Cotton Transport Act, 1923

This 1923 Act lets the government restrict and control the movement of cotton into certain areas, in order to protect the quality and reputation of locally grown cotton. Section 3 allows the appropriate government (provincial for most purposes, federal for cross-border or interprovincial cotton movement) to declare, by notification, a protected area into which cotton — or a specific kind of cotton — cannot be imported by rail, road, river or sea except under a licence; small packages up to ten pounds are exempted.

Sections 4 and 5 set out the railway mechanics: a station master can refuse to carry unlicensed cotton toward a notified station in a protected area unless the consignor produces a certified copy of an import licence, and if such cotton arrives without proper licensing, the station must refuse delivery and, if no one claims it properly within fourteen days, send it back to where it came from, billing the original consignor for the freight charges involved.

Section 6 penalises anyone who knowingly takes delivery of unlicensed cotton from a notified station, or imports or attempts to import cotton into a protected area unlawfully, as well as railway staff who improperly deliver such cotton without a reasonable excuse: a fine up to one thousand rupees for a first offence, rising to imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to five thousand rupees for later offences.

Section 7 lets the government make further rules extending these controls to cotton moved by road, river or sea, and section 8 requires that any notification restricting cotton movement, or rule made under the Act, first be approved by a resolution of Parliament or the relevant Provincial Assembly before being issued. Section 9 protects officials acting in good faith from being sued. This is a century-old law, amended several times (1925, 1975, 1981), so current fine figures and procedures should be checked against the latest text.