Chapter V COMMISSIONER OF PAYMENTS

(1) The Government shall for the purpose of disbursing the amounts payable under sections 9 and 10, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint a Commissioner of Payments.

(2) The Government may appoint such other persons as it may think fit to assist the Commissioner and thereupon the Commissioner may authorise one or more of such persons also to exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by him under this Act and different persons may be authorised to exercise different powers.

(3) any person authorized by the Commissioner to exercise any of the powers exercisable by the Commissioner may exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect, as if they have been conferred on that person directly by this Act not by way of authorisation.

(4) The salaries and allowances of the Commissioner and other persons appointed under this section, shall be defrayed out of the Consolidated Fund of the State.

(1) The Government shall within thirty days from the specified date deposit in cash with the Commissioner for payment to the lessor, lessee owner of land and other interested persons,-

(a) an amount equal to the amount specified in section 9; and

(b) an amount equal to the amount payable under section 10.

(2) A deposit account shall be opened by the Government in favour of the Commissioner in the public account of the State and every amount paid under this Act to the Commissioner shall be deposited by him to the credit of the said deposit account and the said deposit account shall be operated by the Commissioner.

(3) Records shall be maintained by the Commissioner in respect of the mills in relation to which payments have been made to him under this Act.

(4) The interest accruing on the amount standing to the credit of the deposit account referred to in sub-section (2) shall ensure to the benefit of the lessor, lessee owner of land and other interested persons.

(1) The Government or the Company, as the case may be, shall be entitled to receive upto the specified date, to the exclusion of all other persons any money due in relation to the mills which has vested in the Government or the Company, and realised after the appointed day, notwithstanding that the realisation pertains to a period prior to the appointed day.

(2) The Government or the Company, as the case may be, make a claim to the Commissioner with regard to every payment made by the Government or the Company after the appointed day for discharging any liability of the lessor or lessee in relation to the mills in respect of any period prior to the appointed day and every such claim shall have priority in accordance with priorities attaching under this Act to the matters in relation to which such liability has been discharged by the Government or the Company.

(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the liabilities of the lessor or lessee in relation to the mills in respect of any transaction prior to the appointed day, which have not been discharged on or before the specified date shall be the liabilities of the lessor or lessee, as the case may be.

Every person having a claim with regard to any of the matters specified in the Schedule in relation to the mills before the appointed day, shall prefer such claim before the Commissioner within thirty days from the specified date:

Provided that if the Commissioner is satisfied that the claimant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the claim within the period of thirty days, he may entertain the claim within a further period of thirty days and not thereafter.

The claims made under section 18 shall have priorities in accordance with the following principles namely:-

(a) Category-I shall have precedence over all other categories and Category - II shall have precedence over category-III and so on;

(b) the claims specified in each of the categories shall rank equally and be paid in full, but if the amount is insufficient to meet such claims in full, they shall abate in equal proportions and be paid accordingly; and

(c) the question of discharging any liability with regard to a matter specified in a lower category shall arise only if surplus is left after meeting all the liabilities specified in the immediately higher category.

(1) On receipt of the claims made under section 18 the Commissioner shall arrange the claims in the order of priorities specified in the schedule and examine the same in accordance with such order.

(2) If, on examination of the claims, the Commissioner is of opinion that the amount paid to him under this Act is not sufficient to meet the liabilities specified in any lower category he shall not be required to examine the claims in respect of such category.

(1) After examining the claims with reference to the priorities, specified in the Schedule, the Commissioner shall fix a certain date on or before when every claimant shall file the proof of his claim.

(2) Not less than fourteen days notice of the date so fixed shall be given by advertisement in one issue of a daily news paper in the English language having wide circulation in the country and one issue of a daily newspaper in the Kannada language having wide circulation in the State and every such notice shall call upon the claimant to file the proof of his claim with the Commissioner within the time specified in the advertisement.

(3) Every claimant, who fails to file the proof of his claim within the time specified by the Commissioner, shall be excluded from the disbursement made by the Commissioner.

(4) The Commissioner shall, after such investigation as may, in his opinion, be necessary and after giving the claimant a reasonable opportunity of being heard, determine the nature and extent of such claims and by order in writing admit or reject the claim in whole or in part. The Commissioner shall also decide any dispute as to the person or persons who are entitled to the amount and any dispute as to who are the legal representatives of any deceased claimant.

(5) The Commissioner shall have the power to regulate his own procedure in all matters arising out of the discharge of his functions, and shall, for the purpose of making an investigation under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 while trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:-

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath;

(b) the discovery and production of any document;

(c) the reception of evidence on affidavits;

(d) the issuing of any commission for the examination of witness.

(6) Any investigation before the Commissioner shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code and the Commissioner shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

(7) A claimant who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Commissioner may prefer an appeal against the decision to the District Court within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Mills is situated.

(1) After admitting a claim under this Act the amount due in respect of such claim shall be paid by the Commissioner to the person or persons to whom such amount is due and on such payment the liability of the mills in respect of such claims shall stand discharged.

(1) If out of the amount paid to him in relation to the Mills, there is a balance left after meeting the liabilities specified in the Schedule, the Commissioner shall disburse such balance to the lessor, lessee and owner of land.

(2) Before making any payment to the lessor, lessee or owner of land in proportion to his interest in the Mills, the Commissioner shall satisfy himself as to the right of such lessor, lessee or owner of land to receive the whole or any part of such amount and in the event of there being a doubt or dispute as to the right of such lessor, lessee or owner of land to receive the whole or any part of the amount referred to in section 9 and 10 including apportionment of the amount among them, the Commissioner shall refer the matter to the Court and make disbursement in accordance with the decision of the Court.

(3) The court shall decide the apportionment of amount among the lessor, lessee or owner of land in relation to the Mills having due regard to the value on the appointed day of the property forming part of the Mills.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act evidence shall be admissible to establish before the court right title and interest of the lessor, lessee or owner of land in relation to the Mills.

Explanation.- In this section ‘Court’ in relation to the Mills means the principal court of original jurisdiction within the local limits of whose jurisdiction the Mills is situated.

Any amount paid to the Commissioner which remains undisbursed or unclaimed on the date immediately preceding the date on which the office of the Commissioner is finally wound up, shall be transferred by the Commissioner to the General Revenue Account of the Government, but a claim to any amount so transferred may be preferred to the Government by person entitled to such payment and shall be dealt with as if such transfer had not been made, the order if any for payment of the claim being treated as an order for the refund of revenue.