Section Text
1) This Act may be called the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
(2) It extends to the whole of India. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,- 1[(ia)"Code" means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974);] 2[3(iia)] "Collector" includes an Additional Collector and such other officer, not below the rank of sub-Divisional Officer, as may be authorised by the Collector to perform the functions and exercise the powers of the Collector under this Act;]
(a) "essential commodity" means any of the following classes of commodities :-
(i) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;
(ii) coal, including coke and other derivatives;
(iii) component parts and accessories of automobiles;
(iv) cotton and woollen textiles;
(iva) drugs (v) foodstuffs, including edible oil seeds and oils;
(vi) iron and steel, including manufactured products of iron and steel;
(vii) paper, including newsprint, paperboard and straw board;
(viii) petroleum and petroleum products;
(ix) raw cotton, whether ginned or unginned, and cotton seed;
(x) raw jute;
(xi) any other class of commodity which the Central Government may, by notified order, declare to be an essential commodity for the purposes of this Act, being a commodity with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws by virtue of entry 33 in List III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution;
(b) "food-crops" include crops of sugarcane;
(c) "notified order" means an order notified in the Official Gazette:
(cc) "order" includes a direction issued there under; Definitions Page 2 of 2 (d) "State Government", in relation to a Union territory, means the administrator thereof:
(e) "sugar" means-
(i) any form of sugar containing more than ninety per cent of sucrose, including sugar candy;
(ii) khandsari sugar or bura sugar or crushed sugar or any sugar in crystalline or powdered form; or (iii) sugar in process in vacuum pan sugar factory or raw sugar produced therein; 4[(f) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in the Code shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Code.]