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Vaisakha 24, 1938, at 04:11:07 AM
The Abandoned Properties (Management) Act,
1975
1ACT No. XX OF 1975
[17th February 1975]
An Act to provide for the taking 2*
* * over and
management of certain properties
WHEREAS it is expedient to
provide for the 2*
* * management of certain properties, and for matters connected therewith;
AND WHEREAS the
Proclamation of Emergency referred to in Article 280 of the Constitution is
still in force;
It is hereby enacted as
follows:---
1. Short title, extent
and commencement.- (1)
This Act may be called the Abandoned Properties 2*
* * Management Act, 1975.
(2) It extends to the whole
of
(3) It shall come into
force at once.
2. Definitions. In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context,---
(a) ”abandoned property” means any property,
movable or immovable (including share in industrial units and firms,
investments, deposits, policies of insurance and all other interests and rights
in or to or arising out of any such property), belonging to a specified person
and includes any such property sold or transferred to, or placed under the
supervision or control of, any other person on or after the sixteenth day of
December 1971, but does not include any ornaments or wearing apparel or any
cooking vessels or other household effects in the immediate possession of a
specified person, not exceeding a total of rupees one thousand;
(b ”Administrator” means the Administrator appointed under
section 5, and includes a Deputy Administrator;
(c) ”Board” means the Board of Trustees constituted under
section 4;
1For Statement of Objects and Reasons,
see Gaz. of P., 1974, Ext., Pt.III, p.1114.
This Act shall continue in force and may be amended or repealed
by the Federal Law as if it related to a matter enumerated in the Federal
Legislature list in the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, see President’s
(Post-Proclamation) Order No.2 of 1978, Art.2.
2The words “taking over and” omitted by
the Abandoned Properties (Taking over and Management) (Amdt.) Act, 1976 (45 of
1976), (w.e.f 12-2-75) ss.2 and 3.
(d) ”prescribed” means prescribed by rules;
(e) ”rules” means rules made under this Act;
1[(f) ”specified person” means a citizen of Pakistan
domiciled in the territories which immediately before the sixteenth day of
December 1971, constituted the province of East Pakistan who has left or leaves
or has expressed his desire to be taken out of, or to be allowed to leave, the
territories of Pakistan and includes a company registered in the said
territories the registered office of which has not been shifted in pursuance of
the Companies (Shifting of Registered Office) Ordinance, 1972 (V of 1972).
3. Vesting of abandoned
property in Government. All abandoned property shall vest and shall be deemed always to
have vested in the Federal Government on and from the sixteenth day of December
1971.
4. Board of Trustees.__ (1) As soon as may be after the
commencement of this Act, the Federal Government shall, by notification in the
official Gazette, constitute a Board of Trustees consisting of a Chairman and
such number of other Trustees as the Federal Government may specify in the
notification, for the control and management of abandoned property.
(2) In discharging its
functions, the Board shall be guided on questions of policy by the
instructions, if any, given to it by the Federal Government which shall be the
sole judge as to whether a question is a question of policy.
(3) The meetings of the
Board shall be held at such intervals and at such time and place as the
Chairman of the Board may determine.
(4) Subject to the rules,
the Board may, with the previous approval of the Federal Government and by
notification to the official Gazette, make regulations for regulating its
procedure.
(5) At any time when the
office of Chairman is vacant or the Chairman is absent or is unable to perform
the functions of his office due to any other cause, the Federal Government may
appoint any member of the Board to act as Chairman until a Chairman is
appointed or, as the case may be, the Chairman resumes his functions.
5. Appointment of
Administrator and Deputy Administrators.__(1) For the purpose of carrying the
provisions of this Act into effect, the Federal Government may, by notification
in the official Gazette, appoint an Administrator for
1Cl. (f) subs. by the Abandoned
Properties (Taking Over and Management). (Amdt.) Act 1976 (45 of 1976),s.4
(w.e.f. 12-2-1975).
(2) The Administrator shall
exercise his powers and perform his functions subject to the general
supervision and control of the Board and shall be guided by any general or
special order made by the Board.
6. Holding of abandoned
property and its surrender, etc.__(1) Every person who is, or has at any
time after the sixteenth day of December 1971, been in possession, supervision
or management of any abandoned property shall be deemed to hold or to have
held, as the case may be, such property on behalf of the Board.
(2) As soon as may be, but
not later than such date as may be notified by the Federal Government in the
official Gazette, every person who is, or has at any time after the sixteenth
day of December 1971, been in possession, supervision or management of any
abandoned property or property which he knows or has reason to believe to be
abandoned property, and whose authority or right to hold, occupy, supervise or
manage such property has not been accepted or approved by the Administrator,
shall submit to the Administrator, or to any person authorised by him in this
behalf,__
(a) full information relating to such property, including the
date since when, or the period for which, he had been in possession,
supervision or management thereof; and
(b) a detailed account of the rents, profits, income and other
moneys received or benefits derived from such property since the sixteenth day
of December 1971, or for the period he has been in possession, supervision or
management thereof.
(3) Every person as
aforesaid shall, as soon as may be, but not later than such date as may be
notified by the Federal Government in the official Gazette, intimate to be
Administrator in writing his willingness to surrender such property to the
Administrator or to any person authorised by the Administrator in this behalf,
and shall surrender the same if called upon by the Administrator or any person
authorised as aforesaid.
7. Power of
Administrator to take possession of abandoned property. If any person who has purchased any
abandoned property the sale of which has not been confirmed by the
Administrator under section 13, or who is in possession, supervision or
management of any abandoned property or property which he knows or has reason
to believe to be abandoned property does not surrender such property to the
Administrator or the person authorised by him in this behalf, then, without
prejudice to any other action or penalty to which such person may otherwise be
liable, the Administrator may use such force as is necessary for taking
possession of such property and may for this purpose, after giving reasonable
warning and facility to any woman not appearing in public to withdraw, remove
or break open any lock, bolt or door, or do any other act necessary for the
said purpose.
8. Payment to
Administrator.- (1)
Any amount due to a specified person or payable in respect of any abandoned
property or property of which the Administrator has taken possession shall be
paid to the Administrator by the person liable to pay the same.
(2) Any person who makes a
payment under sub-section (1) shall be discharged from further liability to
pay to the extent of the payment made.
9. Recovery of damages
for unauthorised possession. Any person who has been in possession or occupation of abandoned
property in an unauthorised manner or is found to have misappropriated or
unlawfully converted abandoned property to his own use or caused loss to it by
his act or omission shall, without prejudice to any other action or penalty to
which he may otherwise be liable, pay such damages as may be assessed by the
Administrator:---
Provided that no such
damages shall be assessed by the Administrator without giving notice to such
person and affording him an opportunity of being beard.
10. Exemption from legal
process.- (1)
Property which has vested in the Federal Government or of which possession has
been taken by the Administrator shall be exempted from all legal process,
including seizure, distress, ejectment, attachment or sale by any officer of a
Court or any other authority, and no injunction or other order of whatever kind
in respect of such property shall be granted or made by any Court or any other
authority, and the Federal Government shall not be divested and the
Administrator shall not be dispossessed of such property by operation of any
law for the time being in force.
(2) Upon the commencement
of this Act, any such legal process as a foresaid subsisting immediately before
such commencement shall cease to have effect and all abandoned property in
custody of any Court, or receiver, guardian or other officer or person
appointed by it, shall, upon delivery of the same being called for by the
Administrator, be delivered to the Administrator.
11. Publication of list
of abandoned property. The Administrator shall publish, by notification in the official
Gazette, a list of abandoned property in any area.
12. Prohibition of
transfer of property generally. The Federal Government may, by notification in the official
Gazette, declare that in such area with a view to preventing the unauthorised
or surreptitious transfer of abandoned properties in any area in which a
considerable number of such properties is believed to be situated, for such
period as may be specified in tile notification, the transfer of any property
or class of property, or the creation of any right or interest therein or
encumbrance thereon, shall be prohibited, and where any such declaration has
been made, no such transfer or creation shall be made during that period in
that area except with the previous approval in writing of the Administrator.
13. Confirmation of
transfer by specified persons.- (1) No creation or transfer of any right or interest in or
encumbrance upon any property made in any manner whatsoever on or after the
sixteenth day of December 1971, by or on behalf of a specified person shall be
effective so as to confer any right or remedy on any party thereto or on any
person claiming under any such party, unless it is confirmed by the
Administrator.
(2) An application for
confirmation of such creation of any right or encumbrance or transfer as
aforesaid as may be made to the Administrator within the prescribed period by
any party thereto, or by any person claiming under or lawfully authorised by
such party.
(3) The Administrator shall
hold a summary inquiry into the application in the prescribed manner and may
reject the application if he, is of opinion that the creation or transfer,---
(i) was not or has been entered into in good faith or for
adequate consideration; or
(ii) ought for any other reason not to be confirmed.
(4) If the application is
not rejected under sub-section (3), the Administrator may, with the prior
approval of the Board, confirm the creation or transfer either unconditionally
or subject to such terms and conditions as he, thinks fit to impose.
4. Claims by interested
persons. (1) Any
person claiming any right or interest in any property treated by the
Administrator as abandoned property may prefer a claim to the Administrator on
the ground that,---
(a) the property is not abandoned property; or
(b) his interest in the property has not been affected by the
provisions of this Act.
(2) An application under
sub-section (1) shall be made within the prescribed period being a period of
not less than thirty days from the prescribed date.
(3) On receiving an
application under sub-section (2), the, Administrator shall hold a summary
inquiry in the prescribed manner and, after taking such evidence as may be
produced, shall pass an order stating the reason therefor, rejecting the
application or allowing it wholly or in part on Such terms and conditions as he
thinks fit to impose.
15. Appeal and
revision.- (1) Any
person aggrieved by an order or decision of the Administrator may, within the
prescribed period, which shall not be less than twenty-one days, prefer an
appeal to the Board.
(2) The Board may, after
giving the appellant an opportunity of being heard, pass such order as it
thinks fit.
(3) The Board may, at any
time, either of its own motion or on the application of any person made within
the prescribed period, call for the record of any proceeding under this Act
which is pending before, or has been disposed of by the Administrator, for the
purpose of satisfying itself as the legality or propriety of any order passed
in the said proceeding and may after perusal of the record pass such order in
relation thereto as it thinks fit:---
Provided that the Board
shall not, under this sub-section, pass an order revising or modifying an order
affecting any person without giving such person an opportunity of being heard.
(4) An order of the Board
in an appeal or revision shall be final.
16. Powers and duties of
the Administrator generally.- (1) The Administrator may take such measures as he
considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of securing, administering and
managing any abandoned property or property of which possession has been taken
by him and may, for and, such purpose as aforesaid, do all acts and incur all
expenses necessary or incidental thereto.
(2) Without prejudice to
the generality of the provisions contained it sub-section (1), the
Administrator may__
(a) carry on the business or undertaking of a specified person;
(b) enter or authorise any person to enter on any land or
premises to inspect any abandoned property;
(c) take all such measures as may be necessary
to keep any abandoned property in good repair;
(d) direct any person, notwithstanding
anything contained in any other law for the time being in force relating to the
disclosure of any information by a public servant or any other person, to
furnish such return, account or other information in relation to any property
and to produce such documents as the Administrator considers necessary for the
discharge of his duties under this Act;
(e) search, or authorise any other person to
search, any building or place in which the Administrator has reason to believe
that any abandoned property or any document tending to show that any person is
a specified person or that any property is abandoned property is being kept or
concealed and take possession thereof;
(f) determine the rent to be recovered from a
person found in unauthorised occupation of abandoned property for the period of
such occupation;
(g) create a charge on abandoned property;
(h) incur or allow any expenditure to be
incurred in tire prescribed manner including the payment of taxes, duties,
cesses and rates to the Government or to any local authority or of any debt due
by a specified person or any claim against him after satisfying himself as to
the genuineness of such due or claim;
(i) demolish or dismantle any abandoned property which in the
opinion of the Administrator cannot be repaired;
(j) evict with such force as may be necessary an unauthorised
occupant of abandoned property or an occupant of such property to whom it has
been let out by or on behalf of the Administrator and who makes default in
paying the rent for such property or otherwise commits a breach of the terms on
which it is let out;
(k) invest in any security approved by the Federal Government or
in the prescribed manner any money held by him.
(3) The Administrator shall
exercise the powers and perform the functions assigned to him by or under this
Act under the general supervision and control of the Board.
17. Evaluation of
abandoned property.- (1)
The Administrator may determine the value of any property of which possession
has been taken by him or empower any officer to do so.
(2) If it appears to the
Board in any case that the value of any property determined under sub-section
(1) is not proper, it may make necessary enquiry an the matter and pass such
orders as it may think proper and the orders so passed shall be final.
18. Expenditure by
Administrator how to be recouped. Subject to the provisions of section 14, any expenditure incurred
by the Administrator in the exercise of any power conferred by this Act shall,
in relation to any abandoned property in respect of which it has been incurred,
be a charge on such property and shall have priority over all other charges on
the property and such expenditure may be met or recouped by the Administrator
out of the income accruing from such property.
19. Maintenance of
accounts by Administrator.- (1) The Administrator shall maintain a separate account of each
abandoned property of which he has taken possession, and shall cause to be made
therein entries of all receipts and expenditure in respect thereof.
(2) The account shall be
maintained in such form and in such manner as the Federal Government may
direct.
(3) The Federal Government
shall cause the account to be inspected and audited at such interval; and by
such persons as it may, in consultation with the Auditor-General of
20. Powers of Board and
Administrator when holding an inquiry, etc.- (1) When holding an inquiry or hearing an
appeal or revision under this Act, the Administrator, or as the case may be,
the Board shall have the same powers as are vested in a Court under the Code of
Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908), when trying a suit, in respect of the
following matters, namely:---
(a) enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on
oath or affirmation;
(b) compelling the discovery and production of documents,
articles and things;
(c) issuing a commission for the examination
of witnesses;
(d) any prescribed matter.
(2) Every proceeding before
the Administrator or the Board under this Act shall be deemed to be judicial
proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Pakistan Penal
Code (Act XLV of 1860), and for the purposes of section 196 of
that Code, the Administrator or the Board shall be deemed to be a Court within
the meaning of sections 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898).
21. Recovery of
arrears.- When any
person is in default in making payment of any amount payable to the
Administrator and under this Act or in pursuance of any rule, regulation or
agreement made or entered into there under, the Administrator may, in
accordance with the rules recover the amount 1[alonwith
interest thereon at such rate as the Federal Government may, by notification in
the official Gazette, specify] by one or more of the following modes, namely:---
(a) attachment and sale, or sale without attachment, of any
movable and irremovable property of such person; and
(b) appointment of a receiver for the management of the movable
and irremovable properties of such person.
22. Penalty and
procedure.- (1) Any
person who,---
1Ins. by the Abandoned Properties (taking
outs and Mangement) (Amdt.) Act, 1976 (45 of 1976) s. 5, (w.e.f 12-2-1975).
(a) contravenes, or resists or interferes with the enforcement
of the provisions of this Act or any rule or order made thereunder; or
(b) in an application or in any proceedings under this Act,
furnishes or abets the furnishing of any information which he knows or has
reason to believe to be false, or fraudulently conceals or mis-represents
facts, or abets such concealment or mis-representation,
shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which
may extend to three years, or with fine or with both.
(2) No Court shall take
cognizance of any offence punishable; wider this Act save upon a complaint is
writing made by an officer appointed wider this Act and authorised by the Board
in this behalf.
23. Bar of Jurisdiction. No court shall grant any injunction or
make any order, nor shall any court entertain any proceeding, in relation to
anything done under this Act.
24. Indemnity. No suit, prosecution or other legal
proceeding shall lie against the Federal Government, the Board, the
Administrator, a Deputy Administrator or any other person for anything in good
faith done or intended to be done under this Act.
25. Delegation of
powers. The federal
Government may, by notification in, the official Gazette, direct that all or
any of its powers under this Act shall, subject to such conditions, if any, as
may be specified in the notification, be exercised also by such officer or
authority as may be so specified.
26. Officers end
servants. The Board
may appoint or employ such officers and servants as it considers necessary for
the efficient performance of its functions, on such terms and conditions as it
may determine.
27. Act to override
other laws. The
provisions of this Act or any order or rule mace thereunder shall have effect
notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for
the time being in force or in any instrument having effect by virtue of any
such law and nothing contained in any law relating to the determination of the
rent of any immovable property shall apply to any abandoned property.
1Ins. by the Abandoned Properties (Taking
Over and Management) (Amdt.) Act, 1976 (45 of 1976)s.5, (w.e.f 12-2-1975).
28. Power to exempt. The Federal Government may by notification
in the official Gazette, exempt any person or class of persons or any property
or class of property from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this
Act.
29. Power of Federal
Government to take action with regard to abandoned property. Federal Government may for the purpose of
regulating the administration of any abandoned property, make such orders or
direct such action to be taken in relation thereto as in its opinion the
circumstances of the case require and as is not inconsistent with any of the
provisions of this Act.
30. Power to make
rules.- (1) The
Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make such2rules
as appear to it to be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular, and
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:---
(a) the terms and conditions of service of the Administrator and
Deputy Administrators;
(b) the functions to be performed by the
Administrator and the Deputy Administrators;
(c) the manner in which entry or search under clause (b) or
clause (e) of sub-section (2) of section 16 may be made or possession of any
abandoned property may be taken by the Administrator;
(d) the manner in which inquiries under this
Act may be held;
(e) the time within which application for confirmation under
section 13 or preferring claim under section 14 may be made;
(f) the income-tax authority who may issue a
no-objection certificate under section 13;
(g) the powers vested in a civil Court which may be exercised by
the Administrator when holding any inquiry under this Act;
(h) the fees payable to the Administrator for the,
administration of abandoned property; and
(i) the delegation of powers and functions of
the Administrator to a Deputy Administrator or any other officer appointed
under this Act.
31. [Removal of
difficulties]. Omitted
by the Federal Laws (Revision and Declaration) Ordinance, 1981 (XXVII of
1981),s.3 and Sch.II.
1Ins. by the Abandoned Properties (Taking
Over and Management) (Amdt.) Act, 1976 (45 of 1976),s.6 (w.e.f. 12-2-75).
2For the Abandoned Properties (Taking Over
and Management) Rules, 1975, see S.R.O.No. 411(1)/75, dated 10-4-75, Gaz., of
P., 1975,Ext., (
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