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THE COTTON TRANSPORT ACT, 1923
CONTENTS
1. Short title and extent
2. Definitions
3. Power to issue notification prohibiting import of cotton into protected area
4. Refusal to carry unlicensed cotton
5. Procedure where cotton arrives at notified station
6. Penalties
7. Power to make rules
8. Previous approval of Provincial Legislature to issue of notifications and rules
9. Protection for acts done under Act
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THE COTTON TRANSPORT ACT, 1923
ACT No. III OF 1923
[23rd February, 1923]
An Act to provide for the restriction and control of the transport of cotton in certain circumstances.
WHEREAS it is expendient for the purpose of maintaining the quality and reputation of the
cotton grown in certain areas in 1[Pakistan] to enable the restriction and control of the transport by rail
and the import of cotton into those areas; It is hereby enacted as follows: ___
1. Short title and extent.___(1) This Act may be called the Cotton Transport Act, 1923.
1
[(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.]
2. Definitions.___In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, ___
(a) “certified copy”, in relation to a licence, means a copy of the licence certified
in the manner described in section 76 of the Evidence Act, 1872 (I of 1872), by
the authority by which the licence was granted;
(b) “cotton” means every kind of unmanufactured cotton, that is to say, ginned and
unginned cotton, cotton waste and cotton seed;
(c) “cotton waste” means droppings, strippings, fly and other waste products of a
cotton-mill other than yarn waste;
(d) “licence” means a licence granted under this Act;
(e) “notified station” means a railway station specified in a notification under
section 3;
(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act; and
(g) “protected area” means an area into which the import of cotton or of any kind
of cotton has been prohibited 2[wholly or partly] by a notification under section
3 3[ ; ]
3
[(h) “appropriate Government” means in relation to the transport of cotton across
the customs frontiers and interprovincial trade and commerce, the Federal
Government and, for other purposes, the Provincial Government.]
1
Subs. by the Central Laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance, 1960 (XXI of 1960). s. 3 and 2nd Sch. (With Effect From the 14th October, 1955).
2
Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, s. 2.
3
Subs. and ins. by the Federal Adaptation of laws Order, 1975 (P. O. No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch.
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3. Power to issue notification prohibiting import of cotton into protected area.___(1) The
1
[appropriate Government] may, for the purpose of maintaining the quality or reputation of the cotton
grown in any area in the Province, by notification in the 2[official Gazette], prohibit the import of
cotton or of any specified kind of cotton into that area 3[by rail, road, river and sea, or by any one or
more of such routes] save under, and in accordance with the conditions of, a licence:
Provided that no such notification shall be deemed to prohibit the import into any protected
area of packages containing any kind of cotton and not exceeding ten pounds avoirdupois weight.
(2) Any such notification may prohibit the delivery to, and the taking of delivery by, any
person, at any specified railway station situated in the protected area, of any cotton, the import of which
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[by rail] into that area is prohibited when such cotton has been consigned from a railway station not
situated in that area, unless such person holds a licence for the import 3[by rail] of the cotton into that
area.
4. Refusal to carry unlicensed cotton.___(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the
Railways Act, 1890 (IX of 1890), or any other law for the time being in force, the station master of
any railway station or any other railway servant responsible for the booking of goods or parcels at that
station may refuse to receive for carriage at, or to forward or allow to be carried on the railway from,
that station any cotton consigned to a notified station, being cotton of a kind of which the delivery at
such notified station has been prohibited unless both stations are in the same protected area, or unless
the consignor produces a certified copy of a licence for the import of the cotton 3[by rail] into the
protected area in which such notified station is situated.
(2) Every certified copy of a licence when so produced shall be attached to the invoice or way-
bill, as the case may be, and shall accompany the consignment to its destination, and shall there be
dealt with in the prescribed manner.
(3) 4[* * * * * * *]
5. Procedure where cotton arrives at notified station.___(1) Where any cotton, the import of
3
which [by rail] into any protected area has been prohibited, has been consigned to and arrives at a
notified station in any such protected area, the station master or other railway servant responsible for
the receipt and delivery to the consignee of goods or parcels, as the case may be, at that station shall,
unless both the notified station and the railway station from which the cotton has been consigned are
situated in the same protected area, refuse to deliver the cotton until he is satisfied that the consignee
holds a licence for the import of the cotton 3[by rail] into the protected area in which such notified
station is situated ; and, if he is not so satisfied, or if within fourteen days the consignee or some person
acting on his behalf does not appear in order to take delivery, shall return the cotton to the railway
station from which it was consigned, together with an intimation that delivery of the cotton has been
refused or has not been taken, as the case may be.
(2) Any station master or other railway servant receiving any cotton returned under sub-section
(1), or returned with a like intimation from a railway station specified in a notification under sub-
section (3) of section 4, shall cause to be served on the consignor in any manner authorised by section
1
Subs. by the Federal Adaptation of laws Order, 1975 (P. O. No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch.
2
Subs. by Adaptation Order, 1937.
3
Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, ss. 3-5.
4
Omitted by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration) Ordinance, 1981 (XXVII of 1981), s. 3 and Sch. II.
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141 of the Railways Act, 1890 (IX of 1890), a notice stating that the cotton has been so returned and
requiring the consignor to pay any rate, terminal or other charges due in respect of the carriage of the
cotton to and from the railway station to which it was consigned, and such charges shall be deemed to
be due from the consignor for all the purposes of section 55 of that Act.
6. Penalties.___Any person who, in contravention of the provisions of this Act or of any
notification or rule made hereunder, knowingly takes delivery of any cotton from a notified station or
imports, or attempts to import, any cotton into a protected area, and any station master or other railway
servant who, in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 5, without reasonable
excuse, the burden of proving which shall lie upon him, delivers any cotton to a consignee or other
person, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, and upon any subsequent conviction
to imprisonment which may extend to three months, or to fine which may extend to five thousand
rupees, or to both.
7. Power to make rules.___(1) The 1[appropriate Government] may, by notification in the
2
[official Gazette], make rules to provide for any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the prevention of the import into a protected area by road, river or sea, save
under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence, of cotton the import
of which into that area has been prohibited 3[wholly or partly] by a notification
under section 3;
(b) the terms and conditions to be contained in licences and the authorities by which
they may be granted; and
(c) the manner in which licences and certified copies thereof shall be dealt with on
and after the delivery of the cotton to which they relate.
(2) Any such rules may provide that any contravention thereof or of the conditions of any
licence, not otherwise made punishable by this Act, shall be punishable with fine which may extend
to five hundred rupees.
8. Previous approval of Provincial Legislature to issue of notifications and rules.___No
notification under section 3 or rule under section 7 shall be issued by the 1[appropriate Government]
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[* * *], unless it has been laid in draft before 2[, the 1[Parliament or, as the case may be, the Provincial
Assembly], and has been approved by a Resolution 2[ of 1[Parliament or of] that Assembly], either
with or without modification or addition, but upon such approval being given the notification or rule,
as the case may be, may be issued in the form in which it has been so approved:
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[* * * * * * *]
9. Protection for acts done under Act.___No suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted
against any person in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this
Act.
___________
Date: 30-12-2024
1
Subs. by the Federal Adaptation of laws Order, 1975 (P. O. No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch.
2
Subs. by Adaptation Order, 1937.
3
Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, s. 6.
4
Omitted by the Repealing and Amending Ordinance, 1961 (I of 1961), s. 3 and 2nd Sch.
5
Omitted by Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance Order, 1949 (Order No. 4 of 1949), s. 3 and Sch.
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Source: Pakistan Code, Ministry of Law and Justice (pakistancode.gov.pk). Text on this page is reproduced verbatim from the official PDF and is provided for reference only. For the authoritative version, always consult the source document or a current reported edition.
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