The Sikkim Electronic Entertainment Games (Control and Tax) Act, 2002

(1) This Act may be called the Sikkim Electronic Entertainment Games (Control and Tax) Act, 2002. (2) It extends to the whole of the State of Sikkim. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- (a) "Electronic Entertainment Centre" means a public place which provides or is used or is intended to be used for playing, organizing or exhibiting Electronic Entertainment Games; (b) "Electronic Entertainment Games" means all or any of such games of entertainment or chance played by means of any machine or instrument as may be prescribed from time to time; (c) "Place" includes a building or a room or any other portion of a building or a tent, enclosure, space, vehicle or vessel; (d) "Public place" includes a place to which the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise; (e) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (f) "Magistrate" means Judicial Magistrate

(1) No Electronic Entertainment Games shall be played, organised or exhibited to any person at any public place, except at a Electronic Entertainment Games Centre in respect of which license is granted in accordance with the provisions of this Act and such license is in force. (2) All Notifications or instructions or Orders issued from time to time pertaining to gambling or wagering or betting shall not apply to a Electronic Entertainment Games licensed under this Act, or to any Electronic Entertainment Games played, organized or exhibited at such Electronic Entertainment Centre.

(1) Every person desirous to obtain a license referred to in section 3 shall make an application in writing to the State Government, in such form and manner as may be prescribed. (2) On receipt of such application the State Government may, after such enquiry as it considers necessary, either grant the license or refuse to grant the license without assigning any reasons: Provided that, where the State Government refuses to grant a license, it shall record a brief statement of the reasons for such refusal. (3) Fees or other charges or terms and conditions subject to which a license may be granted shall be such as may be prescribed. (4) The State Government may on application made to it for the issue of license granted under this Act, or payment of the fees prescribed for renewal of a license, refuse to renew any such license without assigning any reasons, but the reasons for such refusal shall be stated on its record.

(1) The State Government may, after giving the holder of any license under this Act a reasonable opportunity of being heard, suspend or cancel the license on any one or more of the following grounds, namely : (a) that there has been a breach of any of the conditions subject to which the license was granted; (b) that the holder of the license has contravened any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder. (2) Whenever a license is suspended or cancelled, the State Government shall record a brief statement of the reasons for such suspension or cancellation and furnish a copy thereof to the person whose license has been suspended or cancelled.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the last preceding section, if the holder of any license under this Act or any person acting on his behalf has committed a breach of any of the conditions of the license, he shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend upto fifteen thousand rupees.

(1) There shall be levied and collected and paid to the State Government, out of all moneys paid or agreed to be paid by the participants of stakes at any Electronic Entertainment Games, played at any Electronic Entertainment Centre licensed under this Act, a tax at such rate not exceeding 25 per cent of all such sum, as the State Government may by notification in the Official Gazette specify in this behalf. Such portion of such moneys as is equal to the tax so levied shall be deemed to have been paid on account of the tax and shall be collected by the licensee on behalf of the State Government, and paid to the State Government or an officer authorised by the State Government, in such manner as may be prescribed. (2) The tax payable under this Act shall be recoverable as an arrear of Land Revenue.

Every holder of a license under this Act shall keep accounts of all Electronic Entertainment Games in such manner as the State Government or to any officer authorised by the State Government may direct and shall submit a true statement of accounts in such form and at such interval as may be prescribed. Such accounts shall in particular show the moneys paid by way of stakes in Electronic Entertainment Games played at the Electronic Entertainment Centre along with name of the participants and such other particulars as may be prescribed.

If any person liable under the last preceding section to keep accounts or to submit statement of accounts fails to keep accounts or to submit statements of accounts as required by that section or keeps accounts or submitts statements of accounts which are false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, without prejudice to the provisions of section 5, he shall, on conviction, be punished with fine which may extend upto fifteen thousand rupees.

(1) Where an officer authorised by the State Government in this behalf is not satisfied about the correctness or completeness of the accounts kept by any licensee or where any licensee fails to submit any statement of accounts as required by this Act, the said officer shall, after giving a reasonable opportunity to the licensee to be heard and after taking into account all relevant material which he may have gathered, make the assessment of the tax payable by the licensee to the best of his judgement and call upon the licensee by order in writing to pay the amount of tax so assessed on or before such date as may be specified in the order. (2) Any licensee aggrieved by any order made under sub-section (1) may appeal against the order to the State Government within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of such order and the decision by the State Government in appeal shall be final and shall not be called in question in any court.

(1) If any person other than a licensee while playing any Electronic Entertainment Games at an Electronic Entertainment Centre licensed under this Act commits a breach of any of the conditions of the license as exhibited under sub-section (2) or of the rules to be observed in playing such games, he shall, on conviction be punished with fine which may extend up to three thousand rupees. (2) Every licensee shall exhibit at a prominent place within the Electronic Entertainment Centre the conditions subject to which the license is granted to him.

(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Explanation: For the purposes of this section,- (a) "Company" means a body corporate, and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) "Director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.

(1) The State Government or any officer authorised by this behalf may, either before or after the institution of proceedings for any offence punishable under this Act or any rules made thereunder, accept from any person charged with such offence by way of composition of the offence such sum not exceeding double the maximum amount of fine to which he is liable on conviction for such offence, as may be determined by the State Government or the authorised officer, as the case may be. (2) On payment of such sum as may be determined under sub-section (1), no further proceedings shall be taken against the accused person in respect of the same offence.

The State Government or any officer authorised by it in this behalf may, for the purposes of this Act, at all reasonable times, (i) require any licensee to produce before it or him accounts or other documents or to furnish any other information, or (ii) inspect the accounts of any licensee.

(1) It shall be lawful for a police officer not below the rank of an Inspector to enter and search, if necessary by force, any Electronic Entertainment Centre at any time, if he has reason to believe that any provision of this Act or the rules made thereunder are or are being or are likely to be contravened or a breach of any of the conditions of the license is or is about to be committed. He may also search any of the persons who he has reason to believe are or have been, or are about to be, concerned with any such contravention or breach, and he shall have the power to seize all such articles which are or are reasonably suspected to have been used in connection with such contravention or breach. (2) All searches under this section shall be made in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

All offences under this Act shall be cognisable and bailable.

No suit, prosecution or other proceeding shall lie against the State Government or any officer of Government for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or the rule made thereunder.

(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely: (a) the games of chances/entertainment which shall be Electronic Entertainment Games for the purposes of this Act and the rules to be observed in playing such games; (b) the form and manner of making application for a license and the fees to be paid for its grant or renewal and the conditions subject to which it may be granted; (c) the manner of keeping accounts relating to a Electronic Entertainment Games, the other particulars to be shown in the accounts, and the form in which and the intervals at which they shall be submitted to the State Government, or to the officer authorised; (d) the restrictions or conditions with regard to the age or other conditions of the persons who may be admitted to, or employed in, an Electronic Entertainment Centre or who may be permitted to play Electronic Entertainment Games or otherwise take part in the organisation or exhibition of such games; (e) the other restrictions or conditions with regard to the admission of the participants and guests to an Electronic Entertainment Games and the fees to be charged for admission; (f) the hours and days when an Electronic Entertainment Centre may be kept open; (g) the types and specifications of the places which may be used for housing an Electronic Entertainment Centre and the localities where Electronic Entertainment Centre may be situated and the maximum number of licenses which may be granted in any area or locality; (h) the types of notices to be exhibited and the manner in which they are to be exhibited in or outside an Electronic Entertainment Centre; (i) the restrictions or conditions with regard to the advertisements pertaining to an Electronic Entertainment Games; (j) the restrictions or conditions with regard to providing credit facilities by the licensee to the participants in Electronic Entertainment Games and the prohibition or regulation of participation by proxy in Electronic Entertainment Games; (k) any other matter which is required to be or may be prescribed. (3) In making any rule the State Government may direct that a breach thereof by a licensee or by any person acting on his behalf shall, on conviction, be punished with fine not exceeding fifteen thousand rupees and a breach thereof by any other person shall on conviction, be punished with fine not exceeding three thousand rupees. (4) Every rule made under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before the House of the State Legislature while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, the House agrees in making any modification in the rule or the House agrees that the rule should not be made, and notify such decision in the Official Gazette, the rule shall from the date of publication of such notification 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 or omitted to be done under that rule.