Cotton Cess Act, 1923

This Act provides for a cess (a special levy) on cotton, used to fund research into the cotton industry. Section 3 imposes the cess on cotton either exported from Pakistan or consumed in mills within Pakistan, at a rate the Federal Government fixes by notification in the official Gazette. Section 4 establishes the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, a body corporate that can own property and sue or be sued, and Section 12 directs that the cess proceeds be paid over to the Committee to fund agricultural and technological research for the cotton industry.

Mill owners must file monthly returns of cotton consumed (Section 6), and the Collector assesses and collects the cess based on these returns (Section 7). For exported cotton, the cess is instead assessed and collected by Customs authorities as if it were a duty of customs (Section 8). Section 9 makes an assessment final and not questionable in court, but allows an owner who disagrees to apply to the Federal Government within three months for the assessment to be cancelled or modified.

Section 10 gives the Collector, or an authorised officer, the power to inspect mills and copy their records and accounts, and Section 11 requires that information gathered this way be kept confidential - unauthorised disclosure is punishable with imprisonment up to six months and a fine. Section 14 lets the Federal Government dissolve the Committee by notification, at which point the Act is treated as repealed. Sections 15 and 16 give the Federal Government and the Committee, respectively, broad rule-making powers covering the Committee's membership, finances, and administration.

This is a very old law (1923) that has been amended many times since, including in 1948, 1971, 1980, and 1981. The extract does not state a current cess rate - that is set separately by Gazette notification - so readers should check the latest official notification rather than assume any figure.