Section 9 in The Targeted Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2015
9. Licensing and regulation of fair price shops.
(1)The State Government shall issue an order under section 3 of the Act, but not inconsistent with this Order, for regulating the sale and distribution of the essential commodities.(2)The licences to the fair price shop owners shall be issued under the said order and the order issued by the State Government shall be notified and displayed on web portal.(3)The designated authority appointed by the State Government shall issue the licences to the fair price shop owners.(4)The State Government shall accord preference to public institutions or public bodies such as panchayats, self help groups, cooperative societies in licensing of fair price shops and management of fair price shops by women or their collectives.(5)The licences to the fair price shop owners shall be issued keeping in view the viability of the fair price shop.(6)The State Government shall ensure that the number of ration card holders attached to a fair price shop are reasonable, the fair price shop is so located that the consumer or ration card holder does not have to face difficulty to reach the fair price shop and that proper coverage is ensured in hilly, desert, tribal and such other areas difficult to access.(7)The State Government shall fix an amount as the fair price shop owner's margin, which shall be periodically reviewed for ensuring sustained viability of the fair price shop operations.(8)The State Government shall put in place a mechanism to ensure the release of fair price shop owner's margin without any delay.(9)The State Government shall allow sale of commodities other than the foodgrains distributed under the Targeted Public Distribution System at the fair price shop to improve the viability of the fair price shop operations.
