The Seeds Act, 1966 (Act No. 54 of 1966) is an Act of the Indian Parliament enacted on December 29, 1966, to regulate the quality of certain seeds for sale and matters connected therewith. It is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Act was created to provide a legal framework for ensuring farmers' access to good quality seeds, which became essential following the introduction of high-yielding hybrid and dwarf varieties of crops like wheat and paddy during the mid-sixties. The Act was fully implemented across the country on October 2, 1969.
The Act, which contains 25 sections, works by regulating the quality of seeds of notified kinds or varieties. The Central Government is empowered under Section 5 to notify these varieties and, under Section 6, to specify the minimum limits of germination and purity that the seeds must meet. The sale of notified seeds is regulated by requiring compulsory truthful labeling on the container, which must disclose details like the purity level and germination percentage. The Act established the Central Seed Committee to advise the government, and provided for the creation of Certification Agencies and Central/State Seed Testing Laboratories for quality control and enforcement.
The Act is closely connected to the Seeds Rules, 1968, and the Seeds (Control) Order, 1983, which was promulgated under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. While the Seeds Act, 1966, has been amended multiple times, the government has prepared a draft Seeds Bill, 2025, which is intended to replace the 1966 Act and the 1983 Order. The proposed Bill introduces significant changes, such as mandatory registration for all seed varieties (which was not compulsory under the 1966 Act) and graded penalties up to ₹30 lakh for major offenses like supplying spurious seeds.