The Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association Act, 1854 was enacted on February 10, 1854. The Act was framed for the purpose of altering some of the provisions of the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association Act of 1838. The Act was also created as the Association for the Bonded Warehouse in the Presidency of Bengal is essential for modifying some of the provisions of the 1838 Act. The 1938 enactment provided for the establishment of the association and necessitated the law for the proper functioning and regulating the activities of the association in the Presidency of Bengal. Accordingly, the association was granted the powers of a corporation and entrusted the authority to litigate and deal with properties. The association was also given supremacy to convey properties if essential. The main provisions of the legislation consists of the administration of the dealings of the association, election for the appointment of Directors to be conducted annually, the eligibility criteria to be appointed as Director, the usual meetings to be carried out, suspending the activities of the corporation and the by-laws to be formulated.
The Act states that the activities and dealings of the association shall be administered by a number of six Directors. Out of these Directors the quorum shall be formed of three Directors. With regard to the election to be conducted to appoint directors annually, the Act states that the out of the six Directors, two of them will have to move from their office by way of rotation all the years. The rotation shall be effected in May prior to the conduct of the ordinary meeting of the business holders who are expressed to be held in May. The meeting shall choose two persons to be Directors and the Directors who cease to hold the seat or any of them will be eligible for re-election in the meeting to be held every year. The Act also states that a person shall be eligible to be appointed as a Director only if she is holding as the shareholder under that person’s privilege of taking five shares out of Capital kept for the activities of the association.
Moreover, the usual meetings that are conducted by the shareholders shall be carried out two times every year. It shall be performed on every second Wednesday during May as well as in November and during the conduct of all the meetings of similar kind the Directors shall read out the report about the dealings of the association. It shall also consist of a balance sheet and the meeting shall announce the bonus payable from the earnings obtained from the association. The proviso states that the bonus shall not be such that it will reduce the capital already kept for the activities of the association. It also provides that the association shall formulate bye-laws in order to standardize the scheduled programs where the bye-laws shall have force only with respect to those members as well as the officials who are under the association. But, the bye-laws shall not be legal until the sanction has been obtained at the extraordinary meeting of the shareholders in particular carried out. The bye-law should also be sanctioned by the Government in order to legalize it. Also, subsequent to March 14, 1860, the Central Government shall be empowered by the order issued by the Council which directs the association to dissolve after the end of five years after issuing such order. The order so issued shall be effectual to dissolve the corporation following the end of five years mentioned above. But excludes the objectives specified under Section 39 of the Bengal Bonded Warehouse Association Act of 1838.