15. Appointment of Commissioner of Payments.—(1) The Central Government shall, for the
purpose of disbursing the amounts payable under sections 8 and 9 to each of the two companies, by
notification, appoint a Commissioner of Payments.
(2) The Central Government may appoint such other persons as it may think fit to assist the
Commissioner and thereupon the Commissioner may authorise one or more of such persons also to
exercise all or any of the powers exercisable by him under this Act and different persons may be
authorised to exercise different powers.
(3) Any person authorised by the Commissioner to exercise any of the powers exercisable by the
Commissioner may exercise those powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they have
been conferred on that person directly by this Act and not by way of authorisation.
(4) The salaries and allowances of the Commissioner and other persons appointed under this section
shall be defrayed out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
16. Payment by Central Government to the Commissioner.—(1) The Central Government shall,
within thirty days from the specified date, pay in cash to the Commissioner, for payment to each of the
two companies,—
(a) an amount equal to the amount specified against the name of such company in the First
Schedule; and
(b) an amount equal to the amounts payable to each of the two company in the First schedule; and
(2) A deposit account shall be opened by the Central Government in favour of the Commissioner in
the Public Account of India and every amount paid under this Act to the Commissioner shall be deposited
by him to the credit of the said deposit account and the said deposit account shall be operated by the
Commissioner.
(3) Separate records shall be maintained by the Commissioner in respect of the undertakings of each
of the two companies in relation to which payments have been made to him under this Act.
(4) Interest accruing on the amount standing to the credit of the deposit account referred to in
sub-section (2) shall enure to the benefit of the two companies.
17. Certain powers of Central Government or existing, or new, Government company.—(1) The
Central Government or the existing, or new, Government company, as the case may be, shall be entitled
to receive up to the specified date, to the exclusion of all other persons, any money due to either of the
two companies in relation to its undertakings which have vested in the Central Government or the
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existing, or new, Government company, as the case may be, and realised after the appointed day
notwithstanding that the realisation pertains to a period prior to the appointed day.
(2) The Central Government, or the existing, or new, Government company, as the case may be, may
make a claim to the Commissioner with regard to every payment made by it after the appointed day, for
discharging any liability of either of the two companies, not being any liability specified in
sub-section (2) of section 5, in relation to any period prior to the appointed day, and every such claim
shall have priority, in accordance with the priorities attaching, under this Act, to the matter in relation to
which such liability has been discharged by the Central Government or the existing, or new, Government
company.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the liabilities of either of the two companies in respect of
any transaction prior to the appointed day which have not been discharged on or before the specified date
shall be the liabilities of the respective company.
18. Claims to be made to the Commissioner.—Every person having a claim against either of the
two companies with regard to any of the matters specified in the Second Schedule pertaining to any
undertakings owned by it, shall prefer such claim before the Commissioner within thirty days from the
specified date:
Provided that if the Commissioner is satisfied that the claimant was prevented by sufficient cause
from preferring the claim within the said period of thirty days, be may entertain the claim within a further
period of thirty days but not thereafter.
19. Priority of claims.—The claims arising out of the matters specified in the Second Schedule shall
have priorities in accordance with the following principles, namely:—
(a) Category I shall have precedence over all other categories and Category II shall have
precedence over Category III, and so on;
(b) the claims specified in each of the categories shall rank equally and be paid in full, but, if the
amount is insufficient to meet such claims in full, they shall abate in equal proportions and be paid
accordingly; and
(c) the question of discharging any liability with regard to a matter specified in a lower category
shall arise only if a surplus is left after meeting all the liabilities specified in the immediately higher
category.
20. Examination of claims.—(1) On receipt of the claims made under section 18, the Commissioner
shall arrange the claims in the order of priorities specified in the Second Schedule and examine the same
in accordance with such order.
(2) If, on examination of the claims, the Commissioner is of opinion that the amount paid to him
under this Act is not sufficient to meet the liabilities specified in any lower category, he shall not be
required to examine the claims in respect of such lower category.
21. Admission or rejection of claims.—(1) After examining the claims with reference to the
priorities specified in the Second Schedule, the Commissioner shall fix a date on or before which every
claimant shall file the proof of his claim.
(2) Not less than fourteen days’ notice of the date so fixed shall be given by advertisement in one
issue of any daily newspaper in the English language having circulation in the major part of the country
and in one issue of any daily newspaper in such regional language as the Commissioner may consider
suitable, and every such notice shall call upon the claimant to file the proof of his claim with the
Commissioner within the period specified in the advertisement.
(3) Every claimant who fails to file the proof of his claim within the period specified by the
Commissioner shall be excluded from the disbursement made by the Commissioner.
(4) The Commissioner shall, after such investigation as may, in his opinion, be necessary and after
giving the concerned company an opportunity of refuting the claim and after giving the claimant a
reasonable opportunity of being heard, admit or reject by order in writing the claim in whole or in part.
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(5) The Commissioner shall have the power to regulate his own procedure in all matters arising out of
the discharge of his functions, including the place or places at which he may hold his sittings and shall,
for the purpose of making any investigation under this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a civil
court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), while trying a suit, in respect of the following
matters, namely:—
(a) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any witness and examining him on oath;
(b) the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as
evidence;
(c) the reception of evidence on affidavits;
(d) the issuing of any commission for the examination of witnesses.
(6) Any investigation before the Commissioner shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the
meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) and the Commissioner shall be
deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974).
(7) A claimant who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Commissioner may prefer an appeal
against such decision to the principal civil court of original jurisdiction within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction the registered office of the concerned company is situated:
Provided that where a person who is a Judge of a High Court is appointed, to be the Commissioner
such appeal shall lie to the High Court exercising jurisdiction over the place in which the registered office
of the concerned company is situated and such appeal shall be heard and disposed of by not less than two
Judges of that High Court.
22. Disbursement of money by Commissioner.—After admitting a claim under this Act, the amount
due in respect of such claim shall be paid by the Commissioner to the person or persons to whom such
amount is due, and on such payment, the liability of each of the two companies in respect of such claim
shall stand discharged.
23. Disbursement of amounts to the companies.—(1) If, out of the moneys paid to him in relation
to the undertakings of either of the two companies, there is a balance left after meeting the liabilities as
specified in the Second Schedule, the Commissioner shall disburse such balance to the concerned
company.
(2) Where the possession of any machinery, equipment or other property has vested in the Central
Government or the existing, or new, Government company under this Act, but such machinery,
equipment or other property does not belong to either of the two companies, it shall be lawful for the
Central Government or the existing, or new, Government company, as the case may be, to continue to
possess such machinery or equipment or other property on the same terms and conditions under which
they were possessed by either of the two companies immediately before the appointed day.
24. Undisbursed or unclaimed amount to be deposited with the general revenue account.—Any
money paid to the Commissioner which remains undisbursed or unclaimed on the date immediately
preceding the date on which the office of the Commissioner is finally wound up, shall be, transferred by
the Commissioner, before his office is finally wound up, to the general revenue account of the Central
Government; but a claim to any money so transferred may he preferred to the Central Government by the
person entitled to such payment and shall be dealt with as if such transfer had not been made, and the
order, if any, for the payment of the claim being treated as an order for the refund of revenue.