Central
Section 2 of The Interest-tax Act, 1974
Definitions.
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
- (1)"assessee" means a person by whom interest-tax or any other sum of money is payable under this Act and includes--
- (a)every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the assessment of his chargeable interest or of the amount of refund due to him or of the chargeable interest of any other person in respect of which he is assessable or of the amount of refund due to such other person;
- (b)every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under any provision of this Act;
- (2)"assessment" includes re-assessment;
- (3)"assessment year" means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of April, every year;
- (4)"Board" means the Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963);
- (5)"chargeable interest" means the total amount of interest referred to in section 5, computed in the manner laid down in section 6; 1[(5A) "credit institution" means,--
- (i)a banking company to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949), applies (including any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of that Act) 2***;
- (ii)a public financial institution as defined in section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);
- (iii)a State financial corporation established under section 3 or section 3A or an institution notified under section 46 of the State Financial Corporations Act, 1951 (63 of 1951); and (iv) any other financial company; (5B) "financial company" means a company, other than a company referred to in sub-clause (i), (ii) or (iii) of clause (5A), being--
- (i)a hire-purchase finance company, that is to say, a company which carries on, as its principal business, hire-purchase transactions or the financing of such transactions;
- (ii)an investment company, that is to say, a company which carries on, as its principal business, the acquisition of shares, stock, bonds, debentures, debenture stock or securities issued by the Government or a local authority, or other marketable securities of a like nature;
- (iii)a housing finance company, that is to say, a company which carries on, as its principal business, the business of financing of acquisition or construction of houses, including acquisition or development of land in connection therewith;
- (iv)a loan company, that is to say, a company [not being a company referred to in sub-clauses (i) to (iii)] which carries on, as its principal business, the business of providing finance, whether by making loans or advances or otherwise;
- (v)a mutual benefit finance company, that is to say, a company which carries on, as its principal business, the business of acceptance of deposits from its members and which is declared by the Central Government under section 620A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), to be a Nidhi or Mutual Benefit Society; 3*** 4[(va) a residuary non-banking company [other than a financial company referred to in sub-clause (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) or (v)] that is to say, a company which receives any deposit under any scheme or arrangement, by whatever name called, in one lumpsum or in instalments by way of contributions or subscriptions or by sale of units or certificates or other instruments or in any other manner; or]
- (vi)a miscellaneous finance company, that is to say, a company which carries on exclusively, or almost exclusively, two or more classes of business referred to in the preceding sub-clauses;]
- (6)"Income-tax Act" means the Income-tax Act, 1961(43 of 1961); 5(7) '"interest" means interest on loans and advances made in India and includes--
- (a)commitment charges on unutilised portion of any credit sanctioned for being availed of in India; and
- (b)discount on promissory notes and bills of exchange drawn or made in India, but does not include--
- (i)interest referred to in sub-section (1B) of section 42 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
- (ii)discount on treasury bills;]
- (8)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; 6* * * * *;
- (10)all other words and expressions used herein but not defined and defined in the Income-tax Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.
Summary
- This section provides the core definitions for terms used throughout the law.
- It defines an assessee (a person legally responsible for paying the tax) as anyone liable to pay the interest-tax or involved in proceedings regarding it.
- It clarifies that chargeable interest (the pool of money being taxed) is the total interest described in Section 5, minus any calculations allowed in Section 6.
- It defines interest broadly to include commitment charges (fees for reserving a loan) and discounts on bills, but leaves out discounts on treasury bills.
- Any word not defined here automatically takes the meaning given to it in the general Income-tax Act.
Practical examples
1Mr. Sharma runs a local lending firm and gets a notice under this Act. Even if he hasn't paid tax yet, he is considered an assessee because a legal proceeding has started against him regarding his interest.
2A bank charges a corporate client a commitment fee for a line of credit they haven't used yet. This fee counts as interest under the specific definition in this section.
FAQ
1. Are treasury bills subject to this tax based on the definition of interest?
No, the definition of interest specifically excludes the discount on treasury bills.
2. What happens if a financial term is used in this law but not defined in Section 2?
You must use the definition provided in the Income-tax Act, 1961.
3. Who is considered a credit institution under this law?
It includes banking companies, public financial institutions, state financial corporations, and various types of financial companies.
Test yourself
1.Under Section 2 of The Interest-tax Act, 1974, how does the definition of "chargeable interest" interact with Section 5 and Section 6?
2.Under Section 2 of The Interest-tax Act, 1974, which of the following items is explicitly excluded from the definition of "interest"?
3.Under Section 2 of The Interest-tax Act, 1974, what defines a person as an "assessee"?
4.Under Section 2 of The Interest-tax Act, 1974, if a specific financial term appears in the text but is missing from the definitions, how is its meaning determined?