Accommodation to be provided for customs officers in wharves, etc.

(1) Where the competent authority of Customs has, under the Customs Act, 1962 for the levy of duties of customs, appointed any dock, berth, wharf, quay, stage, jetty, pier, place of anchorage, warehouse or shed or a portion of any warehouse or shed provided at any port under the provisions of this Act for the use of sea-going vessels to be an approved place for the landing or shipping of goods or a warehouse for the storing of dutiable goods for a warehouse for the storing of dutiable goods, the Board shall set apart and maintain such place on or adjoining such dock, wharf, quay, stage, jetty, pier or a place of anchorage or in such warehouse or shed or portion thereof, for the use of officers of Customs as may be necessary and as prescribed by the Handling of Cargo in Customs Area Regulation, 2009. (2) Notwithstanding that any dock, berth, wharf, quay, stage, jetty, pier, place of anchorage, warehouse or shed or portion thereof at any port has, under the provisions of sub-section (1), been set apart for the use of the officers of customs at the port, all rates and other charges payable under this Act in respect thereof or for the storage of goods therein, shall be payable to the Board, or to such person or persons as may be appointed by the Board to receive the same. (3) The customs cargo service provider, for custody of imported goods or export goods and for handling of such goods in the custom area, shall fulfil such conditions as may be prescribed by rules. (1) pier or place of anchorage, or permit the use thereof to such person on payment of such rates and charges as the Board may, with the previous sanction of the State Government, determine. (2) Save as otherwise provided under sub-section (3), no person shall be entitled to claim compensation for any injury, damage or loss caused or alleged to have been caused by an order made under sub-section (1). (3) If it is proved to the satisfaction of the Board that any such wharf, dock, berth, quay, stage, jetty, pier or place of anchorage, was made, fixed or erected by any person with the previous permission of the authority competent to grant such permission, he shall be paid by the Board, the compensation, amount of which shall be determined in the manner and in accordance with the principles hereinafter set forth, namely:— (a) in computing the compensation, there shall not be taken into account any rates or other charges which such person shall be liable to pay for using any wharf, dock, berth, quay, stage, jetty, pier or place of anchorage, provided by the Board; (b) the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference to the cost of construction of such wharf, dock, berth, quay, stage, jetty, pier or place of anchorage; (c) where the amount of compensation can be fixed by agreement, it shall be paid in accordance with such agreement; (d) where no such agreement can be reached, the State Government shall appoint a person as an arbitrator, who is, or has been, or is qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court; (e) The State government may, in any particular case, nominate a person possessing special knowledge of any matter relating to any case under inquiry to assist the arbitrator in determining any question which has to be decided by him under this section, and where such nomination is made, the person to be compensated may also nominate an assessor for the same purpose; (f) at the commencement of the proceeding before the arbitrator, the Board and the person to be compensated shall state what, in their respective opinion, is a fair amount of compensation; (g) the arbitrator shall, after hearing the dispute, make an award determining the amount of compensation which appears to him to be fair and convey the same to the person or persons to whom such compensation shall be paid; (h) where there is a dispute as to the person or persons who are entitled to the compensation, the arbitrator shall decide such dispute and if the arbitrator finds that more persons than one are entitled to compensation, he shall apportion the amount thereof among such persons; (i) nothing in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 shall apply to arbitrations under this section; (j) the arbitrator appointed under this section, while holding arbitration proceedings under this Act shall have all the powers of a Civil Court while trying a suit under the Code of the Civil Procedure, 1908, in respect of the following matters, namely:— (i) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; (ii) requiring the discovery and production of documents; (iii) receiving evidence on affidavits; and (iv) issuing commissions for examination of witnesses or documents; (k) every award shall also state the amount of costs incurred in the arbitration proceedings under this section and by which persons and in what proportions, they are to be paid; (l) any person aggrieved by an award of the arbitrator made under this section may, within thirty days from the date of the award, prefer an appeal to the High Court within whose jurisdiction the port is situated: Provided that the High Court may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time.