Activities of the society will be strictly in accordance with the provisions of the Societies Registration Act 1860.

BYE- LAWS OF THE SOCIETY

BYE- LAWS OF THE SOCIETY

 

1. Name:

The name of the Society shall be Indian Society for Spices (ISS).

2. Address:

Indian Society for Spices
C/o. ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research,
Marikunnu Post, Kozhikode-673 012, Kerala.

3. Area of operation:

Throughout India with registered office at Kozhikode and Membership open to people allover India and abroad.

4. Aims and objectives:

i. To provide a common forum for the workers in spices, aromatic plants and allied crops for purposeful exchange of ideas,

ii. To publish an International Journal which shall be called Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops (JOSAC) as vehicle for speedy publication of research results,

iii. To encourage interaction among Scientists of different organizations in India,

iv. To organize symposia, conference, workshops etc., on spices, aromatic and related crops,

v. To act as an effective catalytic link between the research and developmental organizations on one hand and the industry and trade on the other, and

vi. To further the concept of a common brotherhood among research workers, developmental workers, farmers, industrialists, traders and the consumers of spices, aromatic plants and allied crops.

5. Membership:

i. Membership of the Society shall be open to all individuals, institutions, industries, business and trade organizations interested in spices, aromatic plants and allied crops. They can become members of the society by informing the Secretary in writing and paying the prescribed subscription.

ii. There shall be five classes of members viz., (a) Ordinary; (b) Life; (c) Institutional; (d) Sustaining and (e) Patron Members.

iii. Honorary patrons: There shall be provision for honorary patrons.

(a)  ORDINARY MEMBERS are those who pay annual subscription of Rs. 1,000/- for residents in India & other SAARC countries and US $ 50/- for residents of other countries (The membership subscription is subject to change based on time to time decisions by Executive council or General Body).

(b)  LIFE MEMBERS are those who pay sum of Rs. 5,000/- for residents in India & other SAARC counties and US $ 500/- for residents of other countries (The membership subscription is subjected to change based on time to time decisions by Executive council or General Body).

(c)  INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP is open to any institution- research, development, teaching, which are interested in production, trade or utilization of spices or aromatic plants. Institutions shall become members by paying a subscription of Rs. 10,000/- for those within India & other SAARC countries and US$ 2500/- for institutional of other countries.

(d)  SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIP is open to individuals, industries, trade establishments, research institutes, universities or other organizations interested in spices or aromatic plants. For sustaining Membership, an amount of Rs. 25,000/- for individuals or organizations within India & other SAARC countries or US $ 5000/- for individuals or organizations of other counties should be paid.

(e)  Any individual or organization shall become a PATRON of the Society by depositing an amount of Rs. 50,000/- (for individuals or organizations within India & other SARC countries) or US $ 20,000/- (for individuals or organizations of other countries) (The membership subscription is subject to change based on time to time decisions by Executive council or General Body).

(f)   HONORARY PATRONS: The society shall confer the title of Honorary  patrons to one who s a distinguished Scientist in the field of Agricultural or Horticultural research, or to one who has contributed significantly to the cause of spice or aromatic crops- research, development, industry or export. In any such case, the Executive shall move a resolution to this effect in the General Body which shall by a majority, decide to confer the title of Honorary Patron of the Society. Once this title is conferred, a printed declaration to this effect shall be presented to the individual.

(g)  To publish articles in JOSAC all authors must be a member of the Society.

6. Privileges of Members:

(a)  Ordinary and Life Members have the right to vote and hold office and shall be further entitled to receive the issues of the Journal of the Society and any other publications of the Society as the Executive Council may determine. Voting by proxy shall not be permissible.

(b)  Institutional Members shall have all the privileges of the ordinary and Life members. An Institutional Members shall exercise the voting power though its head or by its duly authorized nominee.

(c)  Sustaining Members shall have all the privileges of the Ordinary and Life Members (In additional, their names will be printed in the first issues of the Journal every year. Once every year, if desired by the members, a full- page advertisement in black and white will be inserted free of cost in society Newsletter) They shall be entitled for 20% concession on colour advertisement rates. The sustaining individual member shall exercise the voting right though its head or by this duly authorized nominee. They shall be issued with a printed certificate declaring their membership of Society.

(d)  Patron Members shall have all the privileges of other classes of members. In addition, the name of these members will be printed in all the issues of the Journal. If desired, one full- page advertisement in black white will be inserted in Society Newsletter. The voting rights will be as in the case of Sustaining Members. They shall also be issued with a printed certificate declaring their Membership in the Society.

(e)  The annual subscription of Ordinary Members shall be payable before the 31^st March every year. The Life Membership subscription shall be payable in one lumpusm or one- fourth of the subscription and admission fees along with the application for Membership and the balance amount in three equal installments within one year form the date of enrollment. For members outside India, the membership fee is payable in a single installment.

7. Financial Year:

The financial year of the Society shall be from 1^st April to 31^st March.

8. The Executive Council:

a.   There shall be an Executive Council, which shall carry on all the affairs of the Society.

b.   The term of office of the Executive Council shall be two years.

c.   The Executive Councils shall consist of President, two Vice- Presidents, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasure, five elected members and five nominated members,.  The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal will be an ex- officio member of the Council.

d.   The President, one Vice- President, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Treasurer and five Executive Councillors will be elected by the General Body.

e.  On Vice- President and five members shall be nominated by the elected Executive Council. The Executive Council should take care in giving representation to various interests and regions in the Council.

f.    The time of retirement of the office bears shall be the date of the General Body Meeting following the election.

g.    The Executive Council shall have the powers to fill up the interim vacancies in the Council by nomination for the unexpired period of the term.

h.    None of the elected office bearers shall be eligible for more than two successive terms (four years) for the same office.

i.    The President or one of the Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer will be from the headquarters (ICAR-IISR) for purpose of easy co-ordination and smooth the functioning of the Society.

j.    No member of the Executive Council or Editorial Board shall receive any salary, honorarium or other payment from the Society.

9. Powers of the Executive Council :

The Executive Council shall have the following powers subject to the provisions of the Rules and Bye- Laws of the Society:

1. To fix membership fee for the Society and the subscription to the Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops,

2. To fix the subscription charges of the journal,

3. To levy and receive advertisement charges for advertisement in the journal,

4. To receive donations, grants etc. for conducting seminars, symposia and for publication etc.,

5. To invest the funds of the Society,

6. To incur expenses to carry on the work of the Society, and

7. To do all such other acts and things, weather incidental to the powers aforesaid or not, as may be required in order to further the objectives of Society.

10. Duties of the President:

A. The President shall preside over the Executive and General Body Meetings.

B. The President shall advise and direct the Secretary in the day-to-day affairs of the Society.

11. Duties of the Secretary:

The Secretary shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Society. He shall record the proceedings of the Executive Council and General Body and shall perform all other duties pertaining to the functions of the Society. The Joint Secretary shall help the Secretary in the management of the affairs of the Society. The Secretary shall be the publisher of the Journal.

12. Duties of the Treasurer:

The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial affairs of the Society. He shall keep accounts, receive deposits and disburse money on behalf of the Society. A savings bank account shall be opened in a scheduled bank and will be operated jointly by any two of the three office bearers viz., President, Secretary, Treasurer. He may keep with him at any time not more than 1% of the total fixed deposit amount in the bank remitted as per Rule 19 (i), for the day-to-day expenditure of the Society. All accounts of the Society shall be audited by an Auditor appointed by the General Body. The Treasurer shall present the audit report of the previous years at the time of the General Body meeting with his remarks on the report.

13. Advisory Committee:

The Society and the Journal will have separate ‘Advisory Committee’ nominated by the Executive Council. The Advisory Board of ISS should include well known authorities in the field of spices, aromatic and allied crops, research, development, management and industry. The Advisory Committee of the Journal should be include well known Scientist representing various disciplines. The Executive Council should see that various disciplines are represented in the Advisory Board.

14. Editorial Board:

i) The Editorial Board shall consist of a Editor-in-Chief, Editor, Assistant Editor and a maximum of 15 members nominated by the Executive Council for a three-years term. The Executive Council shall have the authority to change the Editor-in-Chief, Editor or any member of the Editorial Board including the reconstitution of the Editorial Board. They shall have the powers to nominate an Associate Editor.

ii) The Editor-in-Chief and Editor in consultation with the Executive Council shall nominate an Assistant Editor. In the absence of the Editor-in-Chief, the Editor shall look after the functions of the Editor-in-Chief.

iii) The Editorial and advertisement policies shall be decided by the Executive Council. The Editorial Board shall have full authority to decide on any technical matters relating to the publication of the Journal. The Secretary of ISS shall be the publisher of the Journal.

iv) In case of any dispute regarding editorial, publication or advertisement matters, the decision of the Executive Council shall be final.

15. Meetings of the Executive Council:

i) Council meetings shall be held periodically at the discretion of the President or on the request of One-Third of the members of the Council. There shall be a minimum of two Executive Council meetings in a year.

ii) The date, venue and time of meeting shall be notified by the Secretary to each member of the Council at least fifteen days before the date on which such meetings are to be held. Non-receipt of such notice or postal delay in reaching in the notice to any member shall not invalidate the proceedings of such meetings. Seven members shall form the QUORUM.

iii) Extraordinary meeting of the Council shall be called by the President on requisition signed by any five members of the Council or at his own discretion when he shall direct the Secretary to issue notice for the purpose.

iv) The immediate past Secretary shall be a special invitee for all the Executive Council meetings. The president may also invite any other member to attend the Executive Council Meeting as a special invitee. Special invitees shall not have voting powers.

16. General Body Meeting of the Society:

The General Body of the Society shall meet at least once in a year, in April or May.

i) The time, date and venue of the General Body Meeting shall be arranged by the Executive council. The venue will be fixed by the Executive Council according to facilities and convenience of the members.

ii) The agenda for the General Body Meeting shall be circulated at least ONE MONTH in advance.

iii) An extraordinary meeting of the Society shall be convened in ONE- THIRD of the members of the Society send a signed requisition to the Secretary for such a meeting. An emergency or extraordinary meeting of the General Body may be called by the Council by giving the members 30 DAYS’ NOTICE.

iv) Meetings of the Society shall be presided over by the President or in his absence, the elected Vice –President. In the absence of the both President and elected Vice-President, the meetings of the Society shall be presided over by the nominated Vice-President or by one member of the Council elected at the meeting for the purpose. ONE FIFTH ON THE MEMBERS SHALL FORM THE QUORUM.  In absence of quorum, the meeting should be adjourned for the next day to meet at the same time.

17. Meeting of the Editorial Board:

i) Meeting of the Editorial Board shall be held at the time of the General Body Meeting of the Society, if desired by the President.

ii) Ordinary meeting of the Editorial Board may be called by the Editor.

18. Election of Office Bearers:

1) All elections to the office shall take place only at the time of the General Body Meeting of the Society as laid down by clause 18 (b). The Executive Council will co-opt members to fill up interim vacancies.

2) The following procedure shall be adopted for all the elections to office: The Executive council shall appoint a Returning officer fro conducting the election. The Secretary shall circulate a list of members Three months before the General Body Meeting and shall invite nominations from members. The nominations need not be seconded by another member. The Secretary or the Returning Officer shall ascertain the willingness of the nominee for the office. The list of members contesting shall be circulated at least 30 days before the General Body Meeting. If nominations are lacking for any office, the election to such office shall be carried out at the General Body itself.

3) VOTING SHALL BE BY SECRET BALLOT:  Ballot paper shall be supplied by the Secretary or the Returning officer which should be returned to the Returning Officer before the date fixed for the purpose.

4) Votes shall be scrutinized by the Returning officer and person/persons nominated by Executive Council. The result shall be announced at the General Body Meeting.

5) A majority shall elect. Tie shall be decided by drawing lots.

6) All retiring office bearers shall be eligible for re-elections, subject to the condition prescribed in clause 8 (h).

7) For the sake of functional advantages, the President or one of the Vice- Presidents, secretary and Treasurer will be from the Headquarters (ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode)

8) A list of members with their occupation and address shall be field with district Registrar of societies within one month form the General Body Meeting.

9) A member may withdraw from the Society by intimating his desire to do so in a letter addressed to the Secretary. The Secretary, however, shall not be liable to return any fee that may have been paid by the member in advance.

10) Any members who defaults payment of subscription to the Society for a period of more than one year ceases to be a member. The membership fee is always payable in advance.

11) Ordinary members who have not paid annual subscription by 31^st March of each year shall not be eligible to vote or contest for an elected office nor eligible for nomination to any office.

19. Funds:

The funds of the Society shall consist of:

1. Admission fee,

2. Annual subscription of members,

3. Life Membership fee,

4. Institutional Membership fee,

5. Deposits from Sustaining members,

6. Deposits from Distinguished Patron members,

7. Donations,

8. Grant-in-aid form Government Institutions, Societies or individuals interested in the work of the Society,

9. Subscription to the Journal of the Society and sale proceeds of the publications,

10. Charges for publishing advertisements in the publications of the Society and

11. Any other sources as determined by the Executive Council.

The fixed deposits of the Society shall be invested in any Scheduled Bank/Unit Trust/ Post office and /or National Savings Certifications or in similar savings at the discretion of the Executive Council in the best interest of the Society.

20. Head quarters:

The head quarters of the Society shall be located at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Marikunnu Post, Kozhikode-673 012, Kerala, India. Any legal proceedings against the Society shall be admissible only at Kozhikode.

21. Suits:

All suits by or against  the Society shall be instituted in the name of the society through the Secretary and shall be filed in a court of low at Kozhikode (Kerala, India) which is the registered headquarters of the Society.

22. Amendments:

The above rules may be amended at any General Body Meeting of the Society by three-Fifth (3/5) majority of the members present and voting for the amendment as per Sec, 12 of the Societies Act. Any amendment proposed by a member should be forwarded to the Secretary THREE MONTHS in advance of the General Body Meeting for circulation among the member. No amendments of the memorandum of rules and regulations will be made without prior approval of the Commissioner of Income tax.

23. Dissolution:

The Society shall be dissolved by a Three-Fourth Majority decision of the total members of the society. The debts and assets of the society in case of any such dissolution shall not be paid or disturbed among the members but shall not be paid or distributed among the members but shall be given to some other Registered Society in India having similar objectives. In the event of dissolution the net assets if any after satisfying all the debt and liabilities shall either be transferred to Societies having the same or similar objectives or shall be vested with the Government as per the Societies Act XXI of 1860 under section 13, 14.

Certified that the details given above are the true copy of the Bye-laws of the Indian society for spices. Also certify that there is no other Society functioning in India having the same name or objectives.

24. ISS Fellowship:

Executive Council is authorized to select initially 15 fellows form active ISS life/ordinary members who have not crossed 65 years of age.