(1) On the establishment of the Authority, it shall be lawful for the Central Government to transfer to the Authority, by order, and with effect from such date or dates as may be specified in the order, any officer or other employee holding office as such in the Processed Foods Export Promotion Council (hereafter in this section referred to as the Council) immediately before the date on which the Authority is established:

Provided that the scale of pay of the post in the Authority to which such officer or other employee is transferred shall not be lower than the scale of pay of the post he was holding immediately before such transfer and the other terms and conditions of service (including pension, leave, provident fund and medical benefits) of the post to which he is transferred shall not be less favourable than the terms and conditions of service in relation to the post held by him immediately before such transfer.

(2) An order under sub-section (1) may be made so as to have retrospective effect from a date not earlier than the date of the commencement of this Act.

(3) Before any order is issued under sub-section (1), all officers and employees of the Council shall be given an option to express, in such form as may be prescribed, and within such time as may be specified in that behalf by the Central Government, their willingness or otherwise to become employees of the Authority and such option once exercised shall be final:

Provided that no order under sub-section (1) shall be made in relation to any officer or other employees of the Council who has intimated his intention of not becoming an employee of the Authority within the time specified in that behalf:

Provided further that such of the officers and employees of the Council who do not express, within the time specified in that behalf, their intention of becoming the employees of the Authority, shall be dealt with in the same manner and in accordance with the same laws and standing orders as would have applied immediately before the commencement of this Act to the employees of the Council in the event of the reduction of the strength of the officers and employees of the Council.

(4) An officer or other employee transferred by an order made under sub-section (1) shall, on and from the date of transfer, cease to be an employee of the Council and become an officer or other employee of the Authority with such designation as the Authority may determine and shall, subject to the provisions of the proviso to sub-section (1), be governed by the regulations made by the Authority under this Act in respect of remuneration and other conditions of service (including pension, leave, provident fund and medical benefits) and shall continue to be an officer or other employee of the Authority unless and until his employment is duly terminated by the Authority:

Provided that till such time as the regulations referred to above governing the conditions of service of its officers or other employees are framed by the Authority, the relevant laws and standing orders applicable to the officers and employees of the Council shall continue to be applicable to them.

(5) If a question arises whether the terms and conditions of service prescribed in the regulations framed by the Authority in respect of any matter, including remuneration, pension, leave, provident fund and medical benefits, are less favourable than those attached to the post held by an officer or other employee immediately before his transfer to the Authority, the decision of the Central Government in the matter shall be final.