(1)Definitions. -(a)"Agent" means any person who engages directly or indirectly in the business of collecting, forwarding or distributing goods carried by any public carrier;(b)"Agent's licence" means a licence granted under this rule;(c)"Collecting Agent" means a person licenced to do the business of collecting goods carried by any public carrier;(d)"Collecting and Forwarding Agent" means a person licenced to do the business of collecting, forwarding and distributing goods carried by any public carrier;(e)"Forwarding Agent" means a person licensed to do the business of forwarding and distributing goods carried by any public carrier;(f)"Licensing Authority" means any officer empowered by the Commissioner for this purpose.(g)"Head Office" means a place within the State declared as Head Office by the agent for running his business of collection/forwarding/distributing goods carried by any public carrier;(h)"Branch Office" means any place other than Head Office used simultaneously by the agent for his business purposes of collection forwarding distributing goods carried by any public carrier.(3)Application:- (i) Any person desiring to obtain a licence for carrying on any business referred to in sub-rule (1) of this rule or for renewing such licence may make an application to the licensing authority.(ii)[ The application shall be accompanied by the license fee of Rs. Four thousand only for Head Office and Rs. One thousand only for each branch office;] [Substituted vide notification no. F. 19 (74)/Tpt/2000/Sectt./315 dated 23-08-2004.](iii)On receipt of an application, the licensing authority shall grant or renew or refuse to grant or renew the licence, having regard among other things, to the following matters, namely:(a)the number of goods vehicles either owned by the applicant or under his control exclusively by virtue of a written contract or agreement;(b)the suitability of accommodation possessed by the applicant for the storage of goods;(c)the facilities, if any, provided by the applicant for parking the goods vehicle; and(d)the financial resources and experience of the applicant and his ability to manage the business efficiently.(4)Security of compliance with condition. - (1) For ensuring proper compliance of the conditions laid down in the rule, the licensing authority may, at the time of granting a licence order the licensee to furnish security of Rupees [one lakh] [Substituted vide notification no. F. 19 (74)/Tpt/2000/Sectt./315 dated 23-08-2004.] only in case of Head Office and Rupees [twenty thousand] [Substituted vide notification no. F. 19 (74)/Tpt/2000/Sectt./315 dated 23-08-2004.] only for each Branch office.(ii)Security shall be acceptable in the form of bank draft in the favour of Commissioner (Transport)(5)Forfeiture of Security. - (a) Without prejudice to any action which may be taken against a licensee, the licensing authority at its discretion may, by order in writing, forfeit either in full or in part, the security deposit of the agent, if in its opinion any of the condition, under which the licence has been granted, has been contravened.(b)Before making any order of forfeiture under this rule, the licensing authority shall give the licensee an opportunity of being heard and shall record reasons in writing for such forfeiture.(6)Refund of Security. - The security deposit if not forfeited shall be refunded to the party, at the expiry of the licence or earlier in the event of voluntary closing down of the business before the expiry of the licence.(7)Forwarding and Collecting Agents. - An agent's licence shall, where the holder thereof is licensed to act only as a forwarding agent or as a collecting agent, specify the fact clearly.(ii)An agent's licence shall be non-transferable.(iii)No agent's licence shall authorize a person to act as such agent unless he had adequate facilities to load and unload goods at the premises approved by the Commissioner under these rules.(8)Period of validity and Renewal. - (i) An agent's licence shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of its grant or renewal, but can be revoked or suspended at any time at the discretion of the licensing authority after giving an opportunity to the licensee of being heard.(ii)It may be renewed on an application made to the licensing authority not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry.(iii)The renewal of licence shall be by endorsement of the renewal thereof by the licensing authority on the original licence, renewal fee shall be Rupees two thousand only in case of Head Office and Rupees five hundred only for each branch office and it shall be renewed for a period of one year at a time.(9)Conditions for Agent's Licence. - An agent's licence shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:-(a)that the licensee shall, subject to the provisions of he rules, provide places for loading and unloading of goods;(b)that the licensee shall be responsible for proper arrangements for storage of goods collected for dispatch and delivery;(c)that, where he is authorized to forward and distribute goods, the licensee:(i)shall be responsible for proper delivery of the goods to the consignee;(ii)shall be liable to indemnify the consignee for any loss or damage to goods arising out of his negligence while in his control or possession;(iii)shall not issue a goods transport receipt without having actually received the goods;(iv)shall not deliver the goods to the consignee without actually receiving form the consignee a goods transport receipt or if the receipt is lost or misplaced,: an indemnity bond covering the value of the goods;(d)that the licensee shall insure the goods against any loss or damage while in his control or possession;(e)that the licensee shall maintain a proper record of the vehicle(s) under his control and the collection, dispatch and delivery of goods which shall be open to inspection by the Commissioner or by any person duly authorized in this behalf by him and shall furnish to the Commissioner by 31st day of January every year a return in respect of previous calendar year;(f)that the licensee shall not charge any commission exceeding that prescribed by the Commissioner;(g)that the licensee shall as far as possible furnish the operators with correct figures of the freight receivable by them from the consigners for the consignees;(h)that the licensee shall maintain proper accounts of the commission charged by him which shall be open to inspection by the Commissioner or by a person duly authorized by him in this behalf;(i)that the licensee shall ensure that the goods vehicle under his control have valid permits for routes on which the vehicle(s) have to ply.(j)that the licensee shall maintain in good condition a weighing device capable of weighing at a time not less than 226 kilograms of weight.(k)that the licensee shall as far as possible attend to his customer in the order in which they approach him:Provided that customer in respect of fresh fruits, vegetable, milk and milk products shall be given priority over other customers;(l)that the licensee shall assign the available traffic amongst the traffic in the order in which they have approached him and shall maintain a register chronologically recording particulars of the available traffic and the waiting operators;(m)that the licensee shall comply with the provisions of these rules and shall observe such other conditions as the licensing authority may specify in the licence;(n)that the licensing authority may after giving notice of not less than one month in writing either vary the conditions of the licence or attach to the licence, further conditions;(o)that the licensee shall keep a complaint book which shall be given to the customers or the operators without any hesitation. It shall be open for inspection by any officer of Transport Department, so empowered by the Commissioner or by police officer in uniform not below the rank of Sub-Inspector. The complaint book shall be produced before the licensing authority at the time of renewal. If there is any serious complaint, the renewal shall be refused;(p)that agent shall display a notice board as under,-"In case of any complaint against the booking agency please inform Commissioner (Transport), Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, 5/9 Under Hill Road, Delhi(q)that agent shall display a rate list, for different types of services provided by him, duly approved by the Commissioner.(10)Particulars to be mentioned in Contract of Agency. - All contracts entered into by the licensee, for the purpose of collecting, forwarding and distributing goods, as the case may be, shall be in writing and shall contain the following particulars namely:(i)names and addresses of the consignors and consignees;(ii)description and weight of the consignment;(iii)destination;(iv)freight per tonne kilometer or for the whole consignment;(v)delivery instructions (e.g. the date by which and the exact place where the goods are to be delivered to the consignee etc.);(vi)terms of the agreement of payment, whether to pay or paid;(vii)name of the owner, driver, the registration number of the vehicle and its authorized load and the rate and amount of commission.(11)Rate of Commission. - The commissioner may, by notification in the Official Gazette, prescribe the maximum rate at which the commission may be charged by the licensees under these rules.(12)Premises to be used. - (a) The Commissioner may in consultation with the local authority or the police authority having jurisdiction over the area concerned, approve any premises owned by or in possession of, a licensee or an applicant for an agent licence to be used for loading or unloading goods or for parking goods vehicles or for the storage of goods in the custody of the agent, having regard to the suitability of the site, sanitary conditions and storage facilities provided at such premises.(b)Any approval under clause(a) of this sub-rule shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:(i)that the premises shall be administered in a seemly and orderly manner;(ii)that the premises shall at all times be kept in a clean condition and good state of repairs;(iii)that the licensee shall take all possible precautions to ensure that no breach of any of the provisions of the Act/Central motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 or of these rules is committed in respect of any vehicle entering or leaving or parking at such premises and shall report any such breach to the nearest police station.(c)Where the Commissioner refuses to approve any premises under Clause (a) of this sub-rule, he shall record in writing his reasons for such refusal.(13)Suspension/Cancellation of Licences. - (a) Without prejudice to any action which may be taken against a licensee, the licensing authority may by order in writing cancel the agent's licence or suspend it for such period as it thinks fit, if in its opinion any of the conditions under which the licence has been granted, has been contravened.(b)The licensing authority may, by order in writing cancel the agent's licence or suspend it for such period as it thinks fit, if in its opinion any of the conditions under which any premises have been approved under this rule have been contravened.(c)Before making any order for suspension or cancellation under this rule, the licencing authority shall give the licensee an opportunity of being heard and shall record reasons in writing for such cancellation or suspension.(14)Issue of Duplicate Licence. - If at any time an agent's licence is lost, destroyed, torn or otherwise defaced to be illegible, the agent shall forthwith apply to the licensing authority for the grant of a duplicate licence. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of Rupees [two hundred] [Substituted vide notification no. F. 19 (74)/Tpt/2000/Sectt./315 dated 23-08-2004.] only. Upon receipt of such an application that authority shall issue a duplicate agent's licence clearly stamped "Duplicate". If a duplicate agent's licence is granted on a representation (in the form of an affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper of value of Rs. 2) that the licence originally granted has been lost or destroyed and if the original licence is subsequently found the original licence shall be surrendered to the licensing authority.(15)Display of Agent's Licence. - (a) A collecting agent shall carry with him his agent's licence while on duty and shall produce it on demand to any inspecting officer of the Transport Department or any police officer in uniform not below the rank of the Sub-inspector.(b)A forwarding agent shall exhibit his agent's licence at a prominent place in the premises approved under this rule and the licence shall be made available for inspection by any inspecting officer of the Transport Department or any police officer in uniform not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector.(c)A collecting and forwarding agent shall carry with him his agent's licence while on duty and shall produce it on demand to any inspecting officer of the Transport Department or any police officer in uniform not below the rank of a Sub-inspector and shall also cause a true copy of his agent's licence to be exhibited at a prominent place in the premises approved under the rule.(16)Position on Suspension/Cancellation of Licence. - (a) The licensing authority can suspend or cancel the licence at any time after giving an opportunity to the licensee of being heard. In such a case the licensee shall stop further booking at once but the goods already booked shall, of course, be forwarded and distributed so that there may be no damage to the goods. This action will be without prejudice to any other action taken.(b)The owner or partner of that booking agency shall not be eligible to apply for fresh licence within three years of its cancellation.(c)On cancellation of the licence the fee paid and the security deposited shall be forfeited.(17)Appeals. - (i) Any person aggrieved by any order made under this rule may appeal to the Secretary (Transport) within thirty days from the date of the receipt of such order.(ii)The memorandum of appeal shall be filed in duplicate setting forth concisely the grounds of objection and shall be accompanied by a certified copy of that order and fee of Rupees five hundred only.Provided that a memorandum of appeal shall not relate to more than one order or be signed by more than one party.(18)Regarding levies of Fees for Supply of copies of documents by Transport Department. - The authority which passes an order to be appealed against shall, on an application by a party, give a certified copy of the order or of any other relevant document on payment of a fee at the rate of Rupees [twenty five] [Substituted vide notification no. F. 19 (74)/Tpt/2000/Sectt./315 dated 23-08-2004.] per-page per-copy.
