binding.

1. (1) Goods in warehouses shall be insured against loss or damage by fire, rain, floods, theft, riot, or civil commotion, or any other prescribed event, in such manner as may be prescribed.
2. (2) Every warehouseman shall be entitled to recover from the depositor, at the rate prescribed the charges for insurance in respect of depositors goods before the delivery thereof, and the warehouseman shall have a lien on the said goods in respect of such charges.

No warehouseman shall, in the conduct of his business, discriminate between persons desiring to avail themselves of the facilities of his warehouse:

Warehouseman not to deal in or lend against goods in warehouse Nothwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no warehouseman, other than a co-operative society or the Central or any State warehousing corporation set-up under the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962, (58 of 1962) shall either on his own account or that of others, deal in, or lend money on, goods received by him for deposit in his warehouse.

A warehouseman shall maintain account books and record in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

The prescribed authority may, at any time, during business hours, inspect or examine or cause to be inspected or examined any licensed warehouse, its machinery and equipment goods deposited therein, and the account books and records relating thereto, for the purpose of satisfying itself that the requirements of this Act and the rules made thereunder are being complied with.

1. (1) The prescribed authority may, on application made in the prescribed manner and on payment of the prescribed fee, issue licences to persons possessing the prescribed qualification entitling them to act as weighers, samplers and graders of any goods deposited, or to be deposited in a licensed warehouse and to issue certificates as to the weight, bulk, quality or grade of the goods which they have examined.
2. (2) The prescribed authority may appoint a Board of Arbitrators whose decision on any complaint against weighers, samplers and classifiers or warehouseman relating to weight, quality or the grade of the goods stored in the warehouse shall be final. The certificate issued by weighers, samplers, and classifiers as to weight, quality or grade of the goods in the warehouse shall be binding on the warehouseman and the depositor subject to any order in appeal preferred by them to the Board of Arbitrators.
3. (3) No person who is not licensed under this section shall act, or hold himself out, as a weigher, sampler or grader.

1. (1) Every licence granted to a weigher, sampler or grader under section 23 shall be valid for the prescribed period any may, on application and payment of the prescribed fee be renewed from time to time for the prescribed period by the prescribed authority.
2. (2) The prescribed authority may cancel any such licence after communication to the licensee the grounds on which it is proposed to take action and giving him reasonable opportunity of showing cause why the proposed actions should not be taken.
3. (3) The prescribed authority may suspend any such licence without such notice after recording in writing its reasons therefor.
4. (4) The holder of any such licence shall on the expiry thereof or the receipt of an order suspending or cancelling it, return the licence to the prescribed authority.

Every warehouseman shall provide facilities for weighing, sampling and grading any goods deposited or to be deposited in his warehouse.

For the goods deposited in his warehouse by each depositor, the warehouseman shall issue a receipt which shall contain full particulars of the goods and be in the prescribed form.

The receipt issued by a warehouseman shall, unless it is otherwise specified thereon, be transferable by endorsement and shall entitle its lawful holder to receive the goods specified in it on the same terms and conditions as the original depositor.

If a receipt is lost, destroyed or damaged, the warehouseman shall on application by the depositor and payment by him of the prescribed fee, issue a duplicate receipt on such conditions as he may think fit to impose, being conditions included in the rules made under this Act.

1. (1) An appeal against any order of the prescribed authority refusing to grant or renew a licence or suspending, revoking or cancelling any such licence in receipt of warehouseman shall be made to such authority and within such time as may be prescribed.
2. (2) The decision of such appellate authority on such appeal shall be final.

Where any licence is suspended, revoked or cancelled under this Act, the licensee shall not be entitled to any compensation therefor, nor shall he be entitled to refund of any fee paid by him for the licence.

Every contract or agreement which is inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or rules made thereunder shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.

1. (1) Whoever—
   • (a) acts or holds himself out, as licensed warehouseman without having obtained a licence under this Act ; or
   • (b) knowingly contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions or requirements of the Act or the rules made thereunder; shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both.
2. (2) Where a person committing an offence under sub-section
3. (1) is a company or an association or body of persons whether incorporated or not, the manager, secretary, agent or other principal officer managing the affairs of such company, association or body shall be deemed to be guilty of such offence.

The prescribed authority would be entitled to forfeit the security of the warehouseman, in case the warehouseman fails to return the goods deposited within the reasonable time as provided under section 10 and 16 of the Act and the forfeited security may be used in full or part payment of the damages or losses incurred by the depositor on account of such failure of the warehouseman.

The Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, exempt any class of warehouses from all or any of the provisions of this Act.

1. (1) The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.
2. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of foregoing power such rules may provide for—
   • (a) the matters expressly required or allowed by this Act to be prescribed ;
   • (b) the form of licences to be granted to a warehouseman;
   • (c) the publication of the grant, suspension, revocation or cancellation of licences to warehousemen and of consolidated lists of warehousemen and licensed warehouses;
   • (d) the charges to be levied by warehousemen for their services;
   • (e) the books, accounts and records to be maintained by warehousemen;
   • (f) the conduct of public auctions for the sale of goods deteriorating or about to deteriorate in licensed warehouses and the manner in which the proceeds of such sales shall be accounted for;
   • (g) the scales of losses and gains of weight or bulk which may be sustained by goods owing to shrinkage or dryage in the one case and owing to absorption of moisture in the other;
   • (h) the disinfections of licensed warehouses and the disinfection of goods stored therein;
     • (i) the circumstances in which any security or bond furnished by a warehouseman may be forfeited, and the manner in which any sum falling due as a result of such forfeiture may be recovered ;
   • (j) the efficient conduct generally of the business of warehousemen;
   • (k) the qualifications to be possessed by persons applying for the grant of licences as weighers, samplers or graders, the conditions to be inserted in their licences; the form of the certificates to be issued by them and the grounds for which the licences may be suspended or cancelled;
   • (l) the standard weights, measures and gradations of goods to be used in licensed warehouses;
   • (m) the authority to which and the time within which an appeal under section 29 should be made;
   • (n) the manner of giving notices under this Act.
3. (3) Every rule made, under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is in session for a total period of not less than fourteen 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 session aforesaid, the Assembly makes any modifications in the rule or decides that the rule should not be made, the rule 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 under that rule.

1. (1) The Punjab Warehouses Act, 1957 (2 of 1958) as in force in the areas added to Himachal Pradesh under section 5 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, (31 of 1966) and the Orissa Warehouses Act, 1956 (4 of 1957) as in force in the areas comprised in Himachal Pradesh immediately before the 1st November, 1966,—vide notification No. G.S.R. No. 105, dated the 23rd January, 1960, are hereby repealed.
2. (2) Notwithstanding such repeal, any order made under the Acts so repealed and in force immediately before the commencement of this Act shall be deemed to have been made under this Act, and shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act