Oil Seeds Committee Act, 1946

This 1946 law, now generally amended into the shorter title Oilseeds Cesses Act, 1946, imposes cesses (a form of duty) on oil extracted from oilseeds crushed in mills in Pakistan, and on oilseeds exported out of Pakistan. Section 3 originally set rates of one anna per maund of excise duty on oil extracted in mills, and two annas per maund of customs duty on exported oilseeds, though the Federal Government may vary these rates by Gazette notification; exports under contracts entered into before the Act came into force are exempt from the export duty.

Section 10 requires every mill owner to submit a monthly return to the Collector, the officer appointed to administer the Act in an area, stating how much oil was extracted the previous month. Section 11 lets the Collector assess the duty owed based on that return, or estimate it if the return is missing or believed incorrect after giving the owner a chance to prove the return's accuracy, and demand payment within thirty days.

Section 12 allows a mill owner who disagrees with an assessment to apply to the District Judge within three months for cancellation or modification, and that decision is final. Section 13 gives the Collector power to inspect mills and examine their purchase, sale, and stock records, though not trade-secret formulae, and Section 14 requires that any information gathered this way be kept confidential; a Collector who improperly discloses it can be imprisoned for up to six months and fined.

Section 17 lets the Federal Government make rules to implement the Act, and Section 17A allows rules to impose a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees for breaking them.

This is an old 1946 statute with many sections omitted or amended over time, including several original sections (4 to 9, 15, 16, 18) that have been omitted entirely, so anyone relying on this Act should check the current official version, especially for the applicable rates.