Himachal pradesh act 010 of 1982 : Himachal Pradesh Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) (Amendment) Act, 1982

Section 1. Short title and commencement

1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called the Himachal Pradesh Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) (Amendment) Act, 1982.

(2) It shall come into force at once.

Section 2. Amendment of long title and preamble

2. Amendment of long title and preamble.- In the long title and preamble to the Himachal Pradesh Public Moneys (Recovery of Dues) Act, 1973 (22 of 1973) (hereinafter called the principal Act), the words "payable to the State" shall be omitted.

Section 3. Amendment of section 2

3. Amendment of section 2.- For the existing clauses (a) and (b) of section 2 of the principal Act, the following clauses (a), (b), (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be substituted, namely.-

"(a) "corporation" means the Himachal Pradesh financial Corporation established under the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 (63 of 1951) and includes any other corporation owned or controlled by the Central Government or the State Government which the State Government may, by notification, specify;

(b) "financial assistance" means any financial assistance rendered-

(i) for the purposes of vocational or technical training; or

(ii) for the construction of residential building; or

(iii) for providing drinking water Kuhl or pipe Line; or

(iv) for the development of animal husbandry, agriculture or horticulture; or

(v) for establishing, expanding, modernizing, renovating or running any village or cottage industry, industrial undertaking or agroindustry; or.

(vi) for the purposes of any other kind of planned development; or.

(vii) for relief against distress; or

(viii) for loan under the National Loan Scholarship Scheme;

(c) "Government company" means a Government company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and which is notified as such by the State Government from time to time;

(d) "industrial undertaking" includes any undertaking for the manufacture, preservation, storage or processing of goods, or mining, or the hotel-industry, or the transport of passengers or goods, or the generation or distribution of electricity or any other form of power, or the maintenance, repair, testing or servicing of machinery, vehicles, vessels, motor boats, trailers or tractors or assembling, repairing or packing of any articles with the aid of machinery or power, or fishing or providing shore facilities for fishing or maintenance thereof, or for the development of any contiguous area of land as an industrial estate or providing special or technical knowledge or other services for promotion of industrial growth.

Explanation.- The expression "processing of goods" includes any act or process for producing, preparing or making an article by subjecting any material to a manual, mechanical, chemical, electrical or any other like operation;

(e) "sponsored scheme" means a scheme sponsored by way of financial assistance by the State Government or the Central Government under which the concerned Government, cither-

(i) advances money to the corporation or the Government company for the purposes of disbursing loans, advances, grants or subsidies or for the purpose of sale of goods on credit, or hire purchase, or

(ii) guarantees or agrees to guarantee the payment of loan, advances, grantor subsidies or the payment of price of goods sold on credit, or hire purchase; and

(f) "State Government" means the Government of Himachal Pradesh."

Section 4. Amendment of section 3

4. Amendment of section 3.- In section 3 of the principal Act-

(i) after the word ‘person’ occurring for the first time in sub-section (1), the words "either as principal or as surety or as guarantor" shall he inserted.

(ii) for clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (1), the folio wing clauses (a) and (b) shall be substituted, namely -

"(a)(i) to any agreement, relating to a loan, advance, grant, subsidy, stipend or scholarship given to him under that agreement or relating to credit in respect of, or relating to hire purchase of, goods sold by the State Government or the corporation by way of financial assistance; or

(ii) to any agreement relating to a loan, advance, grant or subsidy given under that agreement or relating to credit in respect of, or relating to hire purchase of, goods sold by the Government company under the sponsored scheme; or

(b) to any agreement relating to a guarantee given by the State Government or a corporation in respect of a loan raised by an industrial undertaking; or"

(iii) for the words "then, such officer as-may be authorised in this behalf, by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette", occurring in sub-section (1), the words, "then, in case of the State Government, such officer as may be authorised in this behalf by the State Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, and in the case of the corporation or the company, the Managing Director there of", shall be substituted; and

(iv) after sub-section (2) the following sub-sections (3) and (4) shall be added, namely:-

"(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) shall affect any interest of the State Government, a corporation or a Government company, in any property created by any mortgage, charge, pledge or other, encumbrance.

(4) Where the property of any person referred to in sub-section (1) is subjected to any mortgage, charge or other encumbrance in favour of the State Government, a corporation or a Government company, then in every case of a pledge or hypothecation of goods, or a mortgage, charge or other encumbrance on immovable property, such property or, as the case may be, the interest of the defaulter therein, shall first be sold in proceedings for recovery of the subdue from that person, and if the proceeds of the sale of the property are less than the sum due, proceedings may be taken against the other property of such person:

Provided that where the State Government is of the opinion that it is necessary to do so for safe-guarding the recovery of the sum due to it or to the corporation or Government company, as the case may be, it may, for reasons to be recorded, direct proceedings to be taken simultaneously for the recovery of the sum due in respect of goods pledged or hypothecated, the immovable property mortgaged, charged or encumbered and "other property of such person."

Section 5. Insertion of section 4

5. Insertion of section 4.- After section 3 of the principal Act, the following new section 4, along with its heading, shall be inserted, namely;-

"4. Levy of fees as service charges.- The State Government may require the corporation or a Government company, as the case may be, to pay to it a fee its service charges-to the extent as the State Government may-consider appropriate:

Provided that the proposed fee shall be published in the Official; Gazette and objections shall be invited within thirty days from the date of said publication and further that the State Government shall consider the objection, if any, before levying the fee."