PUNJAB SPIRITUOUS PREPARATIONS BONDED WAREHOUSE RULES

GOVERNMENT OF THE PUNJAB

EXCISE AND TAXATION DEPARTMENT

THE PUNJAB SPIRITUOUS PREPARATIONS BONDED WAREHOUSE RULES

NOTIFICATION

[25^th August, 1939]

The Punjab Spirituous Preparations Bonded Warehouse Rules were notified under Financial Commissioner’s No. 3668-Ex, dated 25^th, August 1939, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 22 and 59 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1 of 1914.

11-A.I. These Rules shall be called the Punjab Spirituous Preparations Bonded  Warehouse, Rules.

11-A.2. In these rules unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:-

(i)               “The Act” means the Punjab Excise Act, I of 1914;

(ii)             “Bonded Warehouse” means a warehouse approved by the Excise Commissioner as a bonded warehouse for the receipt and storage under bond of medicinal and other preparations containing rectified spirit of Pakistan manufacture imported into the Punjab from any place in Pakistan, or from a Pakistani State approved by the Punjab Government.

11-A-3. Persons desirous of obtaining licenses to establish private bonded warehouses for the deposit and storage of spirituous preparations without payment of duty, shall apply to the Collector concerned, who will forward such applications for the orders of the Director, Excise and Taxation. Rules, 9.1 to 9.6 of the Punjab Excise Manual, Volume II, shall apply mutatis mutandis, to such applications except that  the cash deposit required in addition to the execution of the security bond pledging the premises, shall not exceed rupees one thousand.  The license shall be granted in the form B.W.I.

11-A.4. Bonded warehouses shall ordinarily be supervised by the ordinary establishment of the Excise Department, and the Collector shall arrange with the licensee of the warehouse the number of hours per day and of days per week on which the warehouse shall be opened for receipt or issue of spirituous preparations and for such operations as may be necessary.  The time so fixed shall be posted up on the outer door or gate of the bonded warehouse for the information of the purchasers.  Should it appear to the Collector at any time that a re-arrangement of the work is rendered necessary, he will at once take steps to reduce or extend the number of hours and days during which the warehouse is to be opened. Any licensee of a warehouse who is not satisfied with the hours fixed shall be at liberty to have a whole-time officer posted at his own expense on payment to the Collector of such sums as the Excise Commissioner shall from time to  time direct and every such sum shall be paid within fifteen days after the expiry of the month to which it relates.

11-A.5. The license must be renewed annually.  Such renewal shall be granted by the Collector subject to the approval of the Excise Commissioner.

11-A.6. Rules 9.12 to 9.27 of the Punjab Distillery Rules and rules 11.34 to 11.40 of the Punjab Chemical Works rules, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to all bonded warehouses.

11-A.7. Every bonded warehouse shall be under the Joint lock and key of the officer in charge thereof and of the licensee.  The lock used by the officer incharge shall be a revenue lock and the key of it shall remain in the personal custody of the Officer in charge.

11-A.8. No spirituous preparations shall be received in the bonded warehouse unless accompanied by a pass from the Officer in charge of the bonded premises from which they have been imported.

11-A-9. Immediately on arrival of a consignment at the bonded warehouse, the Officer in charge shall be informed and the consignment shall not be opened until the same has been examined and verified with the pass by the Officer incharge, who shall also note the results in the prescribed registers, and also on the pass covering the consignment. One copy of the pass with the entries of receipt shall be immediately returned to the officer, who issued the pass, and other copy with entries thereon shall be kept in the warehouse.

11-A-10. An allowance not exceeding two percent shall be made for the actual loss in transit by leakage and breakage of vessels or bottles containing preparations. The allowance shall be determined by detecting from the quantity dispatched the quantity received at the destination both quantities being stated in terms of London proof gallons of spirit contents.

11-A-11.          If the report of the officer in charge shows that wastage exceeds the prescribed limit, the licensee of the warehouse shall be liable to pay duty at the prescribed rate.

Provided that each case of excess deficiency shall be reported to the Board of Revenue for orders, and the Excise Commissioner may, in its discretion on good cause being shown, remit the whole or a part of the duty leviable on such deficiency

11-A-12. Spirituous preparations shall be imported under bond at the sole risk and responsibility of the licensee of the bonded warehouse. The bond is discharged when the spirituous preparations have been duly checked and proved by the officer in charge and deposited in the warehouse after the duty on the excess deficiency, if any, has been realized.

11-A-13. All preparations thus imported shall be entered in the registers maintained for the purpose.

11-A-14. Government shall not be held responsible for the destruction, loss or damage by fire, theft or any other cause whatsoever, occurring to any spirit stored in the warehouse. In case of fire or other accident, the officer in charge shall immediately attend to open it at any hour by day or night.

11-A-15. Smoking or the use by any person whatsoever within a warehouse of naked lights of any description is prohibited. Close lanterns only shall be used.

11-A-16. The ordinary working hours of a bonded warehouse shall be from 10 A.M to 4 P.M. In other cases rules 9.32, 9.32-A, 9.33 and 9.33-A, of the Punjab Distillery Rules shall apply mutatis mutandis.

11-A-17. The licensee shall be bound by the provisions of the Act, and by all rules which may be prescribed under the Act in this behalf from time to time and by all special orders which may be issued by a competent authority and shall cause all persons employed by him to obey all such rules.

11-A-18. If it comes to the notice of the licensee that any person employed by him, has committed any breach of the Act or of the engagements entered into by him, it shall be his duty to report the matter to the officer incharge and to comply with the directions of that officer. The officer in charge shall report the matter together with the action taken by him to the Districts Excise Officer and the Collector.

11-A-19. The licensee shall keep up registers, which are by these rules prescribed for maintenance by the licensee and shall submit them for inspection when required.

The following registers and forms have been prescribed.

(1)             Stock account of each preparation in form B.W.2.

(2)             Applications for pass for the removal of preparations from the warehouse in form M.C.6.

(3)             Account of preparation issued from warehouse (M.C.7)

(4)             Labels (M.C.8).

(5)             The monthly return in form B.W.3.

(6)             Advice of samples sent to the Chemical Examiner (M.C.9).

(7)             Account of samples sent to the Chemical Examiner (M.C.10).

(8)             Inspector’s diary, D-9,

(9)             Registers in form D-15 regarding advance payment of duty.

11-A-20. The licensee shall submit at the end of each month a statement in the prescribed form in duplicate to the Officer in charge, who shall after verification submit them to the collector. The Collector shall forward one copy to the Excise Commissioner. The duplicate copy is being sent to the Commissioner for information. The licensee shall also furnish such true statements as may be required by the Collector from time to time.

11-A-21.          spirituous preparation may be removed from a warehouse: -

(1)             Under Bond: -

(a)             For transport to another bonded warehouse.

(b)             For export to other provinces when specially permitted by the Excise Commissioner.

(2)             On payment of duty:

(3)             Without payment of duty and without bond: -

(a)             if issue  to servants of the State empowered to remove them on public service;

(b)             if issued to Government, local Fund and Charitable hospitals and dispensaries approved by the Punjab Government the indents being signed by the Civil Surgeon of the district;

(c)              if issued to Government, Local Fund and Charitable hospitals and dispensaries in other Provinces and states approved by the Punjab Government on indents signed by the competent authority in the case of provinces and a Chief Medical Officer in the case of Pakistani States;

(d)             if issued to veterinary hospitals the indents being countersigned by the Deputy Superintendent of the Department.

Provided that clause (b),(c), and (d) of this rule, shall apply in the case of medicinal preparations only.

11-A-22. (a) No preparation shall be removed from the warehouse until it has been checked and proved by the Officer in charge and transport or an export pass in form M.46 has been granted. Such passes shall only be issued on the proof of execution of bond by the licensee or on production of treasury receipt showing that the required amount of duty has been deposited into the Government treasury.

(b) In case of issues bond, the procedure laid down in rules 7.11, 7.13, 7.14, 7.15, and 7.16 of the Punjab Excise Manual, Volume II, shall apply mutatis mutandis.

11-A-23. If a licensee prefers not to pay duty at the time, he may remove the preparation subject to the adjustment of such duty against an advanced payment made by him into the Government treasury on account of the duty recoverable on such removals. Such an advance payment shall not be less than Rs.1,000/- and each time an advance is replenished, it must be by  a sum that will bring it up to at-least Rs,1,000/-. The treasury Officer shall keep the Inspector informed of all payments credited to an advance, and the Inspector shall maintain a statement showing such payments and the duty debitable against them. He shall balance this statement on every day on which the warehouse is open for issue and on every such day shall inform the licensee of the balance standing to his credit, and he shall permit the removal of which duty is debitable against the advance only so long as the balance is not exhausted.

11-A-24. All registers and forms prescribed under these rules shall be printed and supplied by the licensee free of charge. Forms bound together shall bear printed serial and consecutive numbers. Loose sheets of such forms as are necessary shall also be supplied to the Officer in charge.

11-A-25. The stock of medicinal and other preparations containing rectified spirit in the bonded warehouse shall be taken by the officer incharge on the last working day of each month. Separate store rooms shall be maintained for the storage of medicinal preparations shown in appendix IV of the Punjab Excise Manual, Volume-II.

11-A-26. Nothing in these rules justifies the use on a label or in an advertisement of words stating or implying that the preparation is sold under a Government guarantee as to contents or quality.

11-A-27. If a fire, theft or any other accident causing destruction, loss or damage to the preparations stored in the bonded warehouse takes place, the Collector shall immediately cause an enquiry to be held by a gazetted officer in order to determine the liability of the licensee to pay duty on the spirit wasted.

11-A-28. If the licensee infringes or causes or permits any person to infringe any of the conditions of his license, the Collector may revoke and determine the license, and may forfeit to

Government the whole or any part of the security deposit.

Provided that if the infringement is of a minor nature, the license may be restored and the order fortfieting the security may be set aside on payment of a sum not exceeding Rs.50/.

11-A-29. The Excise Commissioner reserves to himself the right of adding to, altering, revising or changing these rules from time to time, either after or without consulting the licensee and the licensee shall carry out all orders and instructions issued in the rules, in their original or revised form, so long as he holds the license