1[(1) The occupier of a factory shall make such provision for speedy payment of the price of cane purchased by him as may be prescribed.] (2) Upon the delivery of cane the occupier of a factory shall be liable to pay immediately the price of the cane so supplied, together with all other sums connected therewith, 2[X X X] (3) Where the person liable under sub-section (2) is in default in making the payment of the price for period exceeding fifteen days from the date of delivering, he shall also pay interest at a rate of 7 per cent per annum from the said date of delivering, but the Cane Commissioner may, in any case, direct, with the approval of the State Government, that no interest shall be paid or be paid at such reduced rate as he may fix;3[Provided that in relation to default in payment of price of cane purchased after the commencement of this proviso, for the figures 7 the figures 12 shall be deemed substituted.] (4) The Cane Commissioner shall forward to the Collector a certificate under his signature specifying the amount of arrears on account of the price of cane plus interest, if any, due from the occupier and the Collector, on receipt of such certificate, shall proceed to recover from such occupier the amount specified therein as if it were an arrear of land revenue. 4[Provided that notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act or in any other law for the time being in force, it shall be lawful that before or after the issue of recovery certificate by the Cane Commissioner but at any time before the completion of the recovery proceedings, if it is found that the owner of the company of the concerned defaulter factory has given any loan or done investment under any legal arrangement to a subsidiary company, associate company or other company that is engaged or not engaged in manufacturing of sugar, and to whom under any contract, any amount is to be received from any Department of the State Government or from any Corporation or Board or any other institution constituted under any statutory rules, the State Government may for the purpose of ensuring payment of cane price arrears of sugarcane farmers, forfeit the loan or investment amount or an amount equivalent to the outstanding cane arrear amount and give necessary instructions to the Cane Commissioner to take further action. Explanation- The words company, subsidiary company or associate company used in the poviso above shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Companies Act, 2013 (Act no. 18 of 2013)]. 5[(5)(a) Without prejudice to the provisions of the foregoing sub-sections, where the owner or any other person having control over the affairs of the factory or any other person competent in that behalf enters into an agreement with a bank under which the bank agrees to give advance to him 6[on the security of sugar or ethanol (directly produced from the sugarcane juice or B-Heavy Molasses)] produced or to be produced in the factory, the said owner or other person shall provide in such agreement that 7[a percentage determined by such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed] of the total amount of advance shall be set apart and be available only for repayment to cane-growers or their co-operative societies on account of the price of sugarcane purchased or to be purchased for the factory during the current crushing season from those cane-growers or from or through those societies, and interest thereon and, such societies commission in respect thereof. (b) Every such owner or other person as aforesaid shall send a copy of every such agreement to the Collector within a week from the date on which it is entered into.]
1 Substituted by Section 6 of U.P. Act no. IV of 1964 with effect from 12.02.1964 2 Omitted by Section 5 (a) of U.P. Act no. VII of 1974 with effect from 21.12.1973 3 Inserted by Section 2 of U.P. Act no. XXVIII of 1974 with effect from 30.08.1974 4 Inserted by Section 2 of U.P. Act no. XXXVIII of 2021 with effect from 27.12.2021 5 Inserted by Section 2 of U.P. Act no. II of 1972 with effect from 30.12.1971 6 Substituted by Section 3 of U.P. Act no. XXIII of 2008 with effect from 29.08.2008 7 Substituted and be deemed always to have been substituted by Section 5 (b) of U.P. Act no. VII of 1974