Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

This Act is enacted to amend the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. The Act amends Section 3 concerning powers granted to the Central Government to control production, supply, distribution, etc., of essential commodities. The amendments include: in section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, after sub-section (1), the sub-section shall be inserted, namely:(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),— (a) the supply of such foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds and oils, as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, may be regulated only under extraordinary circumstances which may include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature;(b) any action on imposing stock limit shall be based on price rise and an order for regulating stock limit of any agricultural produce may be issued under this Act only if there is: (i) hundred per cent. increase in the retail price of horticultural produce; or (ii) fifty per cent. increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural foodstuffs, over the price prevailing immediately preceding twelve months, or average retail price of last five years, whichever is lower.