Warehouse Receipt Act, No. 13 of 2007

The warehouse receipt is an acknowledgment in writing by a warehouseperson of the receipt for storage in a warehouse of an agricultural commodity belonging to a depositor. The Act provides for the office of the Registrar and other subsidiary officers who assist the Registrar in registering warehouses and cancelling their registration, inspecting registered warehouses, licensing warehousepersons, issuing to warehousepersons books of warehouse receipts, among others. The Act provides for the registration of warehouse operators and provides extensively for the issuance of registration certificates, keeping of a register of warehouse operators and warehouses, etc. The Act provides for warehouse receipts to be only issued by warehousepersons in respect of agricultural commodities received by him/her for warehousing or marketing. The receipts are to be in a prescribed form and are negotiable instruments subject to endorsement by the warehouseperson. Negotiation bestows rights to the holder including the title to the receipt, title to the agricultural commodity and the right to dispose the agricultural commodity. The Act further provides for matters relating to the alteration, destruction, replacement or loss of warehouse receipts. There are provisions on storage of agricultural commodities for instance, agricultural commodities are to be stored separately in the warehouse so as to permit identification and delivery. The Act lists coffee, soya beans and sugar beans in its Schedule as agricultural commodities.