3. The Central Warehousing Corporation
(1) With effect from such date as the Central Government may be notification in the official
Gazette, specify in this behalf, the Central Government shall establish a Corporation by the name of
the Central Warehousing Corporation which shall be a body corporate having perpetual succession
and a common seal with power to acquire; hold and dispose of property and to contract, and may, by
the said name, sue and be sued.
(2) The head office of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall be at New Delhi ( or at such
other place as the Central Government may, by notification in the official Gazette specify).
(a) The Corporation was established on 18-3-1963- See G.S.R. 464 published in Gaz. of Ind.,
1963, Pt. IIS.3(i), Ext. P. 156.
(b) Inserted by the Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Act, 1963 (34 of 1963), S.2
(22.9.1963).
4. Share Capital and shareholders-
(1) The authorised share capital of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall be Two crores of
rupees divided into two hundred thousand shares of the face value of one thousand rupees each; any
shares remaining to be issued may be issued, with the sanction of the Central Government from time
to time, as and when the Central Warehousing Corporation may deem fit;
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(Provided that the Central Government may, from time to time, by order notified in the official
Gazette, increase the authorised share capital of the Central Warehousing Corporation to such extent
and in such manner as the Government may determine).
(2) (The Central Government shall, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law for the
purpose) subscribe for forty percent of the share capital issued at any time and the remaining sixty
percent of the share capital may be subscribed for, within such period and in such proportion as may
be specified by Central Government, by the following institutions namely:-
(a) The State Bank
(b) Other scheduled banks
(c) Co-operative Societies;
(d) Insurance Companies, investment trusts and other financial institutions;
(e) Recognised associations and companies dealing in agricultural produce or any notified
commodity.
(3) If any portion of the sixty percent of the share capital referred to in subsection (2) remains
unallotted, it may be subscribed for by the Central Government and the State Bank in such
proportion as may be agreed upon between them and in default of such agreement, as may be
determined by the Central Government.
(4) The shares of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall not be transferable except to the Central
Government (the State Bank or any other scheduled Bank), any insurance company, any investment
trust or other financial institution or any co-operative society or any recognised associations or
company dealing in agricultural produce or any notified commodity, in accordance with the
regulations made by the Central Warehousing Corporation under this Act.
(a) Inserted by the Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Act, 1976(42 of 1976), S.3 (24-
3-1976).
(b) Substituted for the words "The Central Government shall", ibid.
(c) Substituted for the words "The State Bank, any scheduled bank", ibid.
5. Shares to be guaranteed by Central Government and to be trust or approved securities:-
(1) The shares of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall be guaranteed by the Central
Government as to the repayment of the principal, and the payment of the annual dividend at such
minimum rate as may be fixed by the Central Government, by notification published in the official
Gazette, at the time of the issue of the shares.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Act mentioned in this subsection, the shares of the
Central Warehousing Corporation shall be deemed to be included among the securities enumerated
in section 20 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and also to be approved securities for the purpose of the
Insurance Act, 1938 and the Banking Companies Act, 1949.
6. Management of Central Warehousing Corporation:-
(1) The general superintendence and management of the affairs and business of the Central
Warehousing Corporation shall vest in a board of directors who, with the assistance of an Executive
Committee and a managing director, may exercise all the powers and discharge all the functions
which may be exercised or discharged by the Central Warehousing Corporation under this Act.
(2) The board of directors shall act on business principles having regard to public interest and shall
be guided by such instructions on questions of policy as may be given to them by the Central
Government.
(3) If any doubt arises as to whether a question is or is not a question of policy, the decision of the
Central Government shall be final.
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7. Directors -
(1) The board of directors referred to in section 6 shall consist of the following, namely:-
(a) Six directors to be nominated by the Central Government.
(b) one director to be nominated by the National Co-operative Development Corporation
established under the National Co-operative Development Act 1962.
(c) one director to be nominated by the State Bank;
(d) one director to be elected by other scheduled banks;
(e) one director to be elected by co-operative societies;
(f) one director to be elected by insurance companies, investment trusts and other
financial institutions recognised associations and companies dealing in agricultural produce
or notified commodities;
(g) a managing director, appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the
directors referred to in clauses (a) to (f);
Provided that the three directors to be elected under clauses (d), (e) and (f) may, for the first
constitution of the board of directors, be nominated by the Central Government in such manner as to
give representation to each class of institutions (whether they have become shareholders of the
Corporation or not) referred to in those clauses, but a director so nominated shall hold office only
until he is replaced by a director elected as provided in that clause, and the director so elected shall
hold office only for so long as the director replaced would have held office had he not been replaced.
(2) The directors referred to in clauses (d), (e) and (f) of sub-section (1) shall be elected in the
prescribed manner.
(3) If, within the period prescribed in this behalf, or within such further period as the Central
Government may allow, the institutions referred to in clause (d) or clause (e) or clause (f) of
subsection (1) fail to elect a director, the Central Government may nominate a director to fill the
vacancy.
(4) The board of directors shall have a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman who shall be appointed
by the Central Government from among the directors.
(5) The managing director shall
(a) exercise such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors or the
Central Warehousing Corporation may entrust or delegate to him; and
(b) receive such salary and allowances as the Central Warehousing Corporation may,
with the approval of the Central Government, fix.
(6) The directors of the Central Warehousing Corporation other than the managing director shall
be entitled to receive by way of remuneration such sums as the Central Warehousing Corporation
may, with the approval of the Central Government, fix.
Provided that no official director shall be entitled to receive any remuneration other than the
allowances, if any, admissible to him under the rules regulating his conditions of service.
(7) The term of office of, and the manner of filling casual vacancies among the directors shall be
such as may be prescribed.
8. Disqualification for office of director of the Central Warehousing Corporation.
A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a director of the Central
Warehousing Corporation.
(i) if he is found to be a lunatic or becomes of unsound mind, or
(ii) if he is, or at any time has been, adjudicated insolvent or has suspended payment of
his debts or has compounded with the creditors; or
(iii) if he is or has been convicted of any offence involving moral turpitude and sentenced
in respect thereof to imprisonment for not less than six months unless period of five years has
elapsed form the date of expiry of the sentence; or
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(iv) if he has been removed or dismissed from the service of Government or a
Corporation owned and controlled by the Government; or
(v) except in the case of the managing director, if he is a salaried official of the Central
Warehousing Corporation or any State Warehousing Corporation; or
(vi) if he is personally interested in any subsisting contract made with, or in any work
being done for the Central Warehousing Corporation except as a shareholder (other than a director)
in any public company as defined in the Companies Act, 1956;
Provided that where any such person is a shareholder, he shall disclose to the Central
Warehousing Corporation the nature and extent of shares held by him in such company.
9. Removal of directors from office:-
(1) The Central Government may at any time in consultation with the Central Warehousing
Corporation remove the managing director from office after giving him a reasonable opportunity of
showing cause against the proposed removal.
(2) The board of directors may remove from office any director who -
(a) is or has become subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 8; or
(b) is absent without leave of the board of directors for more than three consecutive
meetings of the board without cause sufficient in the opinion of the board to exonerate his absence.
10. Appointment of officers, etc. and their conditions of service -
(1) The Central Warehousing Corporation may appoint such officers and other employees as it
considers necessary for the efficient performance of the functions.
(2) Every person employed by the Central Warehousing Corporation under this Act shall be
subject to such conditions of services and shall be entitled to such remuneration as may be
determined by regulations made by the Corporation under this Act.
11. Functions of Central Warehousing Corporation - Subject to the provisions of this Act, the
Central Warehousing Corporation may -
(a) acquire and build godowns and warehouses at such suitable places in India or abroad
as it thinks fit;
[Notification No.GSR 807(E), File No.6-60/97-SG dtd 1.11.2001 (No.545, 29 Oct. 2001)]
(b) run warehouses for the storage of agricultural produce, seeds, manures, fertilizers,
agricultural implements and notified commodities offered by individuals co-operative societies and
other institutions;
(c) arrange facilities for the transport of agricultural produce, seeds, manures, fertilizers,
agricultural implements and notified commodities to and from warehouses;
(d) subscribe to the share capital of State Warehousing Corporation;
(e) act as agent of the Government for the purposes of the purchase, sale, storage and
distribution of agricultural produce, seeds, manures, fertilizers, agricultural implements and notified
commodities;
"(ea) enter into with the previous approval of the Central Government Joint Ventures with
any Corporation established by or under any Central Act or any State Act or with any company
formed and registered under the Companies Act 1956 including foreign company or through its
subsidiary company, for carrying out the purpose of this Act.
Explanation: For the purpose of this clause, the expression "Foreign Company" shall have the
meaning assigned to it under clause (23A) of Section 2 of the Income Tax 1961;
(eb) establish subsidiary companies; and
[Notification No.GSR 807(E), File No.6-60/97-SG dtd 1.11.2001 (No.545, 29 Oct. 2001)]
(f) carry out such other functions as may be prescribed.
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12. Executive Committee -
(1) There shall be an Executive Committee of the Central Warehousing Corporation which shall
consist of -
(a) the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the board of directors;
(b) the managing director; and
(c) two other directors chosen by the Corporation in the prescribed manner.
(2) The Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the board of directors shall be the Chairman and the
Vice-Chairman, respectively of the Executive Committee.
(3) Subject to the general control, direction and superintendence of the board of directors, the
Executive Committee shall be competent to deal with any matter within the competence of the
Central Warehousing Corporation.
13. Meetings of the Corporation -
(1) The annual general meeting of the Central Warehousing Corporation (hereinafter referred to
as the annual general meeting) shall be held every year either at its head office, or at any other office
of the Corporation within six months of the close of the financial year, and any other general
meeting may be convened by the board of directors at any other time.
(2) The shareholders present at the annual general meeting shall be entitled to discuss the annual
accounts, the report of the board of directors on the working of the Corporation during the year under
report, as well as the auditor's report on the annual balance sheet and accounts;
(3) The board of directors of the Central Warehousing Corporation shall on the requisition of the
one-third of the number of shareholders of the Corporation, call a special meetings of the
Corporation.
(4) The requisition for a special meeting under sub-section (3) shall state the object of the
meeting, and shall be signed by the requisitionists and deposited at the head office of the
Corporation, and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more
requisitionists.
(5) If the board of directors of the Central Warehousing Corporation do not proceed within
twenty one days from the date of the requisition being so deposited to cause the special meeting to be
called, the requisitionists, or a majority of them may, themselves call the meeting, but in either case,
the meeting so called shall be held within three months from the date of the deposit of the
requisition.
(6) The Central Warehousing Corporation shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the
transaction of business at its meetings (including the quorum at meetings) as may be provided by
regulations made by the Central Warehousing Corporation under this Act.
14. Grants and Loans by the Central Government -
(1) The Central Government may after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this
behalf, pay to the Central Warehousing Corporation for the purposes of either fund maintained by the
Corporation -
(a) by way of grants, such of money as the Central Government may consider necessary; and
(b) by way of loans, such sums of money on such terms and conditions as the Central
Government may determine.
(2) When making a payment under sub-section (1), the Central Government shall specify the
fund for the purposes of which the payment is made.
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15. Corporation to maintain two funds - The Central Warehousing Corporation shall maintain
two separate funds namely :
(a) the Central Warehousing Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Warehousing Fund; and
(b) the General Fund.
16. Warehousing Fund -
(1) To the Warehousing Fund shall be credited -
(a) all moneys and other securities transferred to the Central Warehousing Corporation
under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 43.
(b) such grants and loans as the Central Government may make for the purposes of the
Warehousing Fund, and
(c) such sums of money as may, from time to time, be realised out of the loans made
from the Warehousing Fund or from interest on loans or dividends on investments made from that
fund.
(2) The Warehousing Fund shall be applied -
(a) for advancing loans to State Governments on such terms and conditions as the Central
Warehousing Corporation may deem fit for the purpose of enabling them to subscribe to the share
capital of State Warehousing Corporations.
(b) for advancing loans and granting subsidies to State Warehousing Corporations or to
State Governments on such terms and conditions as the Central Warehousing Corporation may deem
fit for the purpose of promoting the Warehousing and storage of agricultural produce and notified
commodities, otherwise than through co-operative societies.
(c) for meeting the expenses incurred in relation to the training of personnel, or publicity
and propaganda, for the purpose of promoting warehousing and storage of agricultural produce and
notified commodities;
(d) for meeting the expenses, including the salary, allowances and other remuneration of
the officers and other employees, incurred in relation to the administration of the Warehousing Fund.
(a) Inserted by the Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Act, 1976 (42 of 1976), S.4 (24-3-
1976)
17. General Fund
(1) To the General Fund shall be credited -
(a) all sums received by the Central Warehousing Corporation other than those referred to
in sub-section (1) of section 16; and
(b) such grants and loans as the Central Government may make for the purposes of the
General Fund.
(2) The General Fund shall be applied -
(a) for meeting the salary, allowances and other remuneration of the officers and other
employees of the Central Warehousing Corporation;
(b) for meeting the other administrative expenses of the Corporation; and
(c) for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
[Provided that the General Fund shall not be applied for meeting the expenses referred to in
clause (c) or clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 16]
(a) Inserted by the Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Act, 1976 (42 of 1976), S.5 (24-3-
1976).