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TMI Blog2001 (3) TMI 858X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id Act as importers, traders, exporters and producers from the Market Committee. The appellants are paying market fee as per the provisions of section 65(2A) when they purchase cashewnut. 2. The Market Committee issued notices to the appellants directing them to collect market fee from their buyers and pay the same to the Committee in respect of transactions of sales of cashew kernel. These notices were issued under the provisions of section 65(2A)(iii) of the said Act. 3.. The appellants filed a writ petition in the High Court of Kerala praying for declaration that they were "producers" of cashew kernel and, therefore, were not liable to collect the market fee from their purchasers and pay the same to the Committee. They also sought a declaration that as producers of cashew kernel they did not even require a licence. The appellants sought directions from the court to quash the notices issued by the Market Committee and to restrain the Market Committee from recovering market fee from them. This writ petition came to be dismissed by a single Judge of the High Court on August 21, 1996. The appellants then filed a writ appeal which also came to be dismissed by the impugned judgment ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shall not include a public carrier. 2(14). 'Goods' means any kind of notified agricultural produce 2(14A). 'Importer' means a person who imports or causes goods to be imported on his own account or as an agent for another person from outside the market area into a market area for the purpose of selling, processing, manufacturing or for any other purpose except for one's own domestic consumption, but shall not include a public carrier. 2(18A). 'Marketing' means buying and selling of agricultural produce and includes grading, processing, storage, transport, packaging, market information and channels of distribution. 2(21). 'Market functionary' or 'functionary' includes a broker, a commission agent, an exporter, a ginner, an importer, a presser, a processor, a stockist, a trader, and such other person as may be declared under the rules or the bye-laws to be a market functionary. 2(28). 'Notified agricultural produce' means any agricultural produce which the State Government has by notification issued under sections 4 and 5 declared as an agricultural produce the marketing of which shall be regulated in the market area. 2(32). 'Process' means any one of the series of treatments t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , who (a) buys notified agricultural produce, (b) either for himself or as agent of one or more persons, (c) for the purpose of selling, processing, manufacturing or any other purpose and (d) except for the purpose of domestic consumption. There is no dispute that the appellants are traders when they purchase cashewnut, which is a notified agricultural produce. In such purchase transaction they are also importers. As such traders and importers they have obtained a licence and are paying market fee. It is, however, submitted that even though they may be traders/importers in the purchase transactions, they are not traders or exporters when they sell cashew kernel. It is submitted that they are producers of cashew kernel. It is submitted that in the Schedule to the said Act cashewnut and cashew kernel are shown as two separate and distinct commodities. It is submitted that the State Government accepted the judgment of the High Court of Kerala as correct and implemented the judgment by incorporating the term "cashew kernel" as a separate items in the Schedule. It is submitted that the appellants are producers under section 2(34) as the appellants produce a notified agricultural produ ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1.. Reliance was also placed upon the case of Sita Devi v. State of Bihar reported in (1995) Supp. 1 SCC 670. In this case the question was whether cattle could be termed as agricultural produce. This Court held that even though in common parlance cattle may not be considered to be an agricultural produce but as it had been included in the Schedule, under "animal husbandry", for the purposes of this Act it became an agricultural produce. This Court held that, therefore, market fee could be levied on cattle bought and sold in a market area. Relying on this authority it was submitted that to ascertain what was an agricultural produce one had to look to the items specified in the Schedule to the Act. It was submitted that if two separate items were specified in the Schedule to the Act, then those two had to be treated as two separate and distinct items. However, it may be noted that this case also lays down that if an item, after it is taxed, is subjected to a process and changes its form, then it can again be subjected to market fee in the different form. The examples given in this case are that even though market fee is levied on cattle,subsequently milk, ghee, butter which are obt ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al notified agricultural produce. 15.. We are unable to agree with the submissions of Mr. Sarangan. As can be seen from the preamble, the Act is to provide for better regulation of marketing of agricultural produce. In the Act certain exemptions have been given to producer which exemptions have not been given either to importer or an exporter or a trader. These exemptions, therefore, have been given to producer because the producer is the person who produces the main agricultural produce. The main agricultural produce, which may be a notified agricultural produce, could then be converted into various other notified agricultural produce/s by subjecting the same to a process or manufacture. The person who so processes or manufactures a different notified agricultural produce would not be a producer. To be noted that an importer imports or causes goods to be imported into the market area for the purpose of selling, processing, manufacturing or for any other purpose, except for one's own domestic consumption. Thus, it is clear that a person, who imports would not be a producer. The import would be for purpose of selling or processing or manufacturing or for any other purpose except ..... 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