THE SEEDS ACT, 1966

( ACT NO.54 OF 1966)

An Act to provide for regulating the quality of certain seeds for sale, and for matters connected therewith.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventeenth Year of the Republic of India as follows:

1. SHORT TITLE, EXTENT AND COMMENCEMENT

1. This Act may be called the Seeds Act, 1966.

2. It extends to the whole of India.

3. It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and for different States or for different areas thereof.

The other sections became operative from 1.10.1969. This was issued by the Government of India in S.O.No.4-49 dated 24.9.69.

2.DEFINITIONS:

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

(1.)" Agriculture" includes horticultural and medicinal crops;

(2) "Central Seed Laboratory" means the Central Seed Laboratory established or declared as such under sub- section (1) of section 4:

(3)"Certification agency" means the certification agency established under section 8 or recognised under section 18;

(4) " Committee" means the Central Seed Committee constituted under sub-section (1) of Section 3.

(5) " Container" means a box, bottle, casket, tin, barrel, case, receptacle, sack,bag wrapper or other thing in which any article or thing is placed or packed;

(6)" Export" means taking out of India to a place outside India:

(7) "import" means bringing into India from a place outside India:

(8) "kind" means one or more or related species or sub-species of crop plants each individually or collectively known by one common name such as cabbage, maize, paddy and wheat;

(9) "notified kind or variety", in relation to any seed, means any kind or variety thereof notified under section 5;

(10) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act:

(11) "seed" means any of the following classes of seeds used for sowing or planting-

(I) Seeds of food crops including edible oil seeds and seeds of fruits

and vegetables:

(II) Cotton seeds

(iii) Seeds of cattle fodder;

(iv) Jute seeds (The Seeds Amendment) Act 1972)

and includes seedlings and tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, cuttings, all types of grafts and other vegetatively propagated material, of food crops or cattle fodder:

(12) "Seed Analyst" means a Seed Analyst appointed under section 12;

(13) "Seed Inspector" means a Seed Inspector appointed under section13

(14) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof:

(15) "State Seed Laboratory", in relation to any State, means the State Seed Laboratory established or declared as such under sub-section (2) of section 4 for that State; and

(16) "variety" means a sub-division of a kind identifiable by growth, yield, plant, fruit, seed, or other characteristic.

3.CENTRAL SEED COMMITTEE;

(1) The Central Government shall, as soon as may be after the commencement of this Act, constitute a Committee called the Central Seed Committee to advise the Central Government and the State Governments on matters arising out of the administration of this Act and to carry out the other functions assigned to it by or under this Act.

(1). The Committee shall consist of the following members, namely

( i) Chairman to be nominated by the Central Government;

(ii) eight persons to be nominated by the Central Government to represent such interests as that Government thinks fit, of whom not less than two persons shall be representatives of growers of seed;

(iii) One person to be nominated by the Government of each of

the States.

(2) The members of the Committee shall, unless their seats become vacant earlier by Resignation, death or otherwise, be entitled to hold office for two years and shall be eligible for renomination.

(3) The Committee may subject to the previous approval of the Central Government, take by-laws fixing the quorum and regulating its own procedure and the conduct of all business to be transacted by it.

(4) The Committee may appoint one or more sub-committees, consisting wholly of members of the

Committee or wholly of other persons or partly of members of the Committee and partly of other persons,

as it thinks fit, for the purpose of discharging such of its functions as may be delegated to such sub-

committee or sub-committees by the Committee.

(5) The functions of the Committee or any sub-committee thereof may be exercised not withstanding any vacancy therein.

(6) The Central Government shall appoint a person to be the secretary of the Committee and shall provide the Committee with such clerical and other staff as the Central Government considers necessary.

4. CENTRAL SEED LABORATORY AND STATE SEED LABORATORY;

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a Central Seed Laboratory or declare any seed laboratory as the Central Seed Laboratory to carry out the functions entrusted to the Central Seed Laboratory by or under this Act.

(2) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish one or more State Seed Laboratories or declare any seed laboratory as a State Seed Laboratory where analysis of seeds of any notified kind or variety shall be carried out by Seed Analysts under this Act in the prescribed manner.

5.POWER TO NOTIFY KINDS OR VARIETIES OF SEEDS:

If the Central Government after consultation with the Committee, is of opinion that it is necessary or expedient to regulate the quality of seed of any kind or variety to be sold for purposes of Agriculture, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such kind or variety to be a notified kind or variety for the purposes of this Act and different kinds or varieties may be notified for different States or for different areas there of.

6. POWER TO SPECIFY MINIMUM LIMITS OF GERMINATION AND PURITY, ETC.

(I) The Central Government may, after consultation with the Committee and by notification in the Official Gazette, specify-

(a) the minimum limits of germination and purity with respect to any seed of any notified kind or variety:

(b) the mark or label to indicate that such seed conforms to the minimum limits of germination and purity specified under clause (a) and the particulars which such mark or label may contain.

7. REGULATION OF SALE OF SEEDS OF NOTIFIED KINDS OR

VARIETIES:

No person shall, himself or by any other person on his behalf, carry on the business of selling, keeping for sale, offering to sell, bartering or otherwise supplying any seed of any notified kind or variety, unless-

a) such seed is identifiable as to its kind or variety;

b) such seed conforms to the minimum limits of germination and purity specified under clause (a) of section 6:

c) the container of such seed bears in the prescribed manner, the make or label containing the correct particulars thereof, specified under clause (b) of section 6;

d) he complies with such other requirements as may be prescribed.

8. CERTIFICATION AGENCY:

1) The State Government or the Central Government in consultation with the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette establish a certification agency for the State to carry out the functions entrusted to the certification agency by or under this Act.

8-A. THE CENTRAL SEED CERTIFICATION BOARD;

1) The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, establish a Central Seed Certification Boards (hereinafter referred to as the Board) to advise the Central Government and the State Governments on all matters relating to certification, and to co-ordinate the functioning of the agencies established under Section.8.

2) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely;-

(i) a Chairman, to be nominated by the Central Government;

(ii) four members, to be nominated by the Central Government from out of the persons employed by the State Governments as Directors of Agriculture;

(iii) three members, to be nominated by the Central Government from out the persons of employed by the Agricultural Universities as Directors of

Research:

(iv) Thirteen persons, to be nominated by the Central Government to represent Such interests as that Government thinks fit, of whom not less than four Persons shall be representatives of seed producers or tradesmen.

3) A members of the Board shall, unless his seat becomes vacant earlier by resignation or otherwise, be entitled to hold office for two years from the date of his nomination:

Provided that a person nominated under Clause (ii) or Clause (iii) of sub-section (2) shall hold office only for so long as he holds the appointment by virtue of which his nomination was made.

8.B. OTHER COMMITTEES:-

The Boards may appoint as many Committees as it deems fit consisting wholly of the members of the Board or wholly of other persons or partly of members of the Board and partly of other persons as it thinks fit to exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be delegated to them, subject to such conditions as it may think fit, by the Board.

8.C.PROCEEDINGS OF BOARD OR COMMITTEE NOT TO BE INVALID BY REASON OF ANY VACANCY THEREIN:-

No proceeding of the Board or any Committee thereof shall become invalid merely by reason of the existence of any vacancy therein or any defect in the constitution thereof.

8.D. PROCEDURE FOR BOARD:

The Board may, subject to the previous approval of the Central Government, make bye-laws for the purpose of regulating its own procedure and the procedure of any Committee thereof and the conduct of all business to the transacted by it or such Committee.

8.E. SECRETARY AND OTHER OFFICERS;-

The Central Government shall,-

(i) appoint a person to be the Secretary of the Board, and

(ii) provide the Board with such technical and other staff as the Central Government considers necessary.

9. GRANT OF CERTIFICATE BY CERTIFICATE BY CERTIFICATION AGENCY:

(1) Any person se