THE PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS REGULATORY BOARD ACT, 2006[PART II]

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CHAPTER VI

APPEALS TO APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

30. Appellate Tribunal.-(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act,

the Appellate Tribunal established under section 110 of the

Electricity Act, 2003 (36 of 2003) shall be the Appellate Tribunal

for the purposes of this Act and the said Appellate Tribunal shall

exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on it by or

under this Act:

Provided that the Technical Member of the Appellate Tribunal for the

purposes of this Act shall be called the Technical Member (Petroleum

and Natural Gas) and shall have the qualifications specified in subsection

(2) of section 31.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Electricity Act, 2003

(36 of 2003), the Central Government may, for the purposes of this

Act, appoint one or more Technical Members (Petroleum and Natural

Gas) on the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity or designate a

Technical Member of the said Tribunal having the qualifications

specified in sub-section (2) of section 31 and when a Technical

Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas) is appointed, he shall be in

addition to the three other members appointed under the said Act.

31.

Technical Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas).

31. Technical Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas).-(1) The Technical

Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas) shall be appointed from the panel

prepared by the Search Committee constituted under sub-section (2) of

section 4.

(2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Technical

Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas) of the Appellate Tribunal unless

he-

(i) is, or has been, a Secretary for at least one year in the

Ministry or Department of the Central Government having adequate

experience in energy sector, especially in matters relating to

Petroleum and Natural Gas sector; or

(ii) is, or has been, a person of ability and standing, having

adequate knowledge or experience in dealing with matters relating to

exploration, production, transmission pipelines, marketing or

regulation of petroleum, petroleum products or natural gas,

economics, commerce, law or management.

32.

Terms and conditions of service of Technical Member (Petroleum and

Natural Gas).

32. Terms and conditions of service of Technical Member (Petroleum

and Natural Gas).-The term of office, the salaries and allowances

payable to and the other terms and conditions of service of the

Technical Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas) shall be the same as

applicable to the other members of the Appellate Tribunal.

33.

Appeals to Appellate Tribunal.

33. Appeals to Appellate Tribunal.-(1) Any person aggrieved by an

order or decision made by the Board under this Act may prefer an

appeal to the Appellate Tribunal:

Provided that any person preferring an appeal against an order or

decision of the Board levying any penalty shall, while filing the

appeal, deposit the amount of such penalty:

Provided further that where in any particular case, the Appellate

Tribunal is of the opinion that deposit of such penalty would cause

undue hardship to such person, it may dispense with such deposit

subject to such conditions as it may deem fit to impose so as to

safeguard the realisation of penalty.

(2) Every appeal under sub-section (1) shall be filed within a period

of thirty days from the date on which a copy of the direction or

order of decision made by the Board is received by the aggrieved

person and it shall be in such form, verified in such manner and be

accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed:

Provided that the Appellate Tribunal may entertain an appeal after

the expiry of the said period of thirty days if it is satisfied that

there was sufficient cause for not filing it within that period.

(3) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Appellate

Tribunal may, after giving the parties an opportunity of being heard,

pass such orders thereon as it thinks fit.

(4) The Appellate Tribunal shall send a copy of every order made by

it to the parties to the appeal and to the Board.

(5) The appeal filed under sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by the

Appellate Tribunal as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall

be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within ninety days

from the date of receipt of appeal:

Provided that where any such appeal could not be disposed of within

the said period of ninety days, the Appellate Tribunal shall record

its reasons in writing for not disposing of the appeal within the

said period.

(6) The Appellate Tribunal may, for the purpose of examining the

legality or propriety or correctness of any order or decision of the

Board referred to in the appeal filed under sub-section (1), either

on its own motion or otherwise, call for the records relevant to

disposing of such appeal and make such orders as it thinks fit.

34.

Procedure and powers of the Appellate Tribunal.

34. Procedure and powers of the Appellate Tribunal.-The provisions of

sections 120 to 124 (both inclusive) of the Electricity Act, 2003 (36

of 2003) shall mutatis mutandis apply to the Appellate Tribunal in

the discharge of its functions under this Act as they apply to it in

the discharge of its functions under the Electricity Act, 2003.

35.

Power of Appellate Tribunal to make rules.

35. Power of Appellate Tribunal to make rules.-The Appellate Tribunal

may, by notification, make rules consistent with the provisions of

this Act as to the conduct and procedure in respect of all

proceedings before it under this Act.

36.

Orders passed by Appellate Tribunal to be executable as a decree.

36. Orders passed by Appellate Tribunal to be executable as a

decree.-(1) Every order made by the Appellate Tribunal under this Act

shall be executable by the Appellate Tribunal as a decree of a civil

court, and for this purpose, the Appellate Tribunal shall have all

the powers of a civil court.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the

Appellate Tribunal may transmit any order made by it to a civil court

having jurisdiction and such civil court shall execute the order as

if it were a decree made by that court.

37.

Appeal to Supreme Court.

37. Appeal to Supreme Court.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained

in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) or in any other law,

an appeal shall lie against any order, not being an interlocutory

order, of the Appellate Tribunal to the Supreme Court on one or more

of the grounds specified in section 100 of that Code.

(2) No appeal shall lie against any decision or order made by the

Appellate Tribunal with the consent of the parties.

(3) Every appeal under this section shall be preferred within a

period of ninety days from the date of the decision or order appealed

against:

Provided that the Supreme Court may entertain the appeal after the

expiry of the said period of ninety days, if it is satisfied that the

appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the

appeal in time.

CHAPTER VII

FINANCE, ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT

38. Grants by Central Government.-The Central Government may, after

due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf, make to

the Board grants of such sums of money as are required to pay

salaries and allowances payable to the Chairperson and the other

members and the administrative expenses including the salaries,

allowances and pensions payable to the officers and employees of the

Board.

39.

Fund.

39. Fund.-(1) There shall be constituted a Fund to be called the

Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Fund and there shall be

credited thereto-

(i) all grants, fees, penalties and charges received by the Board

under this Act; and

(ii) all sums received by the Board from such other sources as may be

approved by the Central Government.

(2) The Fund shall be applied for making payments towards-

(i) the salaries and allowances payable to the Chairperson and other

members and the administrative expenses including the salaries,

allowances and pensions payable to the officers and employees of the

Board;

(ii) the expenses incurred or to be incurred in carrying out the

provisions of this Act.

(3) The Central Government shall-

(i) constitute a committee consisting of such persons as it thinks

fit to recommend to that Government the budgetary requirements of the

Board for salaries, allowances and all other expenses; and

(ii) fix the budgetary ceiling of the Board on the basis of the

recommendations of the committee.

40.

Accounts and audit.

40. Accounts and audit.-(1) The Board shall maintain proper accounts

and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of

accounts in such form as may be prescribed by the Central Government

in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

(2) The accounts of the Board shall be audited by the Comptroller and

Auditor-General of India at such intervals as may be specified by him

and any expenditure incurred in connection with such audit shall be

payable by the Board to the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India.

Explanation.-For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that

the decisions of the Board taken in the discharge of its functions

under this Act, being matters appealable to the Appellate Tribunal,

shall not be subject to audit under this section.

(3) The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any other person

appointed by him in connection with the audit of the accounts of the

Board shall have the same rights and privileges and authority in

connection with the audit of the Government accounts and, in

particular, shall have the right to demand the production of books,

accounts, connected vouchers and other documents and papers and

inspection of offices of the Board.

(4) The accounts of the Board as certified by the Comptroller and

Auditor-General of India or any other person appointed by him in this

behalf together with the audit report thereon shall be forwarded

annually to the Central Government and that Government shall cause

the same to be laid before each House of Parliament.

41.

Annual report and its laying before Parliament.

41. Annual report and its laying before Parliament.-(1) The Board

shall prepare once every year in such form and at such time as may be

prescribed, an annual report giving a summary of its activities

including information relating to the proceedings and policies during

the previous years and such report shall also contain statements of

annual accounts of the Board.

(2) A copy of the report shall be forwarded to the Central Government

and the Central Government shall cause such report to be laid, as

soon as may be after it is received, before each House of Parliament.

CHAPTER VIII

POWER OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT

42. Power of Central Government to issue directions.-(1) The Central

Government may, from time to time, by writing issue to the Board such

directions as it may think necessary in the interest of the

sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State,

friendly relations with foreign States or public order.

(2) Without prejudice to the foregoing provision, the Central

Government may, if it finds necessary or expedient so to do in public

interest or for maintaining or increasing supplies of petroleum,

petroleum products or natural gas or all or any of them or for

securing their equitable distribution and ensuring adequate

availability, issue policy directives to the Board in writing and

such policy directives shall be binding upon the Board:

Provided that no such directive shall relate to any day-to-day

affairs of the Board:

Provided further that the Board shall, as far as practicable, be

given an opportunity of expressing its views before any directive is

issued under this sub-section.

(3) The decision of the Central Government whether a question is one

of policy or not shall be final.

43.

Taking over control and management of facilities and business

premises of any entity and retail outlets in public interest.

43. Taking over control and management of facilities and business

premises of any entity and retail outlets in public interest.-(1) In

the event of war or natural calamity or such other similar

circumstances leading to disruption of supply of petroleum, petroleum

products or natural gas, the Central Government may, for ensuring the

continuous supply of petroleum, petroleum products or natural gas, by

notification, either take over the control and management of any

storage site, facilities and business premises of any entity and

retail outlets or suspend its operations or entrust, to any agency of

the Central or State Government for such time and manage it in such

manner, as may be specified in that notification:

Provided that the affected entities shall be given an opportunity of

being heard before issuing orders to take over the control and

management of retail outlets and other business premises:

Provided further that in case of any urgency or in cases where the

circumstances do not permit serving of notice for want of sufficient

time or otherwise upon the entity against whom the order is directed,

the opportunity of hearing may be dispensed with in public interest

in order to maintain the uninterrupted supply of petroleum, petroleum

products or natural gas for a specified period.

(2) The collector of the revenue district in which the property

referred to in the notification issued under sub-section (1) is

situated shall determine the amount of compensation payable for

taking over of the property.

(3) The form and manner in which an application for claiming

compensation under this section shall be made, the procedure for

determining the compensation and the time within which such

compensation shall be payable, shall be such as may be prescribed.

 

CHAPTER IX

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT

44. Punishment for contravention of directions of the Board.-If a

person contravenes the directions of the Board, such person shall be

punishable with fine which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees and

in case of continuing contravention with additional fine which may

extend to ten lakh rupees for every day during which the

contravention continues.

45.

Penalty for willful failure to comply with orders of Appellate

Tribunal.

45. Penalty for willful failure to comply with orders of Appellate

Tribunal.-If any person wilfully fails to comply with the order of

the Appellate Tribunal, he shall be punishable with fine which may

extend to one crore rupees and in case of a second or subsequent

offence with fine which may extend to two crore rupees and in the

case of continuing contravention with additional fine which may

extend to twenty lakh rupees for every day during which such default

continues.

46.

Punishment for unauthorized activities.

46. Punishment for unauthorized activities.-If any person, being an

entity, markets any notified petroleum, petroleum products or natural

gas without a valid registration, or authorisation such person shall

be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three years or

with fine which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees or with both,

and in case of continuing contravention with additional fine which

may extend to ten lakh rupees for every day during which the

contravention continues.

47.

Punishment for establishing or operating a liquefied natural gas

terminal without registration.

47. Punishment for establishing or operating a liquefied natural gas

terminal without registration.-If a person establishes or operates a

liquefied natural gas terminal without registration as required under

section 15, such person shall be liable for punishment with an

imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or penalty of

twenty-five crore rupees or with both, and in case of continuing

contravention with additional fine which may extend to ten lakh

rupees for every day during which the contravention continues.

48.

Punishment for laying, building, operating or expanding a common

carrier or contract carrier without authorisation.

48. Punishment for laying, building, operating or expanding a common

carrier or contract carrier without authorisation.-If a person lays,

builds, operates or expands a common carrier or contract carrier or a

city or local natural gas distribution network without obtaining

authorisation required under section 19, such person shall be liable

for punishment with an imprisonment for a term which may extend to

three years or penalty of twenty-five crore rupees or with both, and

in case of continuing contravention with additional fine which may

extend to ten lakh rupees for every day during which the

contravention continues.

49.

Punishment for willful damages to common carrier or contract carrier.

49. Punishment for willful damages to common carrier or contract

carrier.-Every person who wilfully removes, destroys or damages any

pipeline or city or local natural gas distribution network or other

work of the common carrier or contract carrier for supplying

petroleum, petroleum products or natural gas shall for each such

offence be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three

years or with fine which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees or

with both, and, in case of continuing contravention with additional

fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees for every day during which

such contravention continues.

50.

Offences by companies.

50. Offences by companies.-(1) Where an offence under this Act has

been committed by a company, every person who at the time the offence

was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company

for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the

company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be

liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any

such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he

proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that

he has exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such

offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an

offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is

proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or

connivance of, or is attributable to, any neglect on the part of any

director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such

director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to

be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against

and punished accordingly.

Explanation.-For the purpose of this section,-

(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other

association of individuals; and

(b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

CHAPTER X

MISCELLANEOUS

51. Maintenance of data bank and information.-(1) The Board shall

maintain a data bank and information system relating to activities of

entities dealing with petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas

in such form and manner as may be provided by regulations.

(2) The Board shall have power to verify the data supplied by the

entities and appoint any person or persons for the purpose and take

such measures as it may consider necessary.

52.

Obligations of entities.

52. Obligations of entities.-(1) Every entity shall-

(a) maintain such documentary records as may be specified by the

Board by regulations;

(b) allow inspection of such facilities and documentary records, as

may be specified by the Board, by any person authorised by the

Board;

(c) commence operation of activities for which authorisation has been

granted within such period as may be specified by the Board in the

document of authorisation;

(d) register-

(i) agreements with the Board relating to use of pipelines for supply

of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas; or

(ii) any other document which the Board may determine by regulations;

(e) comply with marketing service obligations and retail service

obligations.

(2) The Board may call for any information from any entity including

information which is considered necessary for ensuring transparency

or ascertaining true ownership of the entity.

(3) The Board or any officer authorised by the Board shall have the

power to inspect and obtain information, wherever necessary, from the

entities.

(4) For the effective enforcement of the terms and conditions of

authorisation, the Board or any officer authorised by it for that

purpose, shall have all the powers of an inspecting officer as

provided under section 209A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956).

(5) It shall be the duty of every entity to carry out the directions

of the Board given under this section.

(6) The Board shall maintain confidentiality in respect of any

information and record received by it from the entities and shall not

disclose information contained therein to any person or authority

except on the grounds of public interest.

53.

Furnishing of returns, etc., to Central Government.

53. Furnishing of returns, etc., to Central Government.-The Board

shall furnish to the Central Government at such time and in such form

and manner as may be prescribed or as the Central Government may

direct, such returns and statements and such particulars in regard to

any matter in connection with proposed or existing activities under

this Act, as the Central Government may, from time to time, require.

54.

Chairperson, members, etc., to be public servants.

54. Chairperson, members, etc., to be public servants.-The

Chairperson, Members, Officers and other employees of the Board and

Technical Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas) of the Appellate

Tribunal shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in

pursuance of any of the provisions of this Act, to be public servants

within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of

1860).

55.

Protection of action taken in good faith.

55. Protection of action taken in good faith.-No suit, prosecution or

other legal proceeding shall lie against the Central Government,

Board, Technical Authority or Appellate Tribunal or any officer of

the Central Government or any Chairperson, Member, officer or other

employee of the Board or Technical Member (Petroleum and Natural Gas)

of the Appellate Tribunal for anything which is in good faith done or

intended to be done under this Act or the rules or regulations made

thereunder.

56.

Civil courts not to have jurisdiction.

56. Civil courts not to have jurisdiction.-No civil court shall have

jurisdiction to entertain any suit or proceeding in respect of any

matter which the Board or the Appellate Tribunal is empowered by or

under this Act to determine, and no injunction shall be granted by

any court or other authority in respect of any action taken or to be

taken in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.

57.

Cognizance of certain offences.

57. Cognizance of certain offences.-(1) No court shall take

cognizance of any offence punishable under Chapter IX save on a

complaint made by the Board or by any investigating agency directed

by the Central Government.

(2) No court inferior to that of a Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or

of a Chief Judicial Magistrate shall try any offence punishable under

Chapter IX.

(3) Every offence punishable under sections 44, 45, 46 and 47 shall

be cognizable.

58.

Delegation.

58. Delegation.-The Board may, by general or special order in

writing, delegate to any member or officer of the Board subject to

such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order, such of

its powers and functions under this Act (except the power to settle a

dispute under Chapter VI and to make regulations under section 61),

as it may deem necessary.

59.

Power to remove difficulties.

59. Power to remove difficulties.-(1) If any difficulty arises in

giving effect to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government

may, by order, published in the Official Gazette, make such

provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act as it may

deem necessary for removing the difficulty:

Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the

expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.

(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may

be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.

60.

Power of Central Government to make rules.

60. Power of Central Government to make rules.-(1) The Central

Government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the

provisions 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 salaries and allowances payable to and the other conditions

of service of the Chairperson and the other members under subsection

(4) of section 5;

(b) the procedure for appointment of any person or constitution of

any authority and conducting inquiry under section 7;

(c) the salaries and allowances payable to and the other terms and

conditions of service of the Secretary, officers and other employees

of the Board, under sub-section (3) of section 10;

(d) any other matter in respect of which the Board may exercise the

powers of a civil court under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of

section 13;

(e) the eligibility conditions which an entity shall fulfil for

registration under sub-section (1) of section 15;

(f) the form of appeal and the manner of verifying such form, and the

fee which shall accompany such form, under sub-section (2) of section

33;

(g) the manner in which the accounts of the Board shall be maintained

under sub-section (1) of section 40;

(h) the time and manner in which the annual report of the Board

shall be prepared under sub-section (1) of section 41;

(i) the form and manner in which applications for claiming

compensation shall be made, the procedure for determining the

compensation and the time within which such compensation shall be

payable, under sub-section (3) of section 43;

(j) the time and manner in which returns and statements are to be

furnished by the Board to the Central Government under section 53;

(k) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed, or in

respect of which provision is to be made, by rules.

61.

Power of Board to make regulations.

61. Power of Board to make regulations.-(1) The Board may, by

notification, make regulations consistent with this Act and the rules

made thereunder to carry out the provisions of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the

foregoing power, such regulations may provide for all or any of the

following matters, namely:-

(a) the time and places of meetings of the Board and the procedure

(including quorum necessary for the transaction of business) to be

followed at such meetings under sub-section (1) of section 8;

(b) the powers and duties of the Secretary under sub-section (1) of

section 10;

(c) the terms and conditions of the consultants appointed under subsection

(4) of section 10;

(d) the capacity of storage facilities for petroleum, petroleum

products or natural gas requiring registration under sub-clause (iii)

of clause (b) of section 11;

(e) regulating open access to and transportation rate for the common

carrier or contract carrier or city or local natural gas

distribution network and other matters referred to in clause (e) of

section 11;

(f) marketing service obligations for entities and retail service

obligations for retail outlets under sub-clause (v) of clause (f) of

section 11;

(g) levy of fees and other charges under clause (g) of section 11;

(h) the technical standards and specifications including safety

standards in activities relating to petroleum, petroleum products and

natural gas under clause (i) of section 11;

(i) the procedure to be followed by the Board including the places at

which it shall conduct its business under sub-section (3) of section

13;

(j) the manner of maintaining the Petroleum and Natural Gas Register

under

sub-section (1) of section 14;

(k) the form and manner of making application for obtaining certified

copy of any entry in the register and the fee which shall accompany

such application, under sub-section (4) of section 14;

(l) the form and manner in which an application under sub-section (1)

of section 15 shall be made and the fee which shall accompany such

application under sub-section (2) of section 15;

(m) the manner by which a certificate of registration granted under

sub-section (3) of section 15 may be suspended or cancelled under

sub-section (4) of section 15;

(n) the form and manner in which an application under sub-section (1)

or sub-section (2) of section 17 shall be made and the fee which

shall accompany such application under sub-section (3) of section 17;

(o) the form and manner in which publicity of acceptance of

applications for registration shall be made under section 18;

(p) the manner of selection of an entity under sub-section (2) of

section 19;

(q) the principles for determining the number of years for which a

city or local natural gas distribution network shall be excluded from

the purview of a common carrier or contract carrier under sub-section

(4) of section 20;

(r) the guiding principles to be followed by the Board and the

objectives for declaring, or authorising to lay, build, operate or

expand a common carrier or contract carrier for declaring, or

authorising to lay, build, operate or expand a city or local natural

gas distribution network, under sub-section (5) of section 20;

(s) the affiliate code of conduct under which the entities are

required to comply with under the proviso to sub-section (1) of

section 21;

(t) the transportation tariffs for common carriers or contract

carriers or city or local natural gas distribution network and the

manner of determining such tariffs under sub-section (1) of section

22;

(u) the form in which a complaint may be made and the fee which shall

accompany such complaint, under sub-section (2) of section 25;

(v) the manner of holding an investigation by an Investigating

Officer under sub-section (1) of section 26;

(w) the qualifications and experience which any person for

appointment as an Investigating Officer shall possess, under subsection

(2) of section 26;

(x) the form and manner of maintaining data bank and information

system by the Board under sub-section (1) of section 51;

(y) maintenance of documentary records by an entity, under clause (a)

of sub-section (1) of section 52;

(z) any other type of documents which are to be registered with the

Board under sub-clause (ii) of clause (d) of sub-section (1) of

section 52;

(za) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, specified

by regulations or in respect of which provision is to be or may be

made by regulations.

62.

Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.

62. Rules and regulations to be laid before Parliament.-Every rule

made by the Central Government and every regulation made by the Board

under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,

before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total

period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two

or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session

immediately following the session or the successive sessions

aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule

or regulation or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation should

not be made, the rule or regulation shall thereafter have effect only

in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so,

however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without

prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule

or regulation.

63.

Transitional arrangements.

63. Transitional arrangements.-(1) Where, before the commencement of

this Act, an agreement or agreements have been entered into between

one oil company and another for the purpose of sharing of petroleum

products or sharing of infrastructure facilities among the oil

companies and such agreements have been approved by the Central

Government, the Board may monitor the implementation of such

agreements for the transition period.

(2) The Board shall monitor setting up of dealerships and

distributorships of motor spirit, high speed diesel, superior

kerosene oil, liquefied petroleum gas and CNG stations for natural

gas during transition period by the entities without encroaching on

the retail network of the existing entities.

Explanation I.-For the purposes of this section, the expression

“transition period” shall mean a period of three years from the date

of commencement of this Act.

Explanation II.-For the purposes of this section, “infrastructure

facilities” shall mean facilities at ports, refineries, terminals,

depots and aviation fuelling stations including hydrant lines and

shall include loading and unloading facilities.

Explanation III.-For the purposes of this section “encroaching”

includes taking over of retail outlet of one entity by another.

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