The Warehousing Corporation (Amendment) Act, 2015 (Act no. 16 of 2015) is enacted by the Parliament of India with the intent to amend the provisions of the Principal Act, i.e. the Warehousing Corporation Act, 1962 (Act no. 58 of 1962) which was enacted with aim and object to make provisions for the incorporation and regulation of the corporations for the purpose of warehousing of agricultural produce and certain other commodities. The, Principal Act is as such amended for several times and it is now amended with the present Amending Act. Thus, this Amending Act was introduced on 3rd day of March, 2015 as a Bill, by the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and then the Lok Sabha has passed it on 18th day of same month, and later Rajya Sabha cleared this Bill in next month thereof. As such, the present Amending Act was enacted when the President of India has given his assent to it on 13th day of May, 2015. Moreover, this amending Act is comprising of only 6 provisions.
The Principal Act has made provisions for the establishment of the Central Warehousing Corporation, which is a profit earning Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Food and Public Distribution and a Mini- Ratna Public Sector Enterprise and also it was declared by the Department of Public Enterprises. Moreover, this Central Warehousing Corporation has consistently paid dividend to the Government of India since 1957- 1958, and also its net worth has been positive from 2003 onwards. Moreover, this Central Warehousing Corporation has not taken any loan from the Central Government, also it is not dependent upon budgetary support of the Government. Thus, when Government has not given any other guarantee to the Central Warehousing Corporation, other than for the payment of the minimum guaranteed dividend as required under the provisions of the Section 5(1) of the Principal Act. As such, the present Amending Act was proposed and was enacted.
Thus, the present Amending Act is mainly amending the provisions of section 5 of the Act and notably, it is replacing the earlier provisions and adding a fresh new provisions to the Section 5 of the Principal Act, which is stating that ‘certain shares to be approved security’. The section says that the Shares of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall be treated to be included among other securities enumerated under section 20 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and the approved securities for the purpose of the Insurance Act, 1938 and the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, irrespective of their provisions. Thus, the present Amending Act is seeking to do away with the Central Government’s responsibility of being a financial guarantor to the Central Warehousing Corporation.
Moreover, this Amending Act is also bringing several other amendments in some other sections in the Principal Act, in which firstly, it is amending the Section 27 of the Principal Act in which, sub- section (4) is substituted with the new, and stated that the State Warehousing Corporation’s bonds and debentures may be guaranteed by the appropriate Government on the recommendation of the Board of Directors by the appropriate Government on the recommendations of the Board of Directors of such Corporation at the time such bonds and debentures are issued. Secondly, this Amending Act is amending, and most specifically omitting some provisions from the Principal Act. And the omitted provisions under the Principal Act, including the proviso clause to Sub- (2) of Section 30; the proviso clause to Sub- Section (8) of Section 31 and both the proviso clauses to Section 39 of the Principal Act, by the Section 4, 5 and 6 of the Amending Act, respectively. Thus, the Amending Act is amending the most basics of Section 5 of the Principal Act and consequently amending the other provisions. And the given proviso clause to the sections were relating to the responsibility of the Government, for acting as a Guarantor to the Central Warehousing Corporation.
Read the Bare Act here