If the Central Government, after consulting the Council, is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient so to do for the development of the export trade of India, it may, by order published in the Official Gazette,--

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(a) notify commodities which shall be subject to quality control or inspection or both prior to export;

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(b) specify the type of quality control or inspection which will be applied to a notified commodity;

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(c) establish, adopt or recognise one or more standard specifications for a notified commodity;

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(d) prohibit the export in the course of international trade of a notified commodity unless it is accompanied by a certificate issued under section 7 that the commodity satisfies the conditions relating to quality control or inspection, or it has affixed or applied to it a mark or seal recognised by the Central Government as indicating that it conforms to the standard specifications applicable to it under clause (c).

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(1) The Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, establish, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, a Council to be known as the Export Inspection Council, which shall consist of--

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(a) a Chairman to be appointed by the Central Government;

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(b) the Director of Inspection and Quality Control, ex officio, who shall be the Secretary;

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(c) the Honorary Adviser on Standardization to the Government of India and Director of Indian Standards Institution, ex officio;

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(d) the Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India, ex officio;

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(e) the Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, ex officio;

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(f) ⁴[fifteen] other members nominated by the Central Government three of whom shall be persons representing the agencies referred to in section 7.

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(2) The Council shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property and to contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

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(3) The term of office of, and the manner of filling casual vacancies among, the members of the Council referred to in clauses (a) and (f) of sub-section (1) and the travelling and daily allowances payable to the members of the Council and the procedure to be followed in the discharge of its functions by the Council shall be such as may be prescribed.

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(4) No act or proceeding of the Council shall be invalidated merely by reason of any vacancy in, or any defect in the Constitution of, the Council.

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(5) Subject to such rules as may be made by the Central Government in this behalf, the Council may appoint such officers and other employees as it considers necessary for the purpose of discharging its functions under this Act.

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(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish, or recognise subject to such conditions as it may deem fit, agencies for quality control or inspection or both:

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Provided that if the Central Government is of opinion that any recognition granted to any agency under this sub-section should, in the public interest, be withdrawn, the Central Government may after giving a reasonable opportunity to that agency to make representations in the matter, withdraw, by like notification, the recognition granted to it.

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(2) Any agency referred to in sub-section (1) may, on application made to it or otherwise, hold or cause to be held such examination as it thinks fit relating to quality control or inspection of notified commodities, either at the time of export or earlier, in such testing houses or by such surveyors or samplers as are approved by the Central Government in this behalf and may charge such fees as may be prescribed for the purpose of such examination.

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(3) If, after the examination, the agency is of opinion that the commodity satisfies the standard specifications laid down in respect of it under section 6 or, as the case may be, any other specifications stipulated in the export contract, it may issue a certificate that the commodity satisfies the conditions relating to quality control and inspection.

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¹[(3A) Where the agency has reason to believe that a certificate issued under sub-section (3) has been obtained fraudulently or by misrepresentation, or the commodity in relation to, which the certificate is issued has been changed or has deteriorated in quality, the agency may, by order, amend, suspend or cancel the certificate in such manner and subject to such procedure as may be prescribed:

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Provided that before amending, a suspending or cancelling any such certificate the holder thereof shall be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard.]

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(4) Any person aggrieved by the refusal of any agency referred to in sub-section (1) to issue a certificate, ¹[or by the amendment, suspension or cancellation of a certificate under sub-section (3A)] may prefer an appeal within such time as may be prescribed to such authority as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute for the purpose of hearing appeals.

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(5) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (6), the decision of the agency where no appeal is filed, and the decision of the appellate authority where an appeal is filed, shall be final and shall not be questioned in any Court of law.

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(6) The Central Government may, at any time, call for and examine the record of any proceeding relating to any decision of an agency or appellate authority under this section for the purpose of satisfying itself as to the legality or propriety of such decision and may pass such order thereon as it thinks fit.

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¹[16A. Suspension, etc., of operation of the provisions of the Act.--(1) If the Central Government is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary or expedient so to do in the public interest, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, suspend or relax to a specified extent, the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act in respect of such notified commodity or commodities generally or in respect of any area and for such period as may be specified in the notification.

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(2) Where the operation of any provision of this Act has, under sub-section (1), been suspended or relaxed, such suspension or relaxation may, at any time be removed by the Central Government by a like notification.

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(3) Every notification issued under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is issued, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the notification or both Houses agree that the notification should not be issued, the notification shall thereafter 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 under that notification.]

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(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Act.

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(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for--

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(a) the travelling and daily allowances payable to members of the Council, persons co-opted under sub-section (2) of section 5, and members of specialist committees referred to in sub-section (3) of that section;

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(b) the functions of the Council and the procedure to be followed by it;

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(c) the appointment of officers and other employees of the Council;

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(d) the procedure to be followed for various types of quality control and inspection;

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(e) the conditions which a testing house, surveyor or sampler should satisfy for purposes of approval by the Central Government;

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(f) the fees chargeable for purposes of examination and issue of certificates under section 7;

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¹[(ff) the manner in which, and the procedure subject to which, any certificate issued under sub-section (3) of section 7 shall be amended, suspended or cancelled;]

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(g) the filing of appeals under section 7 and the fees payable therefore;

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¹[(gg) the authority or person by which or by whom, and the manner in which, any document received from a place outside India shall be authenticated;]

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(h) the manner in which the accounts of the Council shall be maintained and audited;

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(i) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed.

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(3) Every rule made by the Central Government under this section shall be laid as soon as may be after it is made before each House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session ²[immediately following the session] or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter 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 under that rule.

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