The Poisons Act, 1919

(1) This Act may be called the Poisons Act, 1919. 1[(2) It extends to the whole of India: Provided that it shall not apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir* except to the extent to which theprovisions of this Act relate to the importation into India of any specified poison.]

(1)1*** The State Government may by rule regulate within the whole or any part of the territories under itsadministration the possession for sale and the sale, whether wholesale or retail, of any specified poison. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules mayprovide for-- (a) the grant of licences to possess any specified poison for sale, wholesale or retail, and fixing ofthe fee (if any) to be charged for such licences ; (b) the classes of persons to whom alone such licences may be granted ; (c) the classes of persons to whom alone any such poison may be sold ; (d) the maximum quantity of any such poison which may be sold to any one person ; (e) the maintenance by vendors of any such poison of registers of sales, the particulars to beentered in such registers, and the inspection of the same ; (f) the safe custody of such poisons and the labelling of the vessels, packages or coverings inwhich any such poison is sold or possessed for sale ; and (g) the inspection and examination of any such poison when possessed for sale by any suchvendor.

TheCentral Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, prohibit, except under and in accordancewith the conditions of a licence, the importation into 1[India] 2[across any customs frontier3defined by theCentral Government] of any specified poison, and may by rule regulate the grant of licences.

(1) The State Government 1***may by rule regulate on the possession of any specified poison in any local area in which the use of suchpoison for the purpose of committing murder or mischief by poisoning cattle appears to it to be of suchfrequent occurrence as to render restrictions on the possession thereof desirable. (2) In making any rule under sub-section (1), the State Government may direct that any breachthereof shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with finewhich may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both, together with confiscation of the poison inrespect of which the breach has been committed, and of the vessels, packages or coverings in which thesame is found.

Any substance specified as a poison in a rule made ornotification issued under this Act shall be deemed to be a poison for the purposes of this Act.