THE PUNJAB ELECTRICITY DUTY
RULES, 2012
[16th March, 2012]
NOTIFICATION
No. S.O. (Power) (ED)/1528//73(Provl): In
exercise of the powers conferred under Section 17 of the Punjab Finance Act,
1964 ( XXXIV of 1964), Governor of the Punjab is pleased to make the
following rules:-
1. Short title and
Commencement:- (1) These rules may be cited as the Punjab Electricity Duty
Rules, 2012.
(2) They shall come into force at once.
2.
Definitions.-
In these rules:
a)
“Act” means the Punjab Finance Act, 1964 ( XXXIV of 1964);
b)
“Advisory Board” means the Advisory Board constituted
under section 35 of the Electricity Act, 1910 (IX of 1910);
c)
“assessed amount” means an amount of electricity duty
assessed or calculated by a licensee soon after or at the end of each month for
self-use or for energy sold or supplied to the consumers during the month or,
such amount so assessed by the Inspecting Officer for any default period
excluding any penalty imposed under the Act;
d)
“due amount” means the assessed amount of electricity
duty as may be due or payable but not deposited within the stipulated period
including, if any;
e)
“Electric Inspector” means the Electric Inspector
appointed under sub-section (2) of section 36 of the Electricity Act, 1910 ( IX
of 1910);
f)
“Electricity Duty” means the electricity duty payable
under section 13 and 14 of the Act;
g)
“form” means a
form appended to these rules ;
h)
“Government “means the Government of the Punjab;
i)
“Government Treasury” a treasury or sub-treasury of the
Government, and includes any office, branch or agency of a bank transacting
treasury business for and on behalf of the Government;
j)
“Inspecting Officer” means an Inspecting Officer
appointed by the Government to perform
duties and to exercise powers under these rules;
k)
“Person” means any licensee, consumer, association of
persons, concern, company, firm or undertaking;
l)
“recovered amount” means an electricity duty deposited
into the Government Treasury and a copy of the receipt thereof is received by
the Electric Inspector;
m)
“self use” means generation and use of electrical
energy by any person from his own generator; and
n)
“tariff” means a schedule of tariff on electric energy
as may be specified or approved by the Government or the Federal Governmen.
3.
Registration:
- (1) Every person intending to generate electricity for self use or for sale
or supply to consumers, and liable to pay electricity duty under the Act, shall
apply in writing to the Electric Inspector for registration as a licensee.
(2) Upon
receipt of an application for registration under sub-rule (1), the Electric
Inspector shall register the applicant as licensee and issue him a register
number in accordance with such procedure as may be laid down by the Advisory
Board.
4. Energy meter:- (1)
Wherever a licensee commissions a generator for self-use or for sale or supply
of electrical energy to a consumer, he
shall install a separate energy meter for recording of energy consumption for
each kind of use and category of tariff and such meters shall be periodically
tested by the Electric Inspector or the Inspecting Officer at any time at
intervals not exceeding two years and shall, where demanded by the Inspecting
Officer, submit a certificate to the Electric Inspector certifying that the percentage
of errors is within the prescribed limits of errors as laid down in rule 32 of
the Electric Rules, 1937:
(2)
The Electric Inspector may accept the manufacture’s
test certificate in lieu of test certificate required under sub-rule (1) but the manufacturer’s test certificate shall be
valid for a maximum period of one year from the date of installation of such
meter.
(3)
A meter installed under this rule shall be provided
with appropriate anti-theft security measures to the satisfaction of the
Electric Inspector or Inspecting Officer.
(4)
Where a licensee has commissioned a generator under
sub-rule (1), he shall maintain a logbook as and when electricity is generated
in Form-A which may be procured from the Electric Inspector on payment of such
fee or cost as may be fixed by the Government and shall produce it before the
Inspecting Officer as and when required by him for the purpose of verification
and assessment of electricity duty.
(5)
In case of failure on the part of a licensee to
maintain credible generation data on prescribed form, the Inspecting Officer
shall proceed to assess the amount of electricity duty on the basis of
generation capacity or installed capacity of load or average use of load.
5.
Provision of
special meters. Where there is combined installation using energy for
different kinds of tariff or where a part of supply or energy is liable to pay
electricity duty and a part thereof is exempted from such electricity duty, the
licensee himself or the consumer with the approval of the licensee, shall
install and maintain separate, suitable and correct meter or meters to register
the energy consumption for each kind separately.
6.
Reading of
meters and adjustment. (1) Where a licensee is liable to pay electricity
duty, he shall cause the meter of every consumer to whom he supplies energy to
be read, so far as possible, on the same date in each month and record the
units of energy consumed in the month and the period between such consecutive
readings shall be reckoned as submission of monthly returns under Rule 9.
(2) In
case the licensee is self user, he shall submit a return to Electric Inspector
in the Form ‘C’.
(3) In
calculating the duty payable by a consumer, the licensee shall make the same
allowance for defective meters, incorrect readings, miscalculations due to
clerical errors and adjustments in respect of electricity duty as it makes in
respect of its own charges.
7. Keeping books of accounts:- (1) Every
licensee shall maintain and keep an up to date books of accounts containing the
following particulars ;
a)
name and address of every consumer to whom the
licensee supplies energy with date of
its connection, account number, sanctioned load and kind of use;
b)
description of the premises in which energy is used;
c)
number of units of energy supplied for different kind
of use by the consumer under the provision of applicable tariff month-wise;
d)
assessed amount of electricity duty as charged in
respect of supply under the provision of the Act;
e)
the date of cutting off the supply of energy on account
of default in payment of electricity duty;
f)
total units generated, units sold out, units consumed
for self-use and units consumed in the power house auxiliaries, fuel purchased,
consumed and balance on monthly basis; and
g)
Area of supply approved by the National Electric Power
Regulatory Authority.
(2) In case the licensee is self user of electricity, and is
not engaged in sale of electricity, he shall provide the monthly return in
Form-C showing:
a)
The name and description of premises;
b)
Installed capacity of generators;
c)
Units generated during the month;
d)
Units consumed during the month tariff wise;
e)
Fuel consumed during the month;
f)
Auxiliary consumption; and
g)
Return duly signed by the authorized person.
8. Time and manner of collection of surcharge:-
(1) A licensee shall include the electricity duty payable by a consumer as a
separate item in the bill of charge for the energy supplied and shall recover
it from the consumer.
(2)
The licensee shall within 60 days of the expiry of the
month for which electricity duty is levied, deposit the amount of such duty
into Government Treasury under the relevant head of account as notified by the
Finance Department of the Governmnet, and send the treasury receipt to the Electric
Inspector:
(3)
If the licensee neglects or fails to deposit the amount
of electricity duty in the Government Treasury within the specified period, he
shall be liable to pay, in addition to such duty, late payment penalty equal to
fifteen percent of the total amount of such electricity duty:
(4)
Where a licensee generates electricity for self use, he
shall, within 30 days of the expiry of the month for which electricity duty is
levied, deposit the amount of such duty in the Government Treasury and send the
treasury receipt to the Electric Inspector.
(5)
If the licensee fails to pay the assessed amount within
the specified period, he shall be liable to pay, in addition to such duty, a
late payment penalty equal to ten percent of the total assessed amount.
(6 If the licensee fails to pay the
assessed amount with late payment penalty
within thirty days of expiry of due date, the Electric Inspector may
impose penalty equal to the amount of dues after affording an opportunity of
personal hearing to the defaulter.
9.
Electricity
Duty and Penalty thereof Recoverable as an Arrears of Land Revenue:- Any
amount of electricity duty together with any surcharge or penalty as described
in Rule-8 shall be recovered from licensee as arrears of land revenue on a
reference from the Electric Inspector.
10.
Submission
of returns.- (1) Every licensee shall submit to the Electric
Inspector:-
(a)
a monthly return in Form ‘B’ or Form ‘C’ or Form ‘D’,
as may be applicable by the fifteenth of the month following the month to which
the return relates separately for different kinds of tariff; and
(b)
a quarterly return in Form-‘E’ within 30 days of the
expiry of the quarter, containing the particulars of any consumer who has
failed to make payment of the electricity duty within three months of the
presentation of the bill.
11. Inspection.- (1) An Electric Inspector
or Inspecting officer may at any time require a licensee to produce for
inspection either at the power house, or registered or other office of the
licensee such books and records in his possession or control, as the Inspecting
Office may consider necessary for ascertaining or verifying the amount of
electricity duty to be levied under the Act.
(2)
The Electric Inspector/Inspecting Officer shall inspect
books of account and returns submitted by a licensee at such intervals and to
such extent as may be fixed by Advisory Board.
(3)
Where a licensee fails to submit monthly return, the
Electric Inspector or Inspecting Officer shall proceed to make assessment of
electricity duty due from the licensee and may direct through a notice in
writing to deposit the same within 15 days.
(4)
In case of non deposit of electricity duty within
specified period under Rule (3) The
Electric Inspector shall proceed in accordance with Rule-8.
12. Power for entry
and inspection.- An Inspecting Officer may, after giving reasonable notice
to the occupant, enter into any premises
where energy is or is believed to be supplied, generated or used for the
purpose of:
(a)
certifying the statements made in the books of accounts
and the returns submitted by the licensee;
(b)
verifying the reading, status and testing the accuracy
of the meters; and
(c)
verifying the particulars or ascertaining information
required in connection with the levy of electricity duty.
13. Settlement of
disputes.- (1) In case any
difference or dispute arises between a consumer and a licensee or between the
licensee and the Inspecting Officer regarding the amount of electricity duty
due from him, the licensee or the consumer shall refer the dispute to the
Electric Inspector, who shall, after such inquiry as he deems appropriate,
decide the matter within a period of ninety days of the filing of the
application after affording an opportunity of being heard to both the parties.
(2)
If the Electric Inspector fails to decide the matter
within the stipulated period or where licensee or consumer refuses to accept
the decision of the Electric Inspector, the matter shall be referred to the
Advisory Board whose decision shall be final.
(3)
The Electric Inspector may, before proceeding to
enquire into any dispute referred to him under sub-rule (1), serve the consumer
with a notice requiring him to deposit in the Government Treasury within
fifteen days of the receipt of the notice, twenty-five percent of the amount of
duty alleged to be due from him and, if on being served with such notice, the
consumer fails to deposit the said amount of duty within the time specified in
the notice, the Electric Inspector, may direct the licensee to cut off the
supply of energy to the consumer until such time as the amount of duty is
deposited by him, and the licensee shall act accordingly.
(4)
If the dispute is referred by a licensee who generates
electricity for self use against Inspecting Officer, the Electric Inspector may
serve the licensee with a notice requiring him to deposit twenty five percent
of the electricity duty in Government Treasury within fifteen days of the
receipt of such notice and if on being served with such notice fails to deposit
the amount of duty within the time period specified in the notice and the Electric Inspector may dismiss the
application.
14. Repeal. -
The Electricity Duty Rules, 1964, are hereby repealed.
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