Constitution 366 — Definitions

The Constitution of India, 1950

Statutory text

In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise
requires, the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively
assigned to them, that is to say—
(1) “agricultural income” means agricultural income as defined
for the purposes of the enactments relating to Indian income-tax;

(2) “an Anglo-Indian” means a person whose father or any of
whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European
descent but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was
born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not
established there for temporary purposes only;
(3) “article” means an article of this Constitution;
(4) “borrow” includes the raising of money by the grant of
annuities, and “loan” shall be construed accordingly;
(4A)
(5) “clause” means a clause of the article in which the expression
occurs;
(6) “corporation tax” means any tax on income, so far as that tax
is payable by companies and is a tax in the case of which the following
conditions are fulfilled:—
(a) that it is not chargeable in respect of agricultural
income;
(b) that no deduction in respect of the tax paid by
companies is, by any enactments which may apply to the tax,
authorised to be made from dividends payable by the companies
to individuals;
(c) that no provision exists for taking the tax so paid into
account in computing for the purposes of Indian income-tax the
total income of individuals receiving such dividends, or in
computing the Indian income-tax payable by, or refundable to,
such individuals;
(7) “corresponding Province”, “corresponding Indian State” or
“corresponding State” means in cases of doubt such Province, Indian
State or State as may be determined by the President to be the
corresponding Province, the corresponding Indian State or the
corresponding State, as the case may be, for the particular purpose in
question;
(8) “debt” includes any liability in respect of any obligation to
repay capital sums by way of annuities and any liability under any
guarantee, and “debt charges” shall be construed accordingly;
(9) “estate duty” means a duty to be assessed on or by reference to
the principal value, ascertained in accordance with such rules as may be
prescribed by or under laws made by Parliament or the Legislature of a
State relating to the duty, of all property passing upon death or deemed,
under the provisions of the said laws, so to pass;
(10) “existing law” means any law, Ordinance, order, bye-law,
rule or regulation passed or made before the commencement of this
Constitution by any Legislature, authority or person having power to
make such a law, Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule or regulation;
(11) “Federal Court” means the Federal Court constituted under
the Government of India Act, 1935;
(12) “goods” includes all materials, commodities, and articles;
(12A) “goods and services tax” means any tax on supply of
goods, or services or both except taxes on the supply of the alcoholic
liquor for human consumption;
(13) “guarantee” includes any obligation undertaken before the
commencement of this Constitution to make payments in the event of the
profits of an undertaking falling short of a specified amount;
(14) “High Court” means any Court which is deemed for the
purposes of this Constitution to be a High Court for any State and
includes—
(a) any Court in the territory of India constituted or
reconstituted under this Constitution as a High Court; and
(b) any other Court in the territory of India which may be
declared by Parliament by law to be a High Court for all or any of
the purposes of this Constitution;
(15) “Indian State” means any territory which the Government of
the Dominion of India recognised as such a State;
(16) “Part” means a Part of this Constitution;
(17) “pension” means a pension, whether contributory or not, of
any kind whatsoever payable to or in respect of any person, and includes
retired pay so payable; a gratuity so payable and any sum or sums so
payable by way of the return, with or without interest thereon or any
other addition thereto, of subscriptions to a provident fund;
(18) “Proclamation of Emergency” means a Proclamation issued
under clause (1) of article 352;
(19) “public notification” means a notification in the Gazette of
India, or, as the case may be, the Official Gazette of a State;
(20) “railway” does not include—
(a) a tramway wholly within a municipal area; or
(b) any other line of communication wholly situate in one State
and declared by Parliament by law not to be a railway;
(21)
(22) “Ruler” means the Prince, Chief or other person who, at any
time before the commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth
Amendment) Act, 1971, was recognised by the President as the Ruler of
an Indian State or any person who, at any time before such
commencement, was recognised by the President as the successor of
such Ruler;
(23) “Schedule” means a Schedule to this Constitution;
(24) “Scheduled Castes” means such castes, races or tribes or
parts of or groups within such castes, races or tribes as are deemed under
article 341 to be Scheduled Castes for the purposes of this Constitution;
(25) “Scheduled Tribes” means such tribes or tribal communities
or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are
deemed under article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this
Constitution;
(26) “securities” includes stock;
* *
(26A) “Services” means anything other than goods;
(26B) “State” with reference to articles 246A, 268, 269, 269A and
article 279A includes a Union territory with Legislature;
(26C) "socially and educationally backward classes" means such
backward classes as are so deemed under article 342A for the purposes
of the Central Government or the State or Union territory, as the case
may be;
(27) “sub-clause” means a sub-clause of the clause in which the
expression occurs;
(28) “taxation” includes the imposition of any tax or impost,
whether general or local or special, and “tax” shall be construed
accordingly;
(29) “tax on income” includes a tax in the nature of an excess
profits tax;
(29A) “tax on the sale or purchase of goods” includes—
(a) a tax on the transfer, otherwise than in pursuance of a
contract, of property in any goods for cash, deferred payment or
other valuable consideration;
(b) a tax on the transfer of property in goods (whether as
goods or in some other form) involved in the execution of a
works contract;
(c) a tax on the delivery of goods on hire-purchase or any
system of payment by instalments;
(d) a tax on the transfer of the right to use any goods for
any purpose (whether or not for a specified period) for cash,
deferred payment or other valuable consideration;
(e) a tax on the supply of goods by any unincorporated
association or body of persons to a member thereof for cash,
deferred payment or other valuable consideration;
(f) a tax on the supply, by way of or as part of any service
or in any other manner whatsoever, of goods, being food or any
other article for human consumption or any drink (whether or not
intoxicating), where such supply or service, is for cash, deferred
payment or other valuable consideration,
and such transfer, delivery or supply of any goods shall be deemed to be
a sale of those goods by the person making the transfer, delivery or
supply and a purchase of those goods by the person to whom such
transfer, delivery or supply is made;
(30) "Union territory" means any Union territory specified in the
First Schedule and includes any other territory comprised within the
territory of India but not specified in that Schedule.

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