3. (1) As soon as may be after the commencement of this Ordinance, the Government shall establish a Board to be called the Bangladesh Tea Board. (2) The Board shall be a body corporate by the name of the Bangladesh Tea Board, having perpetual succession and a common seal, with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable, and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

4. ¹[(1) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:-(a) a Chairman to be appointed by the Government;(b) two whole time members to be appointed by the Government;(c) Chairman, Bangladeshiyo Cha Sangsad, ex-officio;(d) Chairman, Tea Traders Association of Bangladesh, ex-officio;(e) Joint Secretary (Export), Ministry of Commerce, ex-officio;(f) Commissioner, Chittagong Division, ex-officio;(g) Chief Conservator of Forests, ex-officio;(h) one member to be appointed by the Government from among tea brokers;(i) two members to be appointed by the Government from among tea planters.] (2) The Chairman shall be ²[a whole-time officer and the chief executive] of the Board and shall be responsible for the efficient management, control and conduct of the affairs of the Board. (3) [Omitted by section 2 of the Tea (Amendment) Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance No. XV of 1986).] (4) ³[An appointed member] shall, subject to the other provisions of this section, hold office for a term of three years, and shall be eligible for re-appointment. (5) ⁴[An appointed member] may, at any time, resign his office by notice in writing addressed to the Government: Provided that no resignation shall take effect until it has been accepted by the Government. (6) The Government may, at any time, by order in writing, terminate the appointment of any member without assigning any reason. (7) [Omitted by section 2 of the Tea (Amendment) Ordinance, 1986 (Ordinance No. XV of 1986).] (8) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalid merely on the ground of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Board.

5. (1) The Board shall be subject to the superintendence and control of the Government and, in the discharge of its functions, shall be guided by such general or special instructions as may, from time to time, be given to it by the Government. (2) The Government may cancel, suspend or modify, as it thinks fit, any act of the Board, and the records of the Board shall be open to inspection by any officer authorised by the Government in this behalf.

6. (1) The affairs of the Board shall generally be conducted in accordance with the decision of the majority of its members. (2) The decisions of the Board shall be taken at the meetings of its members; and to constitute a quorum at a meeting, the Chairman and ⁵[any three other members] shall be present. (3) At the meetings of the Board, each member shall have one vote and, in the event of equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote. (4) The decisions of the Board shall forthwith be transmitted to the Government.

7. The functions of the Board shall be-(a) to regulate, control and promote the cultivation and export of tea;(b) to regulate and control the sale of tea;(c) to fix grading standards of tea and provide for training in tea tasting;(d) to take measures to improve the quality of tea;(e) to collect statistics from growers, manufacturers or dealers of tea or other persons on any matter relating to tea and tea industry;(f) to organise and assist in special research connected with tea cultivation and tea industry;(g) to promote co-operative efforts amongst growers;(h) to undertake, assist or encourage scientific, technological, and economic research and maintain and assist in the maintenance of demonstration farms and manufacturing stations for promotion of tea and other economic crops;(i) to issue registration of estates; and to grant licences to the owners of estates and to the manufacturers, brokers, tea waste dealers, persons dealing in tea as bidder, importer, wholesaler and retailer and persons engaged in the business of blending tea;(j) to undertake such business, or to acquire, takeover or manage the business of such concern, as the Government may direct;(k) to establish new tea gardens, to acquire and rehabilitate derelict tea gardens in accordance with such schemes as may be approved by the Government, and generally to render assistance to the existing tea gardens and to improve their production;(l) to take measures for proper utilisation of the land available in the tea gardens in excess of the area under tea cultivation;(m) to undertake welfare measures for tea garden labourers and employees; and(n) to take such measures as may appear to it to be advisable in the interest of tea industry of Bangladesh and to perform such other functions as the Government may, from time to time, direct.

8. There shall be levied and collected from the owners of estates, for the purposes of this Ordinance, a cess on all tea produced in Bangladesh at such rate not exceeding ten poisha for every Taka realised from the sale of tea as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, fix.

9. (1) The proceeds of the cess after deducting the cost of collection, if any, shall be paid to the Board and shall be applied by the Board for meeting the expenses of measures taken in the performance of its functions, for payment of contributions to any international organisation connected with tea and for contributing towards a contributory provident fund constituted and maintained in such manner as may be prescribed for the benefit of the employees of the Board. (2) The Board may, subject to any rules made in this behalf, borrow on the security of the cess for any purpose for which it is authorised under sub-section (1).

10. The Government may make grants or give loans from the Consolidated Fund to the Board to carry out its functions and may, subject to such conditions as it may impose, authorise the Board to give loans to any person, firm or company at concessional rates for the improvement and expansion of estates or tea factories and to borrow money from banks on the security of the assets of its gardens.

11. (1) The Board shall publish annual reports and shall keep regular accounts of all moneys received and expended by it. (2) The accounts shall be audited every year by auditors approved in this behalf by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of Bangladesh and such auditors shall have power to disallow any item which has, in their opinion, been expended otherwise than for the purpose of this Ordinance. (3) A statement of the accounts as audited together with a report on its activities shall be furnished by the Board to the Government as soon as possible after the end of each financial year.