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The
Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant
Foods
(Regulation
of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992
As
Amended in 2003
Vide
The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles
and Infant Foods
(Regulation
of Production, Supply and Distribution) Act,
1992
No.
38 of 2003
An
Act to amend the Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding
Bottles and Infants Foods (Regulation of Production,
Supply and Distribution) Act, 1992. It provides
for the regulation of production, supply and
distribution of infant milk substitutes, feeding
bottles and infant foods with a view to the
protection and promotion of breastfeeding and
ensuring the proper use of infant foods and
for matters connected therewith or incidental
thereto.
Be
it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-fourth
Year of the Republic of India as follows: -
1.
(1)
This Act may be called the Infant Milk Substitutes,
Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation
of Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment
Act, 2003.
(2)
It extends to the whole of India.
(3)
It shall come into force on such
date as the Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires, -
(a)
"advertisement" includes any notice,
circular, label, wrapper or any other document
or visible representation or announcement
made by means of any light, sound, smoke or
gas or by means of electronic transmission or
by audio or visual transmission;
(b)
"container" means a box, bottle,
casket, tin, can, barrel, case, tube, receptacle,
sack, wrapper or other thing in which any infant
milk substitute, feeding bottle or infant food
is placed or packed for sale or distribution;
(c)
"feeding bottle" means ant bottle
or receptacle used for the purpose of feeding
infant milk substitutes, and includes a teat
and a valve attached or capable of being attached
to such bottle or receptacle;
(d)
"health
care system" means an institution or organisation
engaged, either directly or indirectly, in health
care for mothers, infants or pregnant women,
and includes a health workers in private practice,
a pharmacy, drug store and any association of
health workers;
(e)
"health worker" means a person engaged
in health care for mothers, infants or pregnant
women;
(f)
"infant food" means any food (by
whatever name called) being marketed or otherwise
represented as a complement to mother's milk
to meet the growing nutritional needs of the
infant after the age of six months and up to
the age of two years;
(g)
"infant milk substitute" means any
food being marketed or otherwise represented
as a partial or total replacement for mother's
milk, for infant up to the age of two years
(h)
"label"
means a display of written, marked, stamped,
printed or graphed matter affixed to, or appearing
upon, any container;
(i)
"prescribed" means prescribed by
rules made under this Act.
(j)
"promotion" means to employ directly
or indirectly any method of encouraging any
person to purchase or use infant milk substitute,
feeding bottle or infant food.
(2)
Any reference in this Act to any
other enactment or any provision thereof, shall,
in relation to an area in which such enactment
or such provision is not in force, be construed
as a reference to the corresponding law or the
relevant provision of the corresponding law,
if any, in force in that area.
3.
No person shall -
(a)
advertise, or take part in the publication
of any advertisement, for the distribution,
sale or supply of infant milk substitutes feeding bottles or infant foods; or
(b)
give an impression or create a belief
in any manner that feeding of
infant milk substitutes and infant foods
are equivalent to, or better than, mother's
milk; or
(c)
take part in the promotion of infant milk substitutes,
feeding bottles or infant foods;
4.
No person shall -
(a)
supply or distribute samples of infant
milk substitutes or feeding bottles or infant
foods gifts of utensils or other articles; or
(b)
contact any pregnant woman or the
mother of an infant; or
(c)
offer inducement of any other kind,
for
the purpose of promoting the use or sale of
infant milk substitutes or
feeding bottles or infant foods.
5.
Subject to the provisions of sub-section
(4) of section 8, no person shall donate or
distribute -
(a)
infant milk substitutes or
feeding bottles or infant foods to any
other person except to an orphanage;
(b)
any informational or educational
equipment or material relating to infant milk
substitutes or
feeding bottles or infant foods;
Provided
that nothing in this clause shall apply to the
donation or distribution, subject to such conditions
and restrictions as may be prescribed, of such
equipment or material through the health care
system.
6.
(1)
Without prejudice to the provisions of the Prevention
of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and the rules
made thereunder, no person shall produce, supply
or distribute any infant milk substitute or
infant food unless every container thereof or
any label affixed thereto indicates in a clear,
conspicuous and in an easily readable and understandable
manner, the words "important notice" in capital
letters in such language as may be prescribed
and indicating thereunder the following particulars
in the same language, namely:-
(a)
a statement "mother's milk is best
for your baby" in capital letters;
(b)
a statement that infant milk substitute
or infant food should be used only on the advice
of a health worker as to the need for its use
and the proper method of its use;
(c)
a warning that infant milk substitute
or infant food is not the sole source of nourishment
of an infant;
(d)
the instructions for its appropriate
preparation and a warning against the health
hazards of its inappropriate preparation;
(e)
the ingredients used;
(f)
the composition or analysis;
(g)
the storage conditions required;
(h)
the batch number, date of its manufacture
and the date before which it is to be consumed,
taking into account the climatic and storage
conditions of the country;
(i)
such other particulars as may be
prescribed.
(2)
No container or label referred to
in sub-section (1) relating to infant milk substitute
or infant food shall -
(a)
have pictures of an infant or a woman
or both; or
(b)
have pictures or other graphic material
or phrases designed to increase the saleability
of infant milk substitutes or infant food ;
or
(c)
use on it the word "humanised" or
"maternalised" or any other similar word; or
(d)
bear on it such other particulars
as may be prescribed.
7.
(1)
Every
educational or other material including advertisements
or material relating to promotion of infant
milk substitues, feeding bottles and infant
foods whether audio or visual, dealing with
pre-natal or post-natal care or with the feeding
of an infant and intended to reach pregnant
women or mothers of infants shall include clear
information relating to -
(a)
the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding;
(b)
the preparation for, and the continuance
of, breastfeeding;
(c)
the harmful effects on breast-feeding
due to the partial adoption of bottle feeding;
(d)
the difficulties in reverting to
breastfeeding of infants after a period of feeding
by infant milk substitute;
(e)
the financial and social implications
in making use of infant milk substitutes and
feeding bottles;
(f)
the health hazards of improper use
of infant milk substitutes and feeding bottles;
(fa)
the date of printing and publication of such
material and the name of the printer and publisher;
(g)
such other matters as may be prescribed.
(2)
No material referred to in sub-section
(1) shall be utilised to promote the use or
sale of infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles
or infant foods.
8.
(1)
No person shall use any health care system for
the display of placards or posters relating
to, or for the distribution of, materials for
the purpose of promoting the use or sale of
infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles or
infant foods:
Provided
that the provisions of this sub-section shall
not apply to -
(a)
the donation or distribution of informational
or educational equipment or material made in
accordance with the proviso to clause (b) of
section 5; and
(b)
the dissemination of information
to a health worker about the scientific and
factual matters relating to the use of infant
milk substitutes or feeding bottles or infant
foods along with the information specified in
sub-section (1) of section 7.
(2)
No person who produces, supplies,
distributes or sells infant milk substitutes
or feeding bottles or infant foods shall make
any payment to any person who works in the health
care system for the purpose of promoting the
use or sale of such substitutes or bottles or
foods.
(3)
No person, other than a health worker, shall
demonstrate feeding with infant milk substitutes
or infant foods to a mother of an infant or
to any member of her family and such health
worker shall also clearly explain to such mother
or such other member the hazards of improper
use of infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles
or infant foods.
(4)
No person, other than an institution or organisation,
engaged in health care for mothers, infants
or pregnant women, shall distribute infant milk
substitutes or feeding bottles to a mother who
cannot resort to breastfeeding and who cannot
afford to purchase infant milk substitutes or
feeding bottles.
(5)
An orphanage may purchase infant milk substitutes
or feeding bottles at a price lower than their
sale price for the purpose of utilising them
in the said orphanage.
Explanation
- For the purposes of this sub-section,
such purchases shall not amount to an inducement
for promoting the use or sale of infant milk
substitutes or feeding bottles.
9.
(1)
No person who produces, supplies, distributes
or sells infant milk substitutes or feeding
bottles or infant foods shall offer or give,
directly or indirectly, any financial inducements
or gifts to a health worker or to any member
of his family for the purpose of promoting the
use of such substitutes or bottles or foods.
(2)
No producer, supplier or distributor referred
to in sub-section (1), shall offer or give any
contribution or pecuniary benefit to a health
worker or any association of health workers,
including funding of seminar, meeting, conferences,
educational course, contest, fellowship, research
work or sponsorship.
10.
(1)
No person who produces, supplies, distributes
or sells infant milk substitutes or feeding
bottles or infant foods shall fix the remuneration
of any of his employees or give any commission
to such employees on the basis of the volume
of sale of such substitutes or bottles or foods
made by such employees.
(2)
The employees of such person shall not perform
any function which relates to educating a pregnant
woman or mother of an infant on pre-natal or
post-natal care of the infant.
11.
(1)
No person shall sell or otherwise distribute
any infant milk substitute or infant food unless
it conforms to the standards, specified for
such substitute or food under the Prevention
of Food Adulteration Act, 1954, and the rules
made thereunder and the container thereof has
the relevant Standard Mark specified by the
Bureau of India Standards established under
section 3 of the Bureau of Indian Standards
Act, 1986 to indicate that the infant milk substitute
or infant food conforms to such standards:
Provided
that where no standards have been specified
for any infant milk substitute or infant food
under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act,
1954, no person shall sell or otherwise distribute
such substitute or food unless he has obtained
the approval of the Central Government in relation
to such substitute or food and the label affixed
to the container thereof under the rules made
under that Act.
(2)
No person shall sell or otherwise distribute
any feeding bottle unless it conforms to the
Standard Mark specified by the Bureau of Indian
Standards referred to in sub-section (1) for
feeding bottles and such mark is affixed on
its container.
12.
(1)
Any food inspector appointed under section 9
of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954
(hereinafter referred to as the food inspector)
or any officer not below the rank of a Class
I officer authorised in this behalf by the State
Government (hereinafter referred to as the authorised
officer) may, if he has any reason to believe
that any provision of section 6 or section 11
has been or is being contravened, enter and
search at any reasonable time any factory, building,
business premises or any other place where any
trade or commerce in infant milk substitutes
or feeding bottles or infant foods is carried
on or such substitutes or bottles or foods are
produced, supplied or distributed.
(2) The provisions of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, relating to
searches and seizures shall, so far as may be,
apply to every search or seizure made under
this Act.
13.
(1)
If any food inspector or authorised officer
has reason to believe that in respect of any
infant milk substitute or feeding bottle or
infant food or container thereof, the provisions
of this Act have been or are being contravened,
he may seize such substitute or bottle or food
or container.
(2) No such substitute
or food or bottle or container shall be retained
by any food inspector or authorised officer
for a period exceeding ninety days from the
date of its seizure unless the approval of the
District Judge, within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction such seizure has been made, has
been obtained for such retention.
14.
Any infant milk substitute or feeding
bottle or infant food or container thereof,
in respect of which any provision of this Act
has been or is being contravened, shall be liable
to confiscation:
Provided
that where it is established to the satisfaction
of the court adjudging the confiscation that
the person in whose possession, power or control
any such substitute or bottle or food or container
is found is not responsible for the contravention
of the provisions of this Act, the court may,
instead of making an order for the confiscation
of such substitute or bottle or food or container,
make such other order authorised by this Act
against the person guilty of the breach of the
provisions of this Act as it may think fit.
15.
(1)
Whenever any confiscation is authorised by this
Act the court adjudging it may, subject to such
conditions as may be specified in the order
adjudging the confiscation, give to the owner
thereof an option to pay in lieu of confiscation
such cost not exceeding the value of the infant
milk substitute or feeding bottle or infant
food or container thereof in respect of which
the confiscation is authorised as the court
thinks fit.
(2) On payment of the cost ordered by the court the seized infant
milk substitute or feeding bottle or infant
food or container shall be returned to the person
from whom it was seized on the condition that
such person shall, before making any distribution,
sale or supply of such substitute or bottle
or food or container, give effect to the provisions
of this Act.
16.
No confiscation made or cost ordered
to be paid under this Act shall prevent the
infliction of any punishment to which the person
affected thereby is liable under the provisions
of this Act or under any other law.
17.
Any confiscation may be adjudged
or costs may be ordered to be paid, -
(a)
without any limit, by the principal
civil court of original jurisdiction within
the local limits of whose jurisdiction such
confiscation has been made or costs have been
ordered to be paid, as the case may be;
(b)
subject to such limits as may be
specified by the Central Government in this
behalf, by such other court, not below a civil
court having pecuniary jurisdiction exceeding
five thousand rupees, as the Central Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
authorise in this behalf.
18.
(1)
No order adjudicating confiscation or directing
payment of costs shall be made unless the owner
of the infant milk substitute or feeding bottle
or infant food or container thereof has been
given a notice in writing informing him of the
grounds on which it is proposed to confiscate
such substitute or bottle or food or container
and giving him a reasonable opportunity of making
a representation in writing, within such reasonable
time as may be specified in the notice, against
the confiscation and if he so desires, of being
heard in the matter:
Provided
that where no such notice is given within a
period of ninety days from the date of the seizure
of the infant milk substitute or feeding bottle
or infant food or container thereof, such substitute
or bottle or food or container shall be returned
after the expiry of that period to the person
from whose possession it was seized.
(2) Save as otherwise provided
in sub-section (1), the provisions of the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908, shall, so far as may
be, apply to every proceeding referred to in
sub-section (1).
19.
(1)
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the
court adjudicating a confiscation or ordering
the payment of costs may prefer an appeal to
the court to which an appeal lies from the decision
of such court.
(2) The appellate court
may, after giving the appellant an opportunity
of being heard, pass such order as it thinks
fit confirming, modifying or revising the decision
or order appealed against or may send back the
case with such directions as it may think fit
for a fresh decision or adjudication, as the
case may be, after taking additional evidence
if necessary:
Provided
that an order enhancing any fine in lieu of
confiscation or for confiscating goods of greater
value shall not be made under this section unless
the appellant has had an opportunity of making
a representation and if he so desires of being
heard in his defence.
(3)
No further appeal shall lie against
the order of the court made under sub-sector
(2).
20.
(1)
Any person who contravenes the provisions
of section 3,4,5,7,8,9,10 or sub-section (2)
of section
11 and the rules made under section 26 of the
Act shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which may extend to three years, or with
fine which may extend to five thousand rupees,
or with both.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of section 6 or sub-sector
(1) of
section 11 and the rules made under section
26 of the Act shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which shall not be less than six
months but which may extend to three years and
with fine which shall not be less than two thousand
rupees.
Provided
that the court may, for any adequate and special
reasons to be mentioned in the judgement, impose
a sentence of imprisonment for 44 Law - 2, a
term which shall not be less than three months
but which may extend to two years and with fine
which shall not be less than one thousand rupees.
21.
(1)
Save as otherwise provided in section 173 of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, no court
shall take cognizance of any offence punishable
under this Act except upon a complaint in writing
made by -
(a)
a person authorised in this behalf
under sub-section (1) of section 20 of the Prevention
of Food Adulteration Act, 1954; or
(b)
an officer not below the rank of
a Class I officer authorised in this behalf,
by general or special order, by the Government;
or
(c)
a representative of such voluntary
organisation engaged in the field of child welfare
and development and child nutrition as the Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
authorise in this behalf.
(2) Where a complaint has
been made by a representative of the voluntary
organisation authorised under clause (c) of
sub-section (1) and the court has issued a summons
or, as the case may be, a warrant under sub-section
(1) of section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973, the Assistant Public Prosecutor for that
court shall take charge of the case and conduct
the prosecution.
22.
(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,
if he proves that the offence was committed
without his knowledge or that he had exercised
all due diligence to prevent the commission
of such offence.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in
sub-section (1), where any 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 that offence
and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and punished accordingly.
Explanation
- For the purposes 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.
23.
Notwithstanding anything contained
in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, an
offence punishable under this Act shall be -
(a)
bailable;
(b)
cognizable.
24.
No suit, prosecution or other legal
proceeding shall lie against the Central Government
or any State Government or any officer of the
Central Government
or a representative of such voluntary
organisation which is notified under clause
(c) of
sub-section (1) of section 21 for anything which
is in good faith done or intended to be done
under this Act.
25.
The provisions of this Act, or the
rules made thereunder shall be in addition to,
and not in derogation of, the Prevention of
Food Adulteration Act, 1954, or the rules made
thereunder.
26.
(1)
The Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry
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 conditions and restrictions subject
to which educational equipment and other material
may be donated or distributed under the provision
to clause (b) of section 5;
(b)
the language in which the notice
and other particulars shall be indicated under
sub-section (1) of section 6;
(c)
the particulars which are to be indicated
under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section
6;
(d)
the particulars which a container
or label shall not bear under clause (d) of
sub-section (2) of section 6;
(e)
the matters to be included in the
information which reaches pregnant women or
mothers of infants under clause (g) of
sub-section (1) of section 7;
(f)
any other matter which is required
to be, or may be, prescribed.
(4)
Every rule made under this Act shall
be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,
before each House of Parliament, while it is
in section, 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 both Houses agree that the rule
should not be made, the rule 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.
Subhash
C. Jain,
Secy.
To the Govt of India
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