The Assam State Road Transport (Amendment) Act, 1955
# ASSAM ACT XV III OF 1955

**THE ASSAM STATE ROAD TRANSPORT (AMENDMENT)**

**\** **ACT, 1955**

(Passed by the Assembly)

**(Received the assent o f the President on the 27th August 1955)** **"***

[Published in the Assam Gazette, dated the 7th September 1955]

_An_

_Act_

_to amend the Assam State Road Transport Act, 1954_

Whereas it is expedient to amend the Assam State Road Transport

**Act,** 1954 (Assam Act XX X of 1954) hereinafter called the Principal **Act,**
for the purpose hereinafter appearing :

It is hereby enacted in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as

follows

**1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may** **be**

called the Assam State Road Transport (Amendment) Act, 1955.

(2) It shall have the like extent as the Principal Act.
(3) It shall come into force on the day on which the Principal Act

comes into force.

**2. Insertion of new Sections to Assam Act XXX of 1954.—After**

Section 7 of the Principal Act the following new Sections shall be inserted,
namely s—

**“ 7A.** **Principles and methods of determining compensation.—**

(1) Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (dj of sub-section (1)
of Section 7, the State Government or any officer or authority empowered by
it in this behalf cancels any permit or modifies the terms thereof so as to (?)

render ineffective beyond a specified date any permit or class of permits or
(?'?') reduce and curtail the number of vehicles or routes covered by any

permits ; there shall be paid by the State Government to the holder of the
permit compensation, the amount of which shall be determined in the
manner and in accordance with the principles hereinafter set out, that is to
say,—

(а) where the amount of compensation can be fixed by agreement on

the scale specified in the Second Schedule it shall be paid in
accordance with such agreement ;

(б) where no such agreement can be reached, the State Government

shall appoint as arbitrator a person who is, or has been, or
qualified for appointment as, a judge of a High C ourt;

(c) the State Government or the person to be compensated may, in

any particular case, nominate a person having expert

knowledge of the matter under consideration as an assessor
to assist the arbitrator and where such nomination is made by
either party, the other party may also nominate another
person as assessor for the same purpose ;

(rf) at the commencement of the proceedings before the arbitrator, the

State Government and the person to be compensated shall state
what in their respective opinion is a fair amount of compensa­
tion :

_[ Price: 2 as. or 2 d.]_


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**£**

_(e'} the arbitrator shall, after hearing the dispute, make an award_

determining the amount of compensation which appears to
him to be just and specifying the person or persons to whom
such compensation shall be paid, and in making the award, he
shall have regard to the circumstances of each case and the
provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), so far as they are
applicable ;

(/) where there is any dispute as to the person or persons who are

entitled to the compensation, the arbitrator shall decide such
dispute and if the arbitrator finds that more persons than one
are entitled to compensation, he shall apportion the amount
thereof amongst such persons ;

(«) nothing in the Arbitration Act, 1940 (X of 1940) shall apply to

the arbitration under this section.

(2) Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of sub-sec­

tion (1) of Section 7 any existing permit is cancelled or the terms thereof are
modified so as to prevent the holder of the permit from using any vehicle
authorised to be used thereunder for the full period for which the permit
would otherwise have been effective, the amount of compensation payable
to the holder of the permit on account of such cancellation or modification
shall be a sum, if any, which is equal to the average net annual profit in
relation to the vehicle multiplied by the unexpired period of the permit:

Provided that in no case, the amount of compensation shall be a sum

which is less than the said average net annual profit.

(3) Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause _(d) of sub­_

section (1) of Section 7 the terms of any existing permit are modified so as to
curtail the route of any vehicle authorised to be used thereunder, the

amount of compensation payable to the holder of the permit on account of
such curtailment of the route shall be a sum, if any, which bears the same
proportion to the compensation payable under sub-section (2) on account
of the cancellation of the permit in relation to the vehicle as the length of
the route curtailed bears to the total length of the route covered by the

permit.

**(4)** Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (I), no compen­

sation shall be payable on account of the cancellation of any existing permit
or any modification of the terms thereof, when a permit for an alternative
route in lieu thereof has been offered and accepted by the holder of the
permit.

(5) The average net annual profit in relation to a vehicle authorised to

be used under a permit shall be in accordance with the provisions of the
third Schedule with reference to the profits, if any, which have accrued to
the holder of the permit in relation to the vehicle in respect of that notified
route during the period for which the permit (including any renewal there­

of ) was effective or the period of two years, immediately preceding the date
on which the order under sub-section (1) of Section 7 was made, whichever
is less.

**7B. Payment of compensation.— The** amount of compensation

payable under an award shall be paid by the State Government to the per­
son or persons entitled thereto in such manner and within such time as may
be specified in the award :

Provided that where the State Government fails to make the payment

within the time specified in the award or agreement, it shall pay interest at
the rate of 3| per cent, per annum from the date on which it falls due.

**7C. Taking over of vehicles, etc.— Upon the cancellation of a per­**

mit, the State Government shall, when the owner of the vehicle so desires


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within a specified period, take over such vehicles held under the cancelled
permit including spare-parts and other accessories as may be found in the

opinion of the State Government in usable condition on payment of the
value thereof determined in accordance with the provisions in sub-section

(2) The value of the vehicle, spare-parts and other accessories

taken over under sub-section (1) shall be determined by the officer pres­
cribed as follows:—

_(a) In respect of vehicle, the value will be the cost as at the date_

of transfer, of replacing the vehicle by a new vehicle of a simi­
lar type, less depreciation at the rate of 25 per cent, per annum
on the declining values from the date of first registration with
a margin of Rs.500 either way as an allowance for the con­

dition of the vehicle.

(A) Spare-parts and new tyres and tubes would be valued at cost to

the owner subject to a maximum of the market price obtaining

at date of the transaction.

(c) Other assets taken over by the State would be valued by negotia­

tion.

**7D. Appeal.—Any person aggrieved by the determination** of the

compensation under Section 7A or the determination of the value of vehicle,
accessories, etc., under Section 7C may prefer an appeal within thirty days
to the High Court of Assam and the decision of the appellate authority
shall be final.”

**3. Amendment of Section 10 of Assam Act XXX of 1954.—For**

sub-section (1) of Section 10 of the Principal Act the following shall be

substituted, namely :—

“ (1) Where there is any conflict or inconsistency between the provi­

sions of this Act and the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act,

1939 (Act No. IV of 1939) or any other law, then the provi­

sions of this Act shall prevail.”

**4. Amendment of Section 13 of Assam Act XXX o f 1954.—**

In clause (/>) of sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the Principal Act for the

word “ Schedule” the words “ First Schedule” shall be substituted.

**5. Insertion of new schedule to Assam Act XXX of 1954.—**

After Section 15 of the Principal Act the word “ Schedule” shall **be**
substituted by the words “ First Schedule” and after the said schedule the
following shall be added, _viz,—_

SECOND SCHEDULE

_[ See Section 7 A (1) (a) ]_

1. Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of sub-section

(1) of Section 7 any existing permit is cancelled or the terms thereof
are modified so as to prevent the holder of the permit from using any
vehicle authorised to be used thereunder for the full period for which the

permit would otherwise have been effective, the amount of compensation
payable to the holder of the permit on account of such cancellation
or modification shall be a sum which, if the unexpired period of the

perm it;


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# 4

_(a} exceeds 24 months, is equal to a sum of Rs.1,000 ;_
_(b) exceeds 12 months, but does not exceeds 24 months is equal_

to the sum of Rs. 700 ;

(c) exceeds 6 months but does not exceed 12 months is equal to a

sum of Rs. 400 ;

(d) does not exceed 6 months, is equal to a sum of Rs. 200.

2. Where in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (d) of sub-section

(1) of Section 7 the terms of any existing permit are modified so as to curtail
the route of any vehicle authorised to be used thereunder, the amount of
compensation payable to the holder of the permit on account of such cur­
tailment of the route shall be a sum which bears the same proportion to
the compensation payable under paragraph 1 on account of the cancellation

of the permit in relation to the vehicle as the length of the route curtailed
bears to the total length of the route covered by the permit.

THIRD SCHEDULE

_[ See Section 7 A (5) ]_

The average net annual profit in relation to a vehicle authorised to be

used under a permit in respect of a notified route shall be calculated as
follows:—

1. The amount of profits made during a period of two years or during

the period for which the permit (including any renewal thereof) was effec­
tive, whichever is less, shall be ascertained and the amount of losses sustained
during the same period shall also be ascertained.

2. If there are no profits or if the amount of the profits does not exceed

the amount of the losses, the average net annual profit shall be taken to
be nil.

3. If the amount of the profits exceeds the amount of the losses, the

excess shall be the net profits.

4. From the net profits so found, the amount of profits for one year shall

be ascertained by mathematical calculation and such profit shall be taken to

be the average net annual profit.

A. G . P. (Leg.) No.52/55—1550—5-12-1955.


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