Cotton Transport Act, 1923

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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 imp ort 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.] 
 
 
 
1Subs. by the Central Laws (Statute Reform) Ordinance, 1960 (XXI of 1960). s. 3 and 2nd Sch. (With Effect From the 14th October, 1955). 
2Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, s. 2. 
3Subs. 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) A ny 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 
3[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. Refu sal to carry unlic ensed 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 licenc e 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 
which 3[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 par cels, 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 consigne e 
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 o rder 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  
 
 
1Subs. by the Federal Adaptation of laws Order, 1975 (P. O.  No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch. 
2Subs. by Adaptation Order, 1937. 
3Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, ss. 3-5. 
4Omitted 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 n otification in the 
2[official Gazette], make rules to provide for any of the following matters, namely:— 
(a)  the prevention of the import into a prote cted 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 w hich 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] 
4[* * *], 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:  
5[*  *  *  *  *  *  *] 
 
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 
 
 
1Subs. by the Federal Adaptation of laws Order, 1975 (P. O. No. 4 of 1975), Art. 2 and Sch. 
2Subs. by Adaptation Order, 1937.  
3Ins. by Act No. XXXIV of 1925, s. 6.  
4Omitted by the Repealing and Amending Ordinance, 1961 (I of 1961), s. 3 and 2nd Sch. 
5Omitted by Adaptation of Central Acts and Ordinance Order, 1949 (Order No. 4 of 1949), s. 3 and Sch.