Cotton Industry (Statistics) Act, 1926

The Cotton Industry (Statistics) Act, 1926 is a short, narrow statute that exists purely to collect statistical data on Pakistan's cotton manufacturing sector -- it doesn't regulate prices, working conditions, or trade, only reporting. Section 3 requires every cotton mill owner to prepare and submit a monthly return to a designated officer, listing the quantities of cotton goods manufactured and cotton yarn spun during the previous month, along with a declaration that the return is true; Section 3(3) requires this to be delivered within seven days of the end of the month it covers.

Section 4 gives an officer authorised by the Provincial Government the right to enter and inspect a mill at any reasonable time, and to examine or copy its records to verify the accuracy of returns -- though an officer who isn't specially empowered cannot inspect records describing a mill's trade processes (protecting proprietary manufacturing know-how), and Section 4(2) requires anything learned during an inspection to be kept strictly confidential.

Section 5 requires the Provincial Government to compile and publish monthly statements, drawn from the submitted returns, showing the total quantities of cotton goods and yarn produced across mills in the province -- this published aggregate data was the whole point of the Act. Section 6 gives the Provincial Government power to make detailed implementing rules about the form of returns, what records mills must keep, and inspection procedures.

Section 7 sets out penalties: falsifying a mill's manufacturing records, knowingly submitting a false return, failing to submit a required return (or refusing to sign one), or breaching the rules made under the Act carries a fine of up to five hundred rupees; improperly disclosing confidential information gathered during an inspection carries a fine of up to one thousand rupees, with an exception for disclosures needed for a prosecution or for people carrying out official duties under the Act. Section 8 lets the Provincial Government exempt particular mills or classes of goods from the Act altogether, and Section 9 protects people acting in good faith under the Act from being sued.

This is a very old, administrative statute from 1926, and the fine amounts in Section 7 (five hundred and one thousand rupees) are clearly historic figures that bear no relation to current currency values -- readers should not treat these as indicative of present-day penalties, and should check whether this reporting requirement is still actively enforced in its original form.