Article 366 and 367 of the Constitution of India: Definitions and Interpretation
Articles 366 and 367 form part of Part XIX of the Constitution of India. Article 366 supplies constitutional definitions that apply unless the context otherwise requires, while Article 367 lays down important rules for interpreting the Constitution.
Article 366 - Definitions
Article 366 begins with the rule that the listed expressions carry the meanings assigned to them unless the context otherwise requires. The definitions therefore operate across the Constitution, subject to context. The article contains both general expressions, such as "article", "clause", "Part" and "Schedule", and specialised constitutional definitions dealing with taxation, States, Union territories, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other subjects.
Definitions under Article 366
The descriptions below are presented for readable reference. For exact authoritative wording and amendment footnotes, consult the official Constitution linked under Official Resources.
Clause (1)
"agricultural income" means agricultural income as defined for the purposes of the enactments relating to Indian income-tax.
Clause (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.
Clause (3)
"article" means an article of this Constitution.
Clause (4)
"borrow" includes the raising of money by the grant of annuities, and "loan" shall be construed accordingly.
Clause (5)
"clause" means a clause of the article in which the expression occurs.
Clause (6)
"corporation tax" means any tax on income, so far as that tax is payable by companies and satisfies the constitutional conditions: it is not chargeable on agricultural income; company tax is not deductible from dividends payable to individuals; and the tax is not taken into account in computing the recipient individual's Indian income-tax or refund.
Clause (7)
"corresponding Province", "corresponding Indian State" or "corresponding State" means, in cases of doubt, the Province, Indian State or State determined by the President to correspond for the particular purpose in question.
Clause (8)
"debt" includes liability to repay capital sums by way of annuity and liability under a guarantee; "debt charges" is construed accordingly.
Clause (9)
"estate duty" means a duty assessed on or by reference to the principal value of property passing, or deemed to pass, on death under laws made by Parliament or a State Legislature.
Clause (10)
"existing law" means any law, Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule or regulation made before commencement of the Constitution by a competent Legislature, authority or person.
Clause (11)
"Federal Court" means the Federal Court constituted under the Government of India Act, 1935.
Clause (12)
"goods" includes all materials, commodities and articles.
Clause (12A)
"goods and services tax" means any tax on supply of goods, services, or both, except taxes on the supply of alcoholic liquor for human consumption.
Clause (13)
"guarantee" includes a pre-Constitution obligation to make payments if the profits of an undertaking fall short of a specified amount.
Clause (14)
"High Court" means a court deemed to be a High Court for a State and includes a court constituted or reconstituted under the Constitution as a High Court and any other court in India declared by Parliament to be a High Court for constitutional purposes.
Clause (15)
"Indian State" means any territory recognised as such a State by the Government of the Dominion of India.
Clause (16)
"Part" means a Part of the Constitution.
Clause (17)
"pension" includes contributory or non-contributory pension, retired pay, gratuity and qualifying provident-fund repayments, with or without interest or other additions.
Clause (18)
"Proclamation of Emergency" means a Proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 352.
Clause (19)
"public notification" means a notification in the Gazette of India or, as the case may be, the Official Gazette of a State.
Clause (20)
"railway" excludes a tramway wholly within a municipal area and any other line of communication wholly situated in one State that Parliament declares by law not to be a railway.
Clause (22)
"Ruler" means a Prince, Chief or other person recognised by the President as the Ruler of an Indian State, or as the successor of such Ruler, before commencement of the Constitution (Twenty-sixth Amendment) Act, 1971.
Clause (23)
"Schedule" means a Schedule to the Constitution.
Clause (24)
"Scheduled Castes" means the castes, races or tribes, or parts or groups within them, deemed under Article 341 to be Scheduled Castes for constitutional purposes.
Clause (25)
"Scheduled Tribes" means the tribes or tribal communities, or parts or groups within them, deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for constitutional purposes.
Clause (26)
"securities" includes stock.
Clause (26A)
"Services" means anything other than goods.
Clause (26B)
"State", for Articles 246A, 268, 269, 269A and 279A, includes a Union territory with Legislature.
Clause (26C)
"socially and educationally backward classes" means such backward classes as are deemed under Article 342A for the purposes of the Central Government or the State or Union territory, as the case may be.
Clause (27)
"sub-clause" means a sub-clause of the clause in which the expression occurs.
Clause (28)
"taxation" includes imposition of any tax or impost, whether general, local or special; "tax" is construed accordingly.
Clause (29)
"tax on income" includes a tax in the nature of an excess profits tax.
Clause (29A)
"tax on the sale or purchase of goods" includes specified deemed-sale transactions, including certain transfers of property in goods, works contracts, hire-purchase, transfer of the right to use goods, supplies by unincorporated associations to members, and supplies of food or drink as part of a service.
Clause (30)
"Union territory" means any Union territory specified in the First Schedule and includes any other territory comprised within India but not specified in that Schedule.
Important amendments affecting Article 366
The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 inserted clause (12A), defining "goods and services tax", and clauses (26A) and (26B), defining "Services" and extending "State" for specified GST-related provisions. Clause (26C), concerning socially and educationally backward classes, was inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 and substituted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Fifth Amendment) Act, 2021.
Article 367 - Interpretation
Clause (1): Unless the context otherwise requires, the General Clauses Act, 1897 applies, subject to adaptations and modifications under Article 372, to interpretation of the Constitution in the manner specified by Article 367.
Clause (2): References in the Constitution to Acts or laws of Parliament or a State Legislature include, as applicable, Ordinances made by the President or a Governor.
Clause (3): For constitutional purposes, "foreign State" means any State other than India, subject to Parliament's law-making power and the President's power, by order, to declare a State not to be a foreign State for specified purposes.
The official current text also displays clause (4) as omitted. Historical constitutional orders relating to Article 367 should therefore be read with the current official text and relevant constitutional decisions where applicable.
Legal effect and practical meaning
Article 366 promotes consistency by supplying definitions used throughout the Constitution. However, its opening words preserve contextual interpretation: a defined expression is not applied mechanically where the constitutional context requires a different reading.
Article 367 complements Article 366 by importing applicable interpretive rules from the General Clauses Act, 1897. It also expressly clarifies that constitutional references to parliamentary or State legislation include the relevant Ordinances. Together, Articles 366 and 367 provide a common vocabulary and interpretive framework for reading constitutional provisions.
Official legal resources
Legislative Department - Constitution of India
India Code - General Clauses Act, 1897
CBIC - Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 and GST changes