4. Establishment and constitution of the Authority.—(1) With effect from such date as the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in this behalf, there shall be established
for the purposes of this Act, an Authority to be called the Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority.
(2) The Authority 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, both movable and immovable, and to
contract, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.
(3) The head office of the Authority shall be at Delhi and the Authority may, with the previous
approval of the Central Government, establish offices or agencies at other places in or outside India.
(4) The Authority shall consist of the following members, namely:—
(a) a Chairman, to be appointed by the Central Government;
(b) the Agricultural Marketing Adviser to the Government of India, ex officio;
(c) one member to be appointed by the Central Government to represent the Planning
Commission;
(d) three members of Parliament of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and
one by the Council of States;
(e) eight members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent, respectively, the
Ministries of the Central Government dealing with—
(i) agriculture and rural development;
(ii) commerce;
(iii) finance;
(iv) industry;
(v) food;
(vi) civil supplies;
(vii) civil aviation;
(viii) shipping and transport;
(f) five members to be appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical order
to represent the States and the Union territories:
Provided that an appointment under this clause shall be made on the recommendation of the
Government of the State, or as the case may be, the Union territory concerned;
(g) seven members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent,—
(i) the Indian Council of Agricultural Research;
(ii) the National Horticulture Board;
(iii) the National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation;
(iv) the Central Food Technological Research Institute;
(v) the Indian Institute of Packaging;
(vi) the Spices Export Promotion Council; and
(vii) the Cashewnut Export Promotion Council;
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(h) twelve members to be appointed by the Central Government to represent,—
(i) fruit and vegetable products industries;
(ii) meat, poultry and dairy products industries;
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[(iii) other Scheduled products or Special products industries;]
(iv) packaging industry:
Provided that the number of members appointed to represent any of the groups of industries
specified in sub-clauses (i) to (iii) or the industry specified in sub-clause (iv) shall in no case be less
than two;
(i) two members to be appointed by the Central Government from amongst specialists and
scientists in the field of agriculture, economics and marketing of Scheduled products.
(5) The term of office of the members, other than the member referred to in clause (b) of
sub-section (4) and the manner of filling vacancies among, and the procedure to be followed in the
discharge of their functions by, the members shall be such as may be prescribed.
(6) Any officer of the Central Government, not being a member of the Authority, when deputed by
that Government in this behalf, shall have the right to attend meetings of the Authority and take part in the
proceedings thereof but shall not be entitled to vote.
(7) No act or proceeding of the Authority or any committee appointed by it under section 9 shall be
invalid merely by reason of—
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Authority or such committee; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Authority or such
committee; or
(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Authority or such committee not affecting the merits of
the case.
(8) The Authority shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such rules of procedure in
regard to the transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at its meetings) as may be
provided by the regulations.
5. Salary and Allowances and other conditions of service of Chairman and allowances of
members.—(1) The Chairman shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and shall be subject to such
conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and other matters as may, from time to
time, be fixed by the Central Government.
(2) The other members of the Authority shall receive such allowances as may be fixed by the Central
Government.
(3) A member, other than the ex officio member, may resign his office by giving notice thereof in
writing to the Central Government and on such resignation being accepted, he shall be deemed to have
vacated his office.
6. Chairman to be chief executive.—The Chairman shall be the chief executive of the Authority and
shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed.
7. Secretary of the Authority and other staff.—(1) The Central Government shall appoint a
Secretary to the Authority who shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be prescribed
or as may be delegated to him by the Chairman.
(2) The Secretary shall be entitled to such salary and allowances and shall be subject to such
conditions of service in respect of leave, pension, provident fund and such other matters as may, from
time to time, be fixed by the Central Government.
1. Subs. by Act 20 of 2009, s. 4, for sub-clause (iii) (w.e.f. 13-10-2008).
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(3) Subject to such control and restrictions as may be prescribed, the Authority may appoint such
other officers and employees, as may be necessary, for the efficient performance of its functions and the
method of appointment, the scale of pay and allowances and other conditions of service of such other
officers and employees of the Authority shall be such as may be provided by the Authority by regulations.
(4) The Chairman, the Secretary and other officers and employees of the Authority shall not
undertake any work unconnected with their duties under this Act except with the permission of the
Central Government.
8. Special provision for transfer of employees to the Authority.—(1) On the establishment of the
Authority, it shall be lawful for the Central Government to transfer to the Authority, by order, and with
effect from such date or dates as may be specified in the order, any officer or other employee holding
office as such in the Processed Foods Export Promotion Council (hereafter in this section referred to as
the Council) immediately before the date on which the Authority is established:
Provided that the scale of pay of the post in the Authority to which such officer or other employee is
transferred shall not be lower than the scale of pay of the post he was holding immediately before such
transfer and the other terms and conditions of service (including pension, leave, provident fund and
medical benefits) of the post to which he is transferred shall not be less favourable than the terms and
conditions of service in relation to the post held by him immediately before such transfer.
(2) An order under sub-section (1) may be made so as to have retrospective effect from a date not
earlier than the date of the commencement of this Act.
(3) Before any order is issued under sub-section (1), all officers and employees of the Council shall
be given an option to express, in such form as may be prescribed, and within such time as may be
specified in that behalf by the Central Government, their willingness or otherwise to become employees
of the Authority and such option once exercised shall be final:
Provided that no order under sub-section (1) shall be made in relation to any officer or other
employees of the Council who has intimated his intention of not becoming an employee of the Authority
within the time specified in that behalf:
Provided further that such of the officers and employees of the Council who do not express, within
the time specified in that behalf, their intention of becoming the employees of the Authority, shall be dealt
with in the same manner and in accordance with the same laws and standing orders as would have applied
immediately before the commencement of this Act to the employees of the Council in the event of the
reduction of the strength of the officers and employees of the Council.
(4) An officer or other employee transferred by an order made under sub-section (1) shall, on and
from the date of transfer, cease to be an employee of the Council and become an officer or other
employee of the Authority with such designation as the Authority may determine and shall, subject to the
provisions of the proviso to sub-section (1), be governed by the regulations made by the Authority under
this Act in respect of remuneration and other conditions of service (including pension, leave, provident
fund and medical benefits) and shall continue to be an officer or other employee of the Authority unless
and until his employment is duly terminated by the Authority:
Provided that till such time as the regulations referred to above governing the conditions of service of
its officers or other employees are framed by the Authority, the relevant laws and standing orders
applicable to the officers and employees of the Council shall continue to be applicable to them.
(5) If a question arises whether the terms and conditions of service prescribed in the regulations
framed by the Authority in respect of any matter, including remuneration, pension, leave, provident fund
and medical benefits, are less favourable than those attached to the post held by an officer or other
employee immediately before his transfer to the Authority, the decision of the Central Government in the
matter shall be final.
9. Committees of the Authority.—(1) The Authority may appoint such committees as may be
necessary for the efficient discharge of its duties and performance of its functions under this Act.
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(2) The Authority shall have the power to co-opt as members of any committee appointed under
sub-section (1) such number of persons, who are not members of the Authority as it may think fit and the
persons so co-opted shall have the right to attend the meetings of the committee and take part in its
proceedings but shall not have the right to vote.
(3) The persons co-opted as members of a committee under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to receive
such allowances for attending meetings of the committee as may be fixed by the Central Government.
10. Functions of the Authority.—(1) It shall be the duty of the Authority to undertake, by such
measures as it thinks fit, the development and promotion, under the control of the Central Government, of
export of Scheduled products.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), the measures referred to
therein may provide for—
(a) the development of industries relating to the Scheduled products for export by way of
providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies,
participation in the equity capital through joint ventures and other reliefs and subsidy schemes;
(b) the registration of persons as exporters of the Scheduled products on payment of such fees as
may be prescribed;
(c) the fixing of standards and specifications for the Scheduled products for the purposes of
export;
(d) the carrying out of inspection of meat and meat products in any slaughterhouse, processing
plant, storage premises, conveyances or other places where such products are kept or handled for the
purpose of ensuring the quality of such products;
(e) the improving of packaging of the Scheduled products;
(f) the improving of the marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;
(g) the promotion of export oriented production and development of the Scheduled products;
(h) the collection of statistics from the owners of factories or establishments engaged in the
production, processing, packaging, marketing or export of the Scheduled products or from such other
persons as may be prescribed on any matter relating to the Scheduled products; and the publication of
the statistics so collected, or of any portions thereof or extracts therefrom;
(i) the training in various aspects of the industries connected with the Scheduled products;
(j) such other matters as may be prescribed.
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[10A. Functions in respect of Special products, etc.—Without prejudice to any law for the time
being in force, it shall be the duty of the Authority to undertake, by such measures as may be prescribed
by the Central Government for registration and protection of the Intellectual Property rights in respect of
Special products in India or outside India.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this section “Intellectual Property” means any right to intangible
property, namely, trade marks, designs, patents, geographical indications or any other similar intangible
property, under any law for the time being in force.]
11. Power to supersede the Authority.—(1) If the Central Government is of the opinion that the
Authority is unable to perform, or has persistently made default in the performance of, the duty imposed
on it by or under this Act or has exceeded or abused its powers, or has wilfully or without sufficient
cause, failed to comply with any direction issued by the Central Government under section 20, the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, supersede the Authority for such period as may
be specified in the notification:
1. Ins. by Act 20 of 2009, s. 5 (w.e.f. 13-10-2008).
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Provided that before issuing a notification under this sub-section, the Central Government shall give
reasonable time to the Authority to show cause why it should not be superseded and shall consider the
explanation and objections, if any, of the Authority.
(2) Upon the publication of a notification under sub-section (1) superseding the Authority,—
(a) all the members of the Authority shall, notwithstanding that their term of office has not
expired as from the date of supersession, vacate their offices as such members;
(b) all the powers and duties which may, by or under the provisions of this Act, be exercised or
performed by or on behalf of the Authority shall, during the period of supersession, be exercised and
performed by such person or persons as the Central Government may direct;
(c) all property vested in the Authority shall, during the period of supersession, vest in the Central
Government.
(3) On the expiration of the period of supersession specified in the notification issued under
sub-section (1), the Central Government may—
(a) extend the period of supersession for such further period as it may consider necessary; or
(b) reconstitute the Authority in the manner provided in section 4.