(1) No person shall possess, store or sell or attempt to store or sell sandalwood or disintegrate or attempt to disintegrate sandalwood in mills or by other contrivance, manufacture or distil, or attempt to manufacture or distil oil from sandalwood, or re-distil,1[refine, possess, store or sell or attempt to refine , store or sell] oil extracted from sandalwood, except under a licence obtained from such Forest Officer on payment of such fees, and subject to such restrictions and conditions as may be prescribed:
Provided that no such licence shall be refused in respect of distillation of oil from sandalwood and possession and storage of sandalwood for purposes of distillation, and the sale of sandalwood oil so distilled, by persons bona fide carrying on the business of distillation immediately prior to the commencement of this Act, in any area of the State:
Provided further that no such licence shall be necessary for possession of sandalwood up to1[three kilograms and sandalwood oil upto one hundred grams]1 for bona fide domestic use.
2[Provided also that nothing in this sub-section so far as it relates to obtaining a licence to possess, store or sell or attempt to store or sell sandal wood shall apply to any person or occupant or holder of land referred to in section 83 in respect of sandal wood obtained from sandal tree grown by such person or occupant or holder in his land.]
(2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall, on conviction, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1[ten years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees:
Provided that,-
(i) in the case of first offence, the term of imprisonment shall not be less than five years and the amount of fine shall not be less than3[fifty thousand rupees];
(ii) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, the term of imprisonment shall not be less than seven years and the amount of fine shall not be less than seventy five thousand rupees.]1
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1. Substituted by Act 10 of 1989 w.e.f. 16.3.1989.
2. Inserted by Act 20 of 2001 w.e.f. 5.9.2002.
3. Substituted by Act 20 of 2001 w.e.f. 5.9.2002.