Updated: Thursday July 07, 2016/AlKhamis
Shawwal 02, 1437/Bruhaspathivara
Asadha 16, 1938, at 06:11:54 PM
The
ACT XXXV OF 1997
An Act to regulate quality and promote export of fish
and fishery products from Pakistan
WHEREAS it is expedient to regulate
quality and promote export of fish and fishery products and to prevent export
of substandard quality of fish and fishery products and for matters connected
therewith and ancillary thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
1. Short title, extent and
commencement.-(1) This Act may be
called the Pakistan Fish Inspection and Quality Control Act, 1997.
(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) “certificate
of quality and origin” means a certificate issued by the Director-General or an
officer authorised by him certifying that the fish is wholesome and fit for
human consumption or for any other purpose specified therein;
(b) “Director-General”
means Director-General, Marine Fisheries Department;,
(c) “export”
means export of fish and fishery products from
(d) “fish”
means all aquatic animals of inland, marine and brackish water origin, alive or
dead, and includes prawns, shrimps, lobsters, crabs, oysters, clams, scallops,
turtles, in salted, unsalted, semidried, dried, frozen, preserved, cured, or
canned form and any other aquatic animal or animal product which the Director-General,
Marine Fisheries Department, may by an order declare to be fish for the
purposes of this Act ;
(e) “fish
exporter” means a person engaged in carrying on the business of export of fish
and fishery products and registered with the registration authority;
(f) “fish
inspection” means inspection of fish and fishery products by a Fishery Officer
for the purpose of assessing the quality of the fish by inspecting sanitary and
hygienic conditions and the physical, chemical and bacteriological examination
of fish and fishery products;
(g) “fish
processing” means cleaning, filleting, icing, packing, canning, freezing,
pickling, cooking, drying, semi-drying, salting, chilling, smoking, extraction
of oil, conversion into fish-meal or preparing fish in any other manner for
marketing;
(h) “Fishery
Officer” means an Officer duly authorized by the Federal Government to exercise
the powers and perform the functions for carrying out the provisions of this
Act;
(i) “Fishery
product” means anything originating, produced or made, whether in whole or in
part from a fish;
(j) “Inspection
Committee” means a committee constituted under section 5;
(k) “prescribed”
means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(l) “processing
plant” means an establishment, place or premises where fishes are processed;
(m) “quality”
in respect of fish means a fish or fishery product conforming to the
established standards prescribed under this Act;
(n) “quality
control” means quality assurance of fish and fishery products conforming to
standards prescribed under this Act or the rules made thereunder;
(o) “registration”
means registration of a fish processing plant under this Act and “registered”
shall be construed accordingly;
(p) “registration
authority” means a Fishery Officer authorised by the Director-General, by an
order in writing, to register fish processing plants under this Act or the
rules made thereunder;
(q) “rules”
means rules made under this Act; and
(r) “unwholesome”
means fish or fishery products that have an offensive or objectionable odour,
flavour, colour, texture or substance associated with spoilage.
3. Registration of fish processing
plants, etc.-(1) No fish processing
plant shall process fish and fish products unless it is registered with the
registration authority.
(2) The registration authority may, on
receipt of an application from a fish processing plant, on payment of such fees
and conditions as may be prescribed, issue a certificate of registration.
4. Registration of fish exporters.-(1) No person shall export fish or fishery products
unless he is registered with the registration authority.
(2) The registration authority may, on
receipt of an application from a fish processing plant, on payment of such fees
and conditions as may be prescribed, issue a certificate of registration.
5. Constitution and functions of
Inspection Committee.-(1) The Federal
Government shall constitute an Inspection Committee consisting of one
representative each of the Export Promotion Bureau, the Marine Fisheries
Department and a broad based trade association of fish processing plants.
(2) The functions of the Committee
shall be,---
(a) to
conduct a survey, or surveys, of fish processing plants with a view to
determining their fitness for registration;
(b) to hear
appeals against orders, decisions, action or omissions of Fishery Officers;
(c) to make
recommendations to the Federal Government for the efficient functioning of the
industry, the removal of malpractices therein and the enhancement of exports;
and
(d) to
discharge such other functions as may be conferred on it under the rules.
6. Inspection of fish processing
plant.-(1) A Fishery Officer may
inspect any fish processing plant to ensure the observance of the provisions of
this Act and the rules made thereunder.
(2) A Fishery Officer may, without any
order from a Magistrate and without a warrant, arrest any person operating a
fish processing plant without a valid registration granted under section 3.
7. Fish Export. No person shall process and export or market for
export or have in his possession for export or deal in, any fish or fish
products intended for human consumption which are decomposed, unwholesome or
contaminated with pathogenic organisms.
8. Handling of fish and fishery
products. No Person who is suffering
from leprosy, tuberculoses, polio or such other contagious diseases as the
Government may, by notification in the official Gazette„ specify, shall handle,
carry or process fish or work in a fish processing and packing plant or
establishment.
9. Quality evaluation of fish and
fishery products. All fish and
fishery products found to be of substandard quality shall be detained by the
Fishery Officer and shall be disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
10. Powers, duties and functions of
Fishery Officer. Subject to the
provisions of this Act, the Fishery Officer shall exercise the following
powers:---
(a) to carry
out inspections of plants where fish and fishery products are processed for
export;
(b) to carry
out inspection of fish and fishery products for export;
(c) to
register fish processing plants and exporters carrying on fish export business
and issue registration certificates on the recommendation of the Inspection
Committee;
(d) to issue
certificates of quality and origin for fish and fishery products when the
quality is found to be satisfactory upon inspection ;
(e) to
detain fish and fishery products when found to be unwholesome and unfit for
human consumption upon inspection; and
(f) to carry
on any other functions assigned by the Director-General which may be necessary
for the successful regulation of quality and promotion of export of fish and
fishery products.
11. Cognizance of offence.
12. Penalties.-(1) Whoever contravenes, or attempts to contravene,
any provision of this Act or the rules shall, without prejudice to any other
penalty to which he may be liable, be punished-
(i) on a
first conviction with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees;
(ii) on a
second conviction to a fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees;
(iii) on a
third conviction to a fine which may extend to two hundred thousand rupees; and
(iv) for any
subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year
or with fine which may extend to three hundred thousand rupees.
(2) No Court inferior to that of a
Magistrate of the First Class shall try an offence punishable under this Act
and notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
(Act V of 1898), it shall be lawful for the Magistrate
trying an offence under this Act to pass any sentence authorised by this Act.
(3) Any export of fish or fishery
products which is not accompanied by a valid certificate of quality and origin,
shall be detained, confiscated or disposed of by the Marine Fisheries
Department, in such manner as may be prescribed.
(4) Where the person contravening any
provision of this Act or the rules is a company or other body corporate, every
director, manager, or other officer or agent thereof involved in the
contravention shall be deemed to be guilty of such contravention.
(5) Whoever attempts to contravene, or
abets the contravention of, any provision of this Act or the rules shall be
deemed to have contravene the provisions of this Act or the rules.
13. Power to search. Any Fishery Officer may search any fish processing
plant or fish consignment intended for export which he has reason to believe to
be not fresh, decomposed, unwholesome or contaminated.
14. Seizure and disposal.-(1) If any Fishery Officer has reason to believe that
any fish or fishery product intended for human consumption is decomposed,
unwholesome or contaminated with pathogenic organisms, he may seize or detain
the same and shall, at the time of seizure or detention, inform, in writing,
the person from whose possession the seizure or detention is made, of the
grounds for the said action.
(2) The seized or detained products
shall be dealt with in accordance with the decision of the Court before which
the owner of the processing plant or fish exporter is prosecuted.
15. Revision.-(1) Any person aggrieved by an order passed by the
Inspection Committee may apply for revision to the Federal Government within
thirty days from the date of issue of such order and the decision of the
Federal Government thereon shall be final.
(2) The Federal Government may, on
receipt of an application under subsection (1) above, stay the operation of the
order of the Committee till the disposal of the application.
16. Indemnity. No suit, prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie
against the Federal Government, Marine Fisheries Department, a Fishery Officer
or any other person for anything in good faith done or intended to be done
under this Act or the Rules.
17. Delegation of powers. The Federal Government may, by Notification in the
official Gazette, delegate to the Inspection Committee or the Fishery Officer
or any officer or authority, its powers under this Act.
18. Power to make rules.-(1) The Federal Government (Marine Fisheries
Department) may, by Notification in the Official Gazette, after consultation
with the Inspection Committee make rules 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
procedure of applying for registration;
(b) the
conditions of registration;
(c) the fee
to be charged for registration;
(d) the fee
to be charged for a certificate of quality and origin for export of fish and
fishery products;
(e) to hear
appeals or revisions;
(f) the
procedure for inspection of fish and fishery products;
(g)
prescribing the samples procedure and the manner in which samples of fish and
fishery products are selected for laboratory analysis;
(h)
prescribing quality standards for fish and fishery products;
(i)
regulation of handling, processing, packaging, storage and marketing of fish
and fishery products;
(j) determining
disposal procedure for fish and fishery products which do not conform with the
prescribed requirements or are otherwise considered unwholesome or unsuitable
for human consumption;
(k) the
forms of registration and certificates of quality and origin;
(l) validation
period for registered fish processing plants, fish exporters and the
certificates of quality and origin; and
(m) any
other matter which is to be or may be prescribed in furtherance of the
provisions of this Act.
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