To
The Chief Engineer,
Maharashtra State Electricity Board,
Bombay.

Sub:-	Payment of inspection fees annually for distribution centres under Scale B.
Ref:-	Your letter No.PF.47/63044 dtd: 3rd November,64.

  
Sir,
With reference to your above letter, I have to state that Rule 5 of the I.E.Rules 1965 authorises an Inspector or his assistant to enter, inspect and examine any place in which any appliance or apparatus is used in the generation, transmission etc. of energy and also to carry out tests therein. Under Rule 7(2) of the I.E.Rules 1965, the State Government has been empowered to levy fees for testing and inspection and generally for the services of Inspectors by issuing general or special order.

In exercise of these powers, the Government of Maharashtra has issued a notification No.IEA.1660/137444-Elec. Dt.17.9.1960 (copy enclosed) extending and bringing into force the rules relating to the levy of fees for the services of Electrical Inspectors published in Government Notification in P.W.D No.2891/36 dated: 5th December 1942 by suitable amendments to the said rules, Rule 2 (levy of fees) of the schedule to this notification, provides that the fees for periodical inspections, examinations ortests made underthe provisions of the I.E.Act, 1910 and the I.E.Rules, shall be levied in accordance with the rates prescribed and from the persons mentioned in scales "A" to "D" in the schedule.

Your contention in para 2 of your letter under reply does not appear to be correct in view of the fact that Rule 5 has empowered an Inspector or his assistant to carry out inspections and tests at his discretion and it would not be legally correct to restrict the inspections or tests by prescribing the interval period for such inspections whether they may be of consumers' installations or of the supplier's works, Rule46 has also not restricted period of inspections but provides the minimum period during which the installation shall be inspected at least once.

Coming to the levy of fees, it may be stated that even though the interval of period of inspections is not fixed, the levy of fees for such inspections is to be made only once in the period of twelve calendar months which fact would be quite clear by reading proviso to the rule 2(levy of fees) of the schedule.

Form the above, it would be clear that the fees demanded under scale B of the schedule bythe Inspectors of this officefor inspections of the Board's works are correctly demanded and I request you to instruct all of your field officers to pay the fees as per the demands.

Your's faithfully Sd/- Electrical Engineer to Government.