THE REPEALING AND AMENDING BILL, 2019

[Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN]

Introduction

The Central Government introduced a new Bill called as ‘The Repealing And Amending Bill, 2019’ (‘Bill’ for short) in Lok Sabha on 25.07.2019.  The said Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on 29.07.2019.  

THE REPEALING AND AMENDING ACT, 2019

Change is inevitable.  Law is not an exception to this. The Government enacted various acts which are subject to changes. If require amendments are carried out to pace with the changes and developments occurred.  In India so many old Acts are outdated and not in use.  Such enactments are to be repealed.  This Bill is one of the periodical measures by which enactments which have ceased to be in force or have become obsolete or retention whereof as separate Act is unnecessary are repealed or by which the formal defects detected in enactments are enacted.

Repealed Acts

The following enactments are to be repealed by the Bill-

• The Public Accountant’s Default Act, 1850;
• The Municipal Taxation Act, 1881;
• The Government Management of Private Estates Act, 1892;
• The Terminal Tax on Railway Passengers Act, 1956;
• The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly (Constitution and Proceedings) Validation Act, 1958;
• The Cotton Transport (Amendment) Act,1960;
• The Hindi Sahitya Sammelan (Amendment) Act, 1963;
• The Dramatic Performances (Delhi Repeal) Act, 1963;
• The Public Employment (Requirement as to Residence) Amendment Act, 1964;
• The Delhi and Ajmer Control (Nasirabad Cantonment Repeal) Act, 1968;
• The Alcock Ashdown Company Limited (Acquisition of Undertakings) Act, 1973;
• The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labor Welfare Cess Act, 1976;
• The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines and Chrome Ore Mines Labor Welfare Fund Act, 1976;
• The Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1976;
• The Tea (Amendment) Act, 1980;
• The Aligarh Muslim University (Amendment) Act, 1981;
• The Road Transport Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1982;
• The Transformers and Switchgear Limited (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1983;
• The Tamil Nadu Agricultural Service Co-Operative Societies (Appointment of Special officers) Amendment Act, 1988;
• The High Denomination Bank Notes (Demonetization) Amendment Act, 1998;
• The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2001;
• The Registration and other related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2001;
• The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2002;
• The Delhi University (Amendment) Act, 2002;
• The Dalmia Dadri Cement Limited (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Amendment Act, 2006;
• The Central Road Fund (Amendment) Act, 2007;
• The Prevention of Money Laundering (Amendment) Act, 2009;
• The Central Industrial Security Force (Amendment) Act, 2009;
• The Central Universities (Amendment) Act, 2009;
• The Civil Defence (Amendment) Act, 2009;
• The Repatriation of Prisoners (Amendment) Act, 2011;
• The Customs (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2011;
• The National Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2012;
• The Institutes of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2012;
• The Governors (Emoluments,  Allowances and Privileges (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The National Institute of Technology, Science, Education, Research (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The Merchant Shipping (Second Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Act, 2014;
• The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Amendment Act, 2015;
• The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2015;
• The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015;
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation)  Amendment Act, 2015;
• The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2015;
• The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Act, 2015;
• The Warehousing Corporations (Amendment) Act, 2015;
• The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015;
• The Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016;
• The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions  of Service) Amendment Act, 2016;
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016;
• The National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) Act, 2016;
• The Central Agricultural University (Amendment) Act, 2016;
• The Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016;
• The National Institute of Technology, Science, Education and Research (Amendment) Act, 2017;
• The Collection of Statistics (Amendment) Act, 2017;
• The Indian Institute of Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2017.

Amendment of certain enactments

Clause 3 of the Bill proposed to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961 and The Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017 to some extent.  The amendment proposed to the Income Tax Act, 1961 is to rectify the patent errors.  The amendment proposed to the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017 is to rectify the mistakes that had inadvertently crept in the said Act.

Amendment to Income Tax Act, 1961

Section 54GA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides for exemption of capital gains on transfer of assets in cases of shifting of industrial undertaking from urban area to any Special Economic Zone.  Section 54GA (1) provides that notwithstanding anything contained in section 54G, where the capital gain arises from the transfer of a capital asset, being machinery or plant or building or land or any rights in building or land used for the purposes of the business of an industrial undertaking situate in an urban area, effected in the course of, or in consequence of the shifting of such industrial undertaking to any Special Economic Zone, whether developed in any urban area or any other area and the assessee has within a period of one year before or three years after the date on which the transfer took place-

• purchased machinery or plant for the purposes of business of the industrial undertaking in the Special Economic Zone to which the said undertaking is shifted;
• acquired building or land or constructed building for the purposes of his business in the Special Economic Zone;
• shifted the original asset and transferred the establishment of such undertaking to the Special Economic Zone; and
• incurred expenses on such other purposes as may be specified in a scheme framed by the Central Government for the purposes of this section,

then, instead of the capital gain being charged to income-tax as income of the previous year in which the transfer took place, it shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), be dealt with in accordance with the following provisions of this section, that is to say,-

• if the amount of the capital gain is greater than the cost and expenses incurred in relation to all or any of the purposes mentioned in clauses (a) to (d) (such cost and expenses being hereafter in this section referred to as the new asset), the difference between the amount of the capital gain and the cost of the new asset shall be charged under section 45 as the income of the previous year; and for the purpose of computing in respect of the new asset any capital gain arising from its transfer within a period of three years of its being purchased, acquired, constructed or transferred, as the case may be, the cost shall be Nil; or
• if the amount of the capital gain is equal to, or less than, the cost of the new asset, the capital gain shall not be charged under section 45, and for the purpose of computing in respect of the new asset any capital gain arising from its transfer within a period of three years of its being purchased, acquired, constructed or transferred, as the case may be, the cost shall be reduced by the amount of the capital gain.

Explanation.-   In this sub-section,-

1. "Special Economic Zone" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (az) of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005;

The amendment proposes to insert the words ‘of Section 2’ after the words clause (az) as in the definition of Special Economic Zone.

Amendment to Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017

The Bill proposes to bring amendments to section 3 and section 36 of the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017. 

`Section 3(f) of the said Act defines the term ‘Director’ as the Director of the Institute appointed under section 16(2).   The Bill proposes to substitute for the words ‘Director’ mean, the words ‘Director’ means.

Section 36 of the said Act provides that save as provided in this  section, Ordinance shall be made by the Academic Council.  The bill proposes to substitute for the word ‘Ordinance’, the word ‘Ordinances’.

Precautionary provision

Clause 4 of the Bill contains a precautionary provision in the form of saving clause which is usual to include in this Bill of this kind.  Clause 4 provides that the repeal by this Act of any enactment shall not affect any other enactment in which the repealed enactment  has been applied, incorporated or referred to.  This Act shall not affect the validity, invalidity, effect or consequences of anything already done or suffered, or any right, title, obligation or liability already acquired, accrued or incurred, or any remedy or proceeding in respect thereof, or any release or discharge of, or from any debt, penalty, obligation, liability, claim or demand, or any indemnity already granted, or the proof of any past act or thing.

This Act shall not affect any principle or rule of law, or established jurisdiction, form or course of pleading, practice or procedure , or existing vague, custom, privilege,  restriction, exemption, office or appointment notwithstanding  that the same respectively may have been in any manner affirmed or recognized or derived by, in or from any enactment repealed.

The repealed Act by this Bill shall not revive or restore any jurisdiction, office, custom, liability, right, title, privilege, restriction, exemption, usage, practice, procedure or other matter or thing not now existing in force.

Discussions to this article

[DR.MARIAPPAN GOVINDARAJAN]

The Bill got the assent of the President of India on 08.08.2019 and published in the Official Gazette as an Act.

[swaminathan venkataraman]

THERE is a LOT MORE to the ACT- refer my Post on FB and LinkedIn- Author CA has been made aware already.