18. Societies to be bodies corporate.—The registration of a society shall render it a body corporate
by the name under which it is registered, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and with power
to hold property, to enter into contracts, to institute and defend suits and other legal proceedings and to
do all things necessary for the purposes of its constitution.
19. Prior claim of society.— Subject to any prior claim of the Government in respect of land-revenue
or any money recoverable as land-revenue or of a landlord in respect of rent or any money recoverable as
rent, a registered society shall be entitled in priority to other creditors to enforce any outstanding demand
due to the society from a member or past member—
(a) in respect of the supply of seed or manure or of the loan of money for the purchase of seed or
manure upon the crops or other agricultural produce of such member or person at any time within
eighteen months from the date of such supply or loan;
(b) in respect of the supply of cattle, fodder for cattle, agricultural or industrial implements or
machinery, or raw materials for manufacture, or of the loan of money for the purchase of any of the
foregoing things—upon any such things so supplied, or purchased in whole or in part from any such
loan, or on any articles manufactured from raw materials so supplied or purchased.
20. Charge and set-off in respect of shares or interest of member.—A registered society shall have
a charge upon the share or interest in the capital and on the deposits of a member or past member and
upon any dividend, bonus or profits payable to a member or past member in respect of any debt due from
such member or past member to the society, and may set-off any sum credited or payable to a member or
past member in or towards payment of any such debt.
21. Shares or interest not liable to attachment.— Subject to the provisions of section 20, the share
or interest of a member in the capital of a registered society shall not be liable to attachment or sale under
any decree or order of a Court of Justice in respect of any debt or liability incurred by such member, and
neither the Official Assignee under the Presidency-towns Insolvency Act, 1909 (3 of 1909) nor a
Receiver under the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1907 (3 of 1907)1
, shall be entitled to or have any claim on
such share or interest.
22. Transfer of interest on death of member.—(1) On the death of a member a registered society
may transfer the share or interest of the deceased member to the person nominated in accordance with the
rules made in this behalf, or, if there is no person so nominated, to such person as may appear to the
committee to be the heir or legal representative of the deceased member, or pay to such nominee, heir or
legal representative, as the case may he, a sum representing the value of such member's share or interest,
as ascertained in accordance with the rules or by-laws:
Provided that—
(i) in the case of a society with unlimited liability, such nominee, heir or legal representative, as
the case may be, may require payment by the society of the value of the share or interest of the
deceased member ascertained as aforesaid;
(ii) in the case of a society with limited liability, the society shall transfer the share or interest of
the deceased member to such nominee, heir or legal representative, as the case may be, being qualified
in accordance with the rules and by-laws for membership of the society, or on his application within
one month of the death of the deceased member to any person specified in the application who is so
qualified.
1. See now the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920 (5 of 1920).
7
(2) A registered society may pay all other moneys due to the deceased member from the society to
such nominee, heir or legal representative, as the case may be.
(3) All transfers and payments made by a registered society in accordance with the provisions of this
section shall be valid and effectual against any demand made upon the society by any other person.
23. Liability of past member.—The liability of a past member for the debts of a registered society
asthey existed at the time when he ceased to be a member shall continue for a period of two years from
the date of his ceasing to be a member.
24. Liability of the estates of deceased member.—The estate of a deceased member shall be liable
for a period of one year from the time of his decease for the debts of a registered society as they existed
at the time of his decease.
25. Register of members.—Any register or list of members or shares kept by any registered society
shall be prima facie evidence of any of the following particulars entered therein:—
(a) the date at which the name of any person was entered in such register or list as a member;
(b) the date at which any such person ceased to be a member.
26. Proof of entries in societies, books.—A copy of any entry in a book of a registered society
regularly kept in the course of business, shall, if certified in such manner as may be prescribed by the
rules, be received, in any suit or legal proceeding, as prima facie evidence of the existence of such entry,
and shall be admitted as evidence of the matters, transactions and accounts therein recorded in every case
where, and to the same extent as, the original entry itself is admissible.
27. Exemption from compulsory registration of instruments relating to shares and debentures
of registered society.—Nothing in section 17, sub-section (1), clauses (b) and (c) of the Indian
Registration Act, 1908 (16 of 1908), shall apply to—
(1) any instrument relating to shares in a registered society, notwithstanding that the assets of such
society consist in whole or in part of immoveable property; or
(2) any debenture issued by any such society and not creating, declaring, assigning, limiting or
extinguishing any right, title or interest to or in immoveable property except in so far as it entitles the
holder to the security afforded by a registered instrument whereby the society has mortgaged,
conveyed or otherwise transferred the whole or part of its immoveable property or any interest
thereinto trustees upon trust for the benefit of the holders of such debentures; or
(3) any endorsement upon or transfer of any debenture issued by any such society.
28. Power to exempt from income-tax, stamp-duty and registration fees. —1
[(1)] The Central
Government, by notification2
in the Official Gazette, may, in the case of any registered society or class
of registered society, remit 3*** the income-tax payable in respect of the profits of the society, or of the
dividends or other payments received by the members of the society on account of profits;
4* * * * *
1. S. 28 re-numbered a sub-section (1) of that section by Act 38 of 1920, s. 2 and the first Schedule, Pt. I. The whole of this
Act,with the exception of—
(a) Sub-section (1) of section 28, and
(b) Sub-section (2) of section 28, so far as it relates to the stamp-duties specified in the second paragraph thereof, has
been repealed in Bengal by the Bengal Co-operative Societies Act, 1940 (Ben. 21 of 1940), s. 3 and the first Schedule.
2. For notifications under this section, see Gazette of India, 1914, Pt. I, p. 994.
3. The brackets and letter “(a)” omitted by Act 38 of 1920, s. 2 and the first Schedule, Pt. I.
4. Clauses (b) and (c) omitted by s. 2 and the first Schedule, Pt. I, ibid.
8
1
[(2) The 2
[Government], by notification in the Official Gazette, may, in the case of any registered
society or class of registered society, remit—
(a) the stamp-duty with which, under any law for the time being in force, instruments executed by
or on behalf of a registered society or by an officer or member and relating to the business of such
society, or any class of such instruments, are respectively chargeable, and
(b) any fee payable under the law of registration for the time being in force.]
3
[In this sub-section “Government” in relation to stamp-duty in respect of bills of exchange, cheques,
promissory notes, bills of lading, letters of credit, policies of insurance, 4
[transfer of shares, debentures],
proxies and receipts, and in relation to any stamp-duty falling within 5
[entry 96] in List I in the Seventh
Schedule to 6
[the Constitution], means the Central Government, and save as aforesaid means the State
Government.]