Gujarat Provincial Municipal Corporations Act, 1949
In this Act, unless there be something repugnant in the subject or context,— '[ (1A) "annual letting value" means,— (i) in relation to any period prior to 1st April, 1970, the annual rent for which any building or land or premises, exclusive of furniture or machinery contained or situate therein or thereon, might, if the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Act, LVII of 1947 were not in force, reasonably be expected to let from year to year with reference to its use; (ii) in relation to any other period, the annual rent for which any building or land or premises, exclusive of furniture or machinery contained or situate therein or thereon, might reasonably be expected to let from year to year with reference to its use; and shall include all payments made or agreed to be made to the owner by a person (other than the owner) occupying the building or land or premises on account of occupation, taxes, insurance or other charges incidental thereto: Provided that, for the purpose of sub-clause (ii)- (a) in respect of any building or land or premises the standard rent of which has been fixed under section 11 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, the annual rent for which it might reasonably be expected to let shall not exceed the annual amount of the standard rent so fixed; [(aa) in respect of any building or land or premises, the standard rent of which is not fixed under section 11 of the Bombay Rents, Hotel and Lodging House Rates Control Act, 1947, the annual rent received by the owner in respect of such building or land or premises shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be deemed to be the annual rent for which such building or land or premises might reasonably be expected to let from year to year with reference to its use; (aaa) clause (aa) shall not apply to a case where the annual rent received by the owner in respect of such building or land or premises is in the opinion of the Commissioner less than the annual rent for which such building or land or premises might, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, reasonably be expected to let from year to year with reference to its use;] (b) in the case of any land of a class not ordinarily let the annual rent of which cannot in the opinion of the Commissioner be easily estimated, the annual rent shall be deemed to be six per cent. of the estimated market value of the land at the time of assessment; (c) in the case of any building of a class not ordinarily let, or in the case of any industrial or other premises of a class not ordinarily let, or in the case of a class of such premises the building or buildings in which are not ordinarily let, if the annual rent thereof cannot in the opinion of the Commissioner be easily estimated, the annual rent shall be deemed to be six per cent. of the total of the estimated market value, at the time of the assessment, of the land on which such building or buildings stand or, as the case may be, of the land which is comprised in such premises, and the estimated cost, at the time of the assessment, of erecting the building or, as the case may be, the building or buildings comprised in such premises;] (17) "drain" includes a sewer, tunnel, pipe, ditch, gutter or channel and any cistern, flush-tank, septic tank or other device for carrying off or treating '[sewage, trade effluent], offensive matter, polluted water, sullage, waste water, rain water or sub-soil water and any culvert, ventilation, shaft or pipe or other appliance or fitting connected therewith, and any ejectors, compressed air mains, sealed sewage mains and special machinery or apparatus for raising, collecting, expelling or removing '[sewage, trade effluent] or offensive matter from any place; (18) "eating house" means any premises to which the public or any section of the public are admitted and where any kind of food is prepared or supplied for consumption on the premises or elsewhere for the profit or gain of any person owning or having an interest in or managing such premises; [ (18A) "election" means and includes entire election process commencing from the delimitation of constituencies to be known as wards and all stages culminating into election of a councillor and it is always deemed to have meant and included entire election process as aforesaid;] [ (18B) "entertainment includes any exhibition, performance, amusement, game or sport to which persons are admitted for payment or in case of television exhibition with the aid of any type of antenna with a cable network attached to it or cable television, or direct-to-home (DTH) Broadcasting Service, for which persons are required to make payment by way of contribution or subscription or installation charges or connection charges or any other charges collected in any manner whatsoever.] (19) "essential services" means services in which any municipal officer, servant or other person is employed by or on behalf of the Corporation and which are specified in the rules; (20) "factory" means a factory as defined in the Indian Factories Act, 1948; (21) "filth" includes sewage, nightsoil and all offensive matter ; [ (21A) "Finance Commission"means a Finance Commission constituted under article 243-I of the Constitution of India;] (22) "food" includes every article used for food or drink by man other than drugs or water, and any article which ordinarily enters into or is used in the composition or preparation of human food, and also includes confectionery, flavouring and colouring matters and spices and condiments; (23) "form" means a form appended to the rules; (24) "frame building" means a building the external walls of which are constructed of timber framing or iron framing, and the stability of which depends on such framing; (25) "goods" includes animal; [ (25A) "hotel" includes an eating house or any premises where the public or any section of the public are supplied for consumption meals, drinks or any eatables on payment of price;] (26) "house-drain" menas any drain of, and used for the drainage, of, one or more buildings or premises and made merely for the purpose of communicating therewith with a municipal drain; (27) "house-gully" or "service passage" means a passage or strip of land constructed, set apart or utilised for the purpose of serving as a drain or of affording access to a privy, urinal, cesspool or other receptacle of filthy or polluted matter, to municipal servants or to persons employed in the cleansing thereof or in the removal of such matter therefrom; (28) "hut" means any building which is constructed principally of wood, mud, leaves, grass, cloth or thatch and includes any temporary structure of whatever size or any small building of whatever material made which the Corporation may declare to be a hut for the purposes of this Act; [ (28A) "industrial premises" means premises including the precincts thereof in any part of which a manufacturing process is being carried on or is ordinarily carried on. Explanation.— "manufacturing process" includes producing, making, extracting, altering, ornamenting, finishing or otherwise processing, treating or adapting any goods;]