THE ORISSA FOREST DEVELOPMENT (TAX ON SALE OF FOREST PRODUCE BY GOVERNMENT OR ORISSA FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION) ACT, 2003

T H E ORISSA FOREST DEVELOPMENT (TAX ON SALE OF FOREST PRODUCE BY GOVERNMENT OR ORISSA FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION) ACT, 2003 [Received the assenl of the Governor on the 7th December 2003, first published in an extraordinary issue of Ihe Orissa Gazette, dated the 8lh-~ecember, 2003 ( No. 1863)j AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE LEVY AND COLLECTION OF FOREST DEVELOPMENT TAX ON SALES OF FOREST PRODUCE BY OR ON BEHALF OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT OR THE ORISSA FOREST DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION. , - BE i l enacted by the Legislature of the Slate of Orissa in the Fifty-fourth ' Year of lhe Republic of India as follows :- Short 1i11e. 7 , { I ) This Act may be called the Orissa Forest Development (Tax on saIe extenl and of lorest produce by Government or Orissa Forest Development Corporation) mml. Act, 2003. (2) 11 extends to the whole of Ihe State of Orissa. (3) 11 shall be deemed to have come into farce on Ihe 18th day of July, 2003. 2. In lhis Acl, unless Ihe contexl otherwise requires.- (a) "Appel[ate Aulhoritf' means Ihe foresl officer, !he officer of Forest Developmenl Corporation or the officer of the Co-operalive Society, as the case may be, who is immediately superior to the concerned Recovery Officer ; (b) "Co-operalive Society' means a CO-operative Society registered ofissa As, under the Orissa Co-operative SocieIies Act, 1962 ; ' 2 of 1963. (c) "Foresl Development Corporalion" means the Orissa Forest Developmenl Corporation Limited, incorporaled under the Companies Act, 1956; 1 01 1956. (d) "forest produce" means bamboo, timber, kendu leaf and such olher produce as Government may. by notification, specify from time to time ; -(el "Governmenl" means the Governmenl of Orissa ; (g "Recovery Officer" in relalion to the sale of any forest produce, means Ihe forest officer or (he officer of Forest Development Corporation or the officer of any Co-operative Society, as the case may be, by whom Ihe sale of forest produce is effecled, and if any question arises as 10 who is the Recovery Officer in respect of the sale, the same shall be referred lo, and decided by. the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Orissa and his decision shall be final ; (g) "sale" or "sale of forest produce" means any sale of forest produce by or on behalf of Government or Foresl Development Corporation 'For the Bill, see Orissil Gazelle, ~xlraoid inar~, dated lhe 271h October. 2003 [No. 1633). Levy and collectio~l ol Ioresl developmenl tax. Recovery of lax by Rerovev Oficer Appeal Utilisation of proceeds ol lax. for cash or deferred paymenl or olher valuable consideration whether described as sale price, purchase price or royalty, and includes any such sale of lorest produce by a Co-operative Society on behalf of Government or Forest Development Corpora tion : (h) "sale price" means the amounl of valuable consideralion. whether described as sale price or purchase price or royalty paid or payable by any purchaser lor sale of any forest ~roduce to him and lhe words "sale" and "purchase" with their respective grammatical variations .,.and cognale expressions, shall be-construed accordingly ; and ji) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in Ihe O~issa Forest Act, 1972, shall have the meanings respectively assigned b them in that Acl. Orlssa A C ~ 14 o l1872 3. (1) Subject to Ihe provisions of this Act, there shall be levied and collected on and from the commencement of this A d a forest development tax on every sale of forest produce from lhe purchaser. at such rate, not exceeding twenty per centum of the sale price of such produce sold to him, as the Government may, by nolificalion, fix in that behalf. and differenl rales may be fixed for different forest produce (2) The forest development (ax levied and payable under this Acl shall be in addilion to and not in lieu of any tax levied and payable in respecl of the sale or purchase or lhe same forest produce under the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 or any other law for Ihe time being in force. Orissa ~ c t 14 01 1947 (3) Notwithstanding anyting contained in sub-section (1). where any sale has been effecled before the commencement of this Act and under the terms and conditions of such sale, the whole or any par1 of Ihe sale price is payable on or after such commencement, no forest development tax shall be levied and collecled on the whole or part of the sale price's0 payable. , 4. The amount of Ihe forest development (ax leviable under section 3 on the sale of any foresl produce shall be collected by the Recovery O f f ~ c e r effecting lhe sale From the purchaser along with the sale price : Provided that where the sale price is payable in lwo or more inslalments. the amount of Ihe lax shall also be recovered in instalments in proporlion to, and along with, Ihe ~nstalrnent of sale price. 5. (1) Any person aggrieved by an order made by the Recovery Officer demanding the amount of forest development lax due from him or aggrieved by any other order made by the Recovery Officer. may, within thirly days from the date of receipt of intimalion of any such order, appeal to the Appellate Authorily, upon which, the Appellate Authorily shall. afler giving reasonable opporluni(y of being heard to the appellanl, pass such order as it may deem fit. , (2) Any order passed by the Recovery Officer, subject lo the order passed in appeal, if any, shall be final. 6. The proceeds of the forest deve10'~ment lax levied and collecled under this Acl shall be crediled to the consolidated Fund of Ihe State, and iheieafter, after deducling from the proceeds no1 exceeding five per cenlum thereof lowards 523 the expenses of colleclion, the remaining amount shall; under appropriation duly made by law in this behalf, be placed at Ihe disposal or the Forest Department of Government each year as additional budgelary resources to be expended lor foris1 plantations, conservation, regeneration and development of foresls. Exemption 7. The Government may, if it considers necessary to do so, in the public lroril payment 01 law. interest subject to such condition, i f any, exempt sale of any forest produce from payment of forest development tax as prescribed. Recove o l . 8. All arrears of forest development tax due under this Acl shall be recover- - arrear oKax as arrear or land able as an arrear of land revenue. revenue. P~oteclian of 9. No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against Govern- action laken in good men1 or any officer of Government or Forest Development Corporation or of any Co-operative Sociely for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this Act or anyrule made thereunder. Power to 10. The ~overnrnent may, by notification. make rules to carry out the pur- make rules. poses of this Act. Notificalions - 11.'All nolifications issued under clause (d) of section 2 and sections 3 and lo he laid before 7 shall. as soon as may be after they are pubrished in the Gazette, be laid before Assembly. the Orissa Legislative Assembly for a total period of fourteen days which may comprise in one or more sessions. Power to 12. If any difficully arises in giving effect to the provisions of this Act. remove . dl,hcullieS, Government may. make s u ~ h provisions nol inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may appear lo be necessary for removing the difficulty by amending the rules. Repeal and 13. (1) The Orissa Forest Development (Tax on sale of forest produce by savrngs. Government or Orissa Forest Development Corporation) Ordinance. 2003 is Orissa Ordinance hereby repealed. NO. 3 at 2003. (2) Nolwithstanding such repeal, anything done ar any action taken un- der the Ordinance so repealed shall be deemed to have been done or taken under Ihe corresponding provisions of this Acl.