(1) The Central Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute, for the purposes of this Act, a Board, to be called the Spices Board.

(2) The Board shall be a body corporate by the name aforesaid having perpetual succession and a common seal with power, subject to the provisions of this Act, to contract and shall, by the said name, sue and be sued.

(3) The Board shall consist of such number of members, not exceeding thirty-two, as may be prescribed, and unless the rules made in this behalf otherwise provide, the Board shall consist of the following members, namely:—

(a) a Chairman;

(b) three Members of Parliament, of whom two shall be elected by the House of the People and one by the Council of States;

(c) three members to represent respectively the Ministries of the Central Government dealing with—

(i) Commerce;

(ii) Agriculture; and

(iii) Finance;

(d) six members to represent the growers of spices;

(e) eleven members to represent the exporters of spices;

(f) three members to represent major spice producing States;

(g) five members, one each to represent—

(i) the Directorate of Cocoa, Arecanut and Spices Development, Calicut;

(ii) the Indian Institute of Packaging, Bombay;

(iii) the Central Food Technological and Research Institute, Mysore;

(iv) the Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum; and

(v) the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasargode.

(4) The office of member of the Board shall not disqualify its holder for being chosen as, or for being, a member of either House of Parliament.

(5) The term of office of the members and other conditions of service of the members shall be such as may be prescribed.

(6) The Chairman shall, in addition to presiding over the meetings of the Board, exercise and discharge such powers and duties of the Board as may be delegated to him by the Board and such other powers and duties as may be prescribed.

(7) The Board shall elect from among its members a Vice-Chairman who shall exercise such of the powers and perform such of the functions of the Chairman as may be prescribed or as may be delegated to him by the Chairman.

(8) No act or proceeding of the Board shall be invalidated merely by reason of—

(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Board;

(b) any defect in the appointment of a person acting as a member of the Board;

(c) any irregularity in the procedure of the Board not affecting the merits of the case.