Tea (Control of Prices, Distribution and Movement) Ordinance, 1960

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THE TEA (CONTROL OF PRICES, DISTRIBUTION AND 
MOVEMENT) ORDINANCE, 1960 
 
 
 
                                                         CONTENTS 
1.  Short title extent and commencement 
2.  Definitions 
3. Registration of dealers 
4.  Power to refuse suspended or cancel registration 
5.  Forward transaction banned 
6.  Restrictions on dealings in tea 
7.  Duty to declare possession of excess stocks 
8.  Fixation of prices 
9.  Fixation of quantities of tea to be held by approved dealers etc.,  
10.  Restrictions on possession and sale of tea where maximum is fixed under section 9  
11.  Power to order sale 
12.  Restrictions on movements of tea 
13.  Information to be furnished by importers 
14.  Disposal of imports 
15.  Declaration of godowns, store-houses and ware-houses 
16.  Information to be furnished by blenders 
17.  Maintenance of records, etc. 
18.  Marking of process and exhibition of price lists 
19.  Cash memorandum to be given in certain cases 

 
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20.  Refusal to sell 
21.  Offences and penalties 
22.  Attempts and abetments 
23.  Offences by corporations 
24.  False statements 
25.  Cognizance of offences 
26.  Power to try offences summarily 
27.  Special provisions regarding fines 
28.  Presumption as to orders 
29.  Protection of action taken in goods faith 
30.  Delegation of powers 
31.  Ordinance not to apply to Government transactions.  
32.  Power to make rules 
33.  Power to exempt.  
34.  Ordinance in addition to Other Laws, etc. 
 
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THE TEA (CONTROL OF PRICES, DISTRIBUTION AND MOVEMENT)  
ORDINANCE, 1960 
ORDINANCE No. XXVIII OF 1960 
 [6th July, 1960] 
An Ordinance to provide for special measures for the control of prices, distribution and movement of 
tea. 
 WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for special measures for the control of prices, 
distribution and movement of tea; 
 Now, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the Proclamation of the seventh day of October, 1958, 
and in exercise of all powers en abling h im in that behalf, the President is pleased to make and 
promulgate the following Ordinance:- 
 1. Short title extent and commencement. ___(1) This Ordinance may be called the Tea 
(Control of Prices, Distribution and Movement) Ordinance, 1960. 
 (2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan. 
 (3) It shall come into force at once. 
 2. Definitions. —In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or 
context,___ 
(a) “approved dealer” means a dealer in tea registered under this Ordinance as a 
bidder, blender, importer, wholesaler or retailer; 
1[(aa)  ‘appropriate Government’ means, in relation to matters pertaining import of 
tea from outside Pakistan, and trade and commerce between the Prov inces the 
2[Federal Government] and, in relation to other matters, the Provincial 
Government;]  
(b) “bidder” means a person who bids at internal tea auctions for the purpose of 
buying tea either for himself or on behalf of others, and includes a broker; 
(c) “blender” means a person engaged in the business of buying and blending tea 
and preparing packets or other containers of tea for distribution; 
(d) “brewed tea ” means tea prepared for drinking, whether with or without 
 milk, sugar or gur; 
(e) “broker” includes a commission agent;  
 
 
1Clause (aa) ins. by A. O., 1964, Art. 2 and Sch. 
2Subs. by F.A.O., 1975 Art. 2 and Table, for “Central Government”. 
 
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(f) “Controller-General” means the Controller -General of Prices and Supplies 
appointed by the 1[appropriate G overnment], and includes any Additional, 
Deputy or Assistant Controller -General so appointed, and any other officer 
authorized by the 1[appropriate Govern ment] to exercise all or any of the 
powers of the Controller-General under this Ordinance; 
(g) “dealer” means a person who deals in tea as a bidder, blender, importer, 
wholesaler or retailer; 
(h) “importer” means a person who imports into Pakistan tea from outside 
Pakistan; 
(i) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Ordinance; 
(j) “retailer” means a person carrying on the business of selling tea in retail, 
whether in conjunction with any other business or not; 
(k) “tea” includes blended and unblended tea, leaf, tea fanning, tea dust, tea 
contained in packets or other containers and brewed tea; and 
(l) “wholesaler” means a person carrying on the business of selling tea wholesale, 
whether in conjunction with any other business or not. 
 3. Registration of dealers. ___(1) The Controller-General shall maintain separate regis ters, in 
such form as may be prescribed, for the registration of bidders, blenders, importers, wholesalers and 
retailers, and may register any person in such register on an application made to him, giving such 
particulars, in such form, and on payment of such fees as may be pr escribed, and subject to such 
conditions, if any, as the Controller-General may think fit to impose. 
 (2) The Controller -General may require any person applying for registration under sub -
section (1) to furnish such further particulars and information and to produce such documents as the 
Controller-General may consider necessary for the purpose. 
 (3) The Controller -General shall notify in the official Gazette the name of every person 
registered under sub-section (1). 
 (4) Nothing in this section shall be co nstrued as precluding a person registered in any one of 
the registers maintained under sub -section (1) from being registered in any other register so 
maintained. 
 4. Power to refuse suspended or cancel registration. ___ (1) No dealer shall be entitled to 
registration under sub -section (1) of section 3 as of right, and registration may be refused, or, if  
granted, may be suspended or cancelled for any one of the following reasons, that is to say,__ 
(a) for contravening or failing to comply with any provision of this Ordinance, or 
the rules or orders made thereunder; 
(b) for contravening or failing to comply with any condi tion imposed by the 
Controller-General at the time of registration under section 3; 
 
1Subs, by A. O., 1964, Art. 2 and Sch., “Central Government”. 
 
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(c) for under-invoicing or over-invoicing the value of imports or exports of tea; 
(d) for obtaining or attempting to obtain registration under this Ordinance by 
fraudulent means or wilful misrepresentation; 
(e) for indulging in activities which i n the opinion of the Controller -General are 
detrimental to public interest. 
 (2) Any person aggrieved by an order under sub -section (1) may appeal against the order to 
the 1[appropriate Government], within such time as may be prescribed, and the order of t he 
1[appropriate Government] thereon shall be final. 
 5. Forward transaction banned. ___(1) All sales at internal auctions of tea shall be on im -
mediate payment basis, and all kinds of speculative forward transactions in tea are hereby prohibited. 
 (2) Any such transaction as aforesaid outstanding immedia tely before the promulgation of 
this Ordinance shall, notwith standing anything in any agreement, contract, deed or other document, 
be void. 
 6. Restrictions on dealings in tea. —No person, not being an appr oved dealer, shall at any 
one time hold in stock, purchase, sell, or agree to purchase or sell tea weighing three hundred pounds 
or more. 
 7. Duty to declare possession of excess stocks. —Any person having in his possession a 
quantity of tea ex ceeding that permitted by or under this Ordinance shall forthwith report the fact to 
the Controller-General and shall take such action as to the storage, distribution and disposal of the 
excess quantity as the Controller-General may direct. 
 8. Fixation of prices.—The Controller-General may, from time to time, by notification in the 
official Gazette, fix the maximum prices up to which any variety of tea may be sold by (a) a blender, 
(b) an importer, (c) a wholesaler, (d) a retailer, or (e) any other person or class of persons, and no 
person shall sell or resell tea at prices higher than the prices so fixed. 
 Explanation.___ It shall not be a contravention of this section to sell or resell tea at prices 
lower than the prices fixed under this section. 
 9. Fixation of quan tities of tea to be held by approved dealers etc. ,—The Controller -
General may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix in respect of any grade or variety of tea__ 
(a) the maximum quantity which may at any time be pos sessed by an approved 
dealer or class of approved dealers ; 
(b) the maximum quantity which may in any one transac tion be sold by an 
approved dealer or class of approved dealers to another approved dealer or 
class of approved dealers ; and 
 
 
1Subs. by A. O., 1964, Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”. 
 
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(c) the maximum quantity which may at any one time be purchased by any 
approved dealer or class of approved dealers. 
 10. Restrictions on possession and sale of tea where maximum is fixed under section 9.— 
No approved dealer shall___ 
(a) have in his possession at any one time stock of tea exceeding the maximum 
fixed by notification under clause (a) of section 9, or, 
(b) sell or offer for sale to any person in any one transac tion tea exceeding the 
maximum fixed by notification under clause (b) of section 9. 
 11. Power to order sale. —The Controller -General may by order in writing re quire any 
approved dealer to sell to such person or persons such quantity of tea as may be specified in the 
order, and may issue such incidental or supplementar y instructions in writing to any approved dealer 
in regard to the sale thereof as he thinks fit. 
 12. Restrictions on movements of tea. — Notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, 
the Controller -General or any other officer empowered in this be half by  the 1[appropriate 
Government] may, by a general or special order in writing, prohibit the transport of tea from one 
place to another within Pakistan by or on behalf of any dealer or other person, and direct such dealer 
or person to sell or deliver the who le or any part of the tea held by him to any person or persons 
specified in the order. 
 13. Information to be furnished by importers. ___(1) Every importer, shall, within fourteen 
days from the date of receiving intimation of dispatch of any consignment of tea from any place 
outside Pakistan, furnish to the Controller -General by registered post, acknowledgement due, the 
following information in respect of the consignment, namely:- 
(a) grade or variety and quantity of tea included in the consignment ; 
(b) expected date and place of arrival of the consignment in Pakistan; and 
(c) how the stocks of tea are proposed to be disposed of on arrival. 
 (2) Every importer shall, within fourteen days of the clearance of the consignment from the 
customs, furnish to the Controller-General the following information supported by original docu -
ments in respect of the consignment, namely :— 
(a) grade or variety and quantity of tea included in the consignment ; 
(b) landed cost of the consignment showing C.I.F. value, customs duty, sales tax, 
and other incidental charges, if any, separately. 
 14. Disposal of imports. — No importer shall sell or otherwise dispose of any consignment 
of tea imported by him except in accordance with such written instructions as may be issued to him 
by the Controller General in this behalf. 
 
1Subs. by A. O., 1964, Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”. 
 
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 15. Declaration of godowns, store-houses and ware-houses.— Any dealer may be required 
by the Controller-General to declare the situation and des criptive particulars of any place other than 
his usual place of business where he keeps or stores tea, and after making such declaration he shall 
not keep or store tea elsewhere than at such place or his usual place of business. 
 16. Information to be furn ished by blenders. — Every blender shall furnish to the 
Controller-General so as to reach him by the fifteenth day of each calendar month the following 
information, namely:___ 
(a) grade or variety and actual or estimated quantity of tea blended during the 
preceding calendar month ; 
(b) the actual or estimated cost of blending such tea ; and 
(c) the manner in which and the persons to whom the blender proposes to dispose 
of the same. 
 17. Maintenance of records, etc. ___(1) Every approved dealer shall keep such  books, ac -
counts and records relating to the business carried on by him as the Controller -General may require 
from time to time. 
 (2) Every dealer or other person holding stocks of tea and every person employed in 
connection with the business of such deal er or other person, on being required so to do either by 
notice served on him or by special or general direction issued by the Controller-General, shall- 
(a) produce before such person as may be specified in the notice or direction such 
accounts and other documents as may be specified in the notice or direction ; 
(b) furnish to the Controller-General such estimates, returns and other information 
relating to the business as may be specified in the notice or direction ; and 
(c) permit any person or persons o f a class or description mentioned in the notice 
or direction to enter upon, inspect and search with a view to securing 
compliance with this Ordinance or the rules or orders made there under any 
premises used for or in connection with the business, and sei ze all stocks of 
tea in respect of which such person or persons have reason to believe that a 
contravention of this Ordinance or the rules or orders made thereunder has 
been, is being, or is about to be, committed. 
 18. Marking of process and exhibition of  price lists. ___(1) Every blender shall mark the 
retail sale price on each packet or other container of tea or on a label affixed to each packet or 
container. 
 (2) Every dealer shall maintain and exhibit on his premises a price list of all kinds of tea 
exposed or intended for sale. 
 (3) No dealer shall destroy, efface or alter or cause to be destroyed, effaced or altered the 
prices marked and exhibited under sub-sections (1) and (2). 
 19. Cash memorandum to be given in certain cases. — Every dealer when sell ing tea for 
cash shall, if the sale for five rupees or more in all cases, and if the sale is for less than five rupees, 
 
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when so requested by the purchaser, give the purchaser a cash memorandum containing particulars 
of the transaction: 
 Provided that the provisions of this section shall apply only to those dealers who are liable to 
pay income-tax. 
 20. Refusal to sell. — No dealer shall without reasonable excuse refuse to sell to any person 
any quantity of tea not exceeding the maximum fixed by or under this Ordinance. 
 Explanation.___ The possibility or expectation of obtaining a higher price at a later date shall 
not be deemed to be a reasonable excuse within the meaning of this section, but it shall not be a 
contravention of this section to refuse to suppl y tea to a retailer or a consumer in excess of his 
normal quota or reasonable require ments determined in accordance with the established system of 
distribution, in case such system is equitable and is in keeping with established commercial and trade 
practice. 
 21. Offences and penalties. ___(1) If any person contravenes any provision of this Ordinance 
or any rule or order made thereunder, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which 
may extend to three years or with fine or with both, and any C ourt trying such contravention may 
direct that any stocks of tea in respect of which such contravention has been made shall be forfeited 
to Government. 
 (2) The owner of any vessel, conveyance or animal carrying any tea in respect of which any 
provision of this Ordinance or any rule or order made thereunder has been contravened shall, if the 
carrying is part of the transaction involving the contravention and if he knew or had reason to believe 
that the contraven tion was being committed, be deemed to have  contravened the provisions of this 
Ordinance, and in addition to the punishment to which he is liable under sub -section (1), the vessel, 
conveyance or animal shall also be liable to be forfeited to Government. 
 22. Attempts and abetments. — Any person who attempts to contravene, or abets the 
contravention of any provision of this Ordinance or any rule or order made thereunder shall be 
deemed to have contravened the provisions of this Ordinance. 
 23. Offences by corporations. — If the person contravening any provision of this Ordi nance 
or any rule or order made thereunder is a company or other body corporate, every director, manager, 
secretary or other officer or agent thereof shall, unless he proves that the contra vention took place 
without his knowledge or  that he exercised all due diligence to prevent such contravention, be 
deemed to be guilty of such contravention. 
 24. False statements.— Any person who,___ 
(a) when required by or under this Ordinance to make any statement or furnish 
any information, make s any statement or furnishes any information which is 
false in any material particular and which he knows or has reasonable cause to 
believe to be false, or does not believe to be true, or 
(b) makes any statement as aforesaid in any book, account, record, declaration, 
return or other document which he is required by or under this Ordinance to 
maintain or furnish, 
 
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shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or 
with both. 
 125. Cognizance of offences. — No cour t shall take cognizance of an offence punish able 
under this Ordinance except with the previous sanction in writing of the 2[appropriate Government], 
3[* * * ] or of an officer or other authority empowered for the purpose by the 2[appropriate 
Government] 4[* * *]. 
 26. Power to try offences summarily.— Any magistrate or bench of magistrates empowered 
for the time being to try in a summary way the offences specified in sub -section (1) of section 260 of 
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, may, on applicatio n in this behalf being made by the 
prosecution, try in accordance with the provisions contained in sections 262 to 265 of the said Code 
any offence punishable under this Ordinance, (Act V of 1898). 
 27. Special provisions regarding fines. — Notwithstanding anything contained in section 32 
of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, it shall be lawful for any magistrate of the first class 
especially empowered by the Provincial Government in this behalf to pass a sentence of fine 
exceeding one thousand rupees on any person convicted of an offence under this Ordinance, (Act V 
of 1898). 
 28. Presumption as to orders.___(1) No order made in exercise of any power conferred by or 
under this Ordinance shall be called in question in any Court. 
 (2) Where any order purpor ts to have been made and signed by an authority in exercise of 
any power conferred by or under this Ordinance, a court shall, within the meaning of the Evidence 
Act, 1872, (I of 1872) presume that such order was so made by that authority. 
 29. Protection o f action taken in goods faith. ___(1) No suit or prosecution or other legal 
proceeding shall lie against any person for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be 
done in pursuance of this Ordinance or any rule or order made thereunder. 
 (2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government for any damage caused 
or likely to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of 
any provision of this Ordinance or any rule or order made thereunder. 
 30. Delegation of powers. —The 2[appropriate Government] may, by notified order 5, direct 
that all or any of its powers under this Ordinance or the rules made thereunder shall in relation to 
such matters and sub ject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the dir ection, be 
exerciseable also by— 
(a) such officer or authority subordinate to the 2[appropriate Government], or 
 
 
1For notification authorizing the Government of East and West Pakistan and the Administrator of Karachi under this section, see Gaz. of P., 1960, Ext., 
p. 1584a. 
2Subs. by A. O., 1964, Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”. 
3The original words and commas “or if it is authorised by the Central Government in this behalf, of the Provincial Government”, omitted ibid. 
4The original words “or by the Provincial Government so authorized” omitted ibid. 
5For notification, see Gaz. of P., 1960, Ext., pp. 1923 a-1. 
 
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(b) 1[where 2[Federal Government] is the appropriate Government, such 
Provincial Government or such officer or authorit y subordinate to a Provincial 
Government, 
as may be specified in the direction. 
 31. Ordinance not to apply to Government transactions. — Nothing in this Ordinance 
shall apply to the possession or sale of any quantity of tea by a dealer or other person in the course of 
the fulfilment of a contract entered into with the 2[Federal Government] or a Provincial Government. 
 32. Power to make rules. — The 3[appropriate Government] may by notification in the 
official Gazette make rules4 for carrying out the purposes of this Ordinance. 
 533. Power to exempt. — The 3[appropriate Government] may, by order notified in the 
official Gazette, exempt any person or class of persons or any grade, variety or stock of tea from the 
operation of all or any of the provisions of thi s Ordinance to such extent and sub ject to such 
conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order. 
 34. Ordinance in addition to Other Laws, etc. — The provisions of this Ordinance shall be 
in addition to and not in derogation of any other laws for the t ime being in force relating to the 
control of prices, distribution and movement of tea. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Date:-22.04.2024 
1Ins. by A. O., 1964, Art,. 2 and Sch., 
2Subs. by F.A.O. 1975, Art., 2 and Table for “Central Government”. 
3Subs. by A.O., 1964 Art. 2 and Sch., for “Central Government”. 
4For the Tea (Registration of Dealers) Rules, 1960 see Gaz. Of P. 1960. Ext. p. 1363-1365.  
5For notification under this section, see Gaz. of P., 1960, Ext., p. 1847a.