[Act 46 of 2003] [11th September, 2003]?? [Repealed by Act 17 of 2015[2]] An Act further to amend the Representation of
the People Act, 1951 the Companies Act, 1956 and the Income Tax Act, 1961 Be it enacted by Parliament in the
Fifty-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:? Prefatory Note?Statement of Objects and
Reasons.?The Election and Other
Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2002 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on the 19th
March, 2002. The said Bill, inter alia, provided for donations to the political
parties, report thereof to the Election Commission, the audit of the accounts
of donation as reported, allocation of equitable sharing of time to the
political parties, free supply of copies of electoral rolls to the candidates
of recognised political parties, supply of identity slips of electors to
candidates, amendment of Section 13-A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to raise the
limit of voluntary contribution in respect of which no record is required to be
maintained by a political party, from ten thousand rupees to twenty thousand
rupees (which is not to be liable to be included in the total income of the
preious year of such political party). The Bill also provided for income-tax
relief in relation to donation given by companies or individuals to the
political parties. The aforesaid Bill was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary
Standing Committee on Home Affairs and the Committee presented its report on
the Bill to both Houses of Parliament on 18th December, 2002. Since some
recommendations made by the said Standing Committee were substantive in nature,
it has been considered appropriate by the Government to withdraw the said Bill
and to introduce a fresh Bill on the lines recommended by the said
Parliamentary Standing Committee. The salient features of the proposed
Bill, inter alia, are as follows:? (a) It provides for contributions from
companies and individuals to the political parties and the declaration thereof
by the political parties to the Election Commission of India where the
contribution received is in excess of twenty thousand rupees. Such declaration
shall be submitted by the treasurer of the political party or any other person
authorised by a political party in this behalf. (b) It contains provision for equitable
sharing of time by the recognised political parties on the cable television
network and other electronic media. (c) It substitutes Explanations 1 and 3 to
Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 by new Explanations
which elaborates the expression ?leaders of the political parties? and contains
provisions for not including the travelling expenses of such leaders in
connection with the election and the expenditure incurred by the Government
officials in respect of safety arrangements in the election expenditure. (d) It contains provisions for free supply of
copies of electoral rolls by the Government to the candidates of recognised
political parties. It also contains provisions for supply of such items by the
Election Commission as are decided in consultation with it by the Central
Government, to the electors or to the candidates set up by the recognised
political parties. (e) It is proposed to amend Section 13-A of
the Income-tax Act, 1961 to raise to rupees twenty thousand voluntary
contribution in respect of which no record is to be maintained by the political
parties. The Bill also contains provisions to provide income-tax relief in
relation to the contribution given by the companies and individuals to
political parties. (f) Certain consequential amendments have
been made in these provisions to align them with other provisions of the Bill
and the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. (2) The Bill seeks to achieve the above
objects. Chapter
1 PRELIMINARY This Act may be called the Election and Other
Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2003. Chapter
2 AMENDMENTS OF THE
REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1951 After Section 29-A of the Representation of
the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) (hereafter in this chapter referred to as the
principle Act), the following sections shall be inserted, namely:? ?29-B. Political parties entitled to
accept contribution.?Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of
1956), every political party may accept any amount of contribution voluntarily
offered to it by any person or company other than a Government company : Provided that no political party shall be
eligible to accept any contribution from any foreign source defined under
clause (e) of Section 2 of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (49
of 1976). Explanation.?For the purposes of this section
and Section 29-C,? (a)
?company?
means a company as defined in Section 3; (b)
?Government
company? means a company within the meaning of Section 617; and (c)
?contribution?
has the meaning assigned to it under Section 293-A, of the Companies Act, 1956
(1 of 1956) and includes any donation or subscription offered by any person to
a political party; and (d)
?person?
has the meaning assigned to it under clause (31) of Section 2 of the Income Tax
Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), but does not include Government company, local
authority and every artificial juridical person wholly or partially funded by
the Government. 29-C. Declaration of donation received
by the political parties.?(1) The treasurer of a political party or any other
person authorised by the political party in this behalf shall, in each
financial year, prepare a report in respect of the following, namely:? (a)
the
contribution in excess of twenty thousand rupees received by such political
party from any person in that financial year; (b)
the
contribution in excess of twenty thousand rupees received by such political
party from companies other than Government companies in that financial year. (2) ? The
report under sub-section (1) shall be in such form as may be prescribed. (3) ? The
report for a financial year under sub-section (1) shall be submitted by the
treasurer of a political party or any other person authorised by the political
party in this behalf before the due date for furnishing a return of its income
of that financial year under Section 139 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of
1961) to the Election Commission. (4) ? Where
the treasurer of any political party or any other person authorised by the
political party in this behalf fails to submit a report under sub-section (3),
then, notwithstanding anything contained in the Income Tax Act, 1961 (43 of
1961), such political party shall not be entitled to any tax relief under that
Act.?. After Section 39 of the principal Act, the
following section shall be inserted, namely:? ?39-A. Allocation of equitable sharing
of time.?(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time
being in force, the Election Commission shall, on the basis of the past
performance of a recognised political party, during elections, allocate
equitable sharing of time on the cable television network and other electronic
media in such manner as may be prescribed to display or propagate any election
matter or to address public in connection with an election. (2) ? The
allocation of equitable sharing of time under sub-section (1), in respect of an
election, shall be made after the publication of list of contesting candidates
under Section 38 for the election and shall be valid till forty-eight hours
before the hour fixed for poll for such election. (3) ? The
allocation of equitable sharing of time under sub-section (1) shall be binding
on all political parties concerned. (4) ? The
Election Commission may, for the purposes of this section, make code of conduct
for cable operators and electronic media and the cable operators and every
person managing or responsible for the management of the electronic media shall
abide by such code of conduct. Explanation.?For the purposes of this
section,? (a)
?electronic
media? includes radio and any other broadcasting media notified by the Central
Government in the Official Gazette; (b)
?cable
television network? and ?cable operator? have the meanings respectively
assigned to them under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7
of 1995).?. In Section 77 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (1), for Explanations 1 and 3, the following Explanations shall be
substituted, namely:? ?Explanation 1.?For the removal of doubts, it
is hereby declared that? (a)
the
expenditure incurred by leaders of a political party on account of travel by
air or by any other means of transport for propagating programme of the political
party shall not be deemed to be the expenditure in connection with the election
incurred or authorised by a candidate of that political party or his election
agent for the purposes of this sub-section; (b)
any
expenditure incurred in respect of any arrangements made, facilities provided
or any other act or thing done by any person in the service of the Government
and belonging to any of the classes mentioned in clause (7) of Section 123 in
the discharge or purported discharge of his official duty as mentioned in the
proviso to that clause shall not be deemed to be expenditure in connection with
the election incurred or authorised by a candidate or by his election agent for
the purposes of this sub-section. Explanation 2.?For the purposes of clause (a)
of Explanation 1, the expression ?leaders of a political party?, in respect of
any election, means,? (i)
where
such political party is a recognised political party, such persons not
exceeding forty in number, and (ii)
where
such political party is other than a recognised political party, such persons
not exceeding twenty in number, whose names have been communicated to the
Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officers of the States by the
political party to be leaders for the purposes of such election, within a
period of seven days from the date of the notification for such election
published in the Gazette of India or Official Gazette of the State, as the case
may be, under this Act : Provided that a political party may, in the
case where any of the persons referred to in clause (i) or, as the case may be,
in clause (ii) dies or ceases to be a member of such political party, by
further communication to the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral
Officers of the State, substitute new name, during the period ending
immediately before forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the
conclusion of the last poll for such election, for the name of such person died
or ceased to be a member, for the purposes of designating the new leader in his
place.?. After Part V of the principal Act, the
following Part shall be inserted, namely:? ?PART V-A FREE SUPPLY OF CERTAIN
MATERIAL TO CANDIDATES OF RECOGNISED POLITICAL PARTIES 78-A. Free supply of copies of electoral
rolls.?(1) The Government shall,
at any election to be held for the purposes of constituting the House of the
People or the Legislative Assembly of a State, supply, free of cost, to the
candidates of recognised political parties such number of copies of the electoral
roll, as finally published under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (43
of 1950) and such other material as may be prescribed. (2) ? The
material referred to in sub-section (1) shall be supplied,? (i)
subject
to such conditions as may be imposed by the Central Government in consultation
with the Election Commission with respect to the reduction of the maximum
expenditure which may be incurred by the candidate under Section 77; and (ii)
through
such officers as may be specified by the Election Commission who shall act in
accordance with such general or special directions as may be given by the
Election Commission. 78-B. Supply of certain items to
candidates, etc.?(1)
The Election Commission shall, at any time between the date of publication of
the notification calling the election for the purposes of constituting the
House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of a State and the date on
which the poll is to be taken, supply or cause to be supplied, such items as
the Central Government may, by order, determine in consultation with the
Election Commission, to the electors in the constitutencies concerned or to the
candidates set up by the recognised political parties. (2) ? Where
the Election Commission supplies the items to the candidates under sub-section
(1), the Central Government may, in consultation with the Election Commission,
impose conditions with respect to the reduction of the maximum expenditure
which may be incurred by the candidate under Section 77. Explanation.?For the purposes of Section 39-A,
this chapter and clause (hh) of sub-section (2) of Section 169, the expression
?recognised political party?, has the meaning assigned to it in the Election
Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.'. In Section 169 of the principal Act, in
sub-section (2),? (i)
after
clause (aa), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:? ?(aaa) the form of contribution report;?; (ii)
after
clause (b), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:? ?(bb) the manner of allocation of equitable
sharing of time on the cable television network and other electronic media;?; (iii) after clause (h), the following clause shall
be inserted, namely:? ?(hh) the material to be supplied by the
Government to the candidates of recognised political parties at any election to
be held for the purposes of constituting the House of the People or the
Legislative Assembly of a State;?. Chapter
3 AMENDMENT OF THE COMPANIES
ACT, 1956 In Section 293-A of the Companies Act, 1956,
after sub-section (5), the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:? ?Explanation.?For the purposes of this
section, ?political party? means a political party registered under Section
29-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951).?. Chapter
4 AMENDMENTS OF THE INCOME
TAX ACT, 1961 In Section 13-A of the Income Tax Act, 1961
(43 of 1961) (hereafter in this chapter referred to as the Income Tax Act),? (i)
in the
proviso, in clause (b), for the words ?ten thousand rupees?, the words ?twenty
thousand rupees? shall be substituted; (ii)
after
the proviso and before the Explanation, the following proviso shall be
inserted, namely:? ?Provided further that if the Treasurer of
such political party or any other person authorised by that political party in
this behalf fails to submit a report under sub-section (3) of Section 29-C of
the Representation of People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) for a financial year, no
exemption under this section shall be available for that political party for
such financial year.?; (iii) for the Explanation, the following
Explanation shall be substituted, namely:? ?Explanation.?For the purposes of this
section, ?political party? means a political party registered under Section
29-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951).?. In Section 80-A of the Income Tax Act, in
sub-section (3), for the word, figures and letters ?Section 80-GGA?, the words,
figures and letters ?Section 80-GGA or Section 80-GGC? shall be substituted. After Section 80-GGA of the Income Tax Act,
the following sections shall be inserted, namely:? ?80-GGB. Deduction in respect of
contributions given by companies to political parties.?In computing the total
income of an assessee, being an Indian company, there shall be deducted any sum
contributed by it, in the previous year to any political party. Explanation.?For the removal of doubts, it is
hereby declared that for the purposes of this section, the words ?contribute?,
with its grammatical variation, has the meaning assigned to it under Section
293-A of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956). 80-GGC. Deduction in respect of
contributions given by any person to political parties.?In computing the total
income of an assessee, being any person, except local authority and every
artificial juridical person wholly or partly funded by the Government, there
shall be deducted any amount of contribution made by him, in the previous year,
to a political party. Explanation.?For the purposes of Section
80-GGB and 80-GGC, ?political party? means a political party registered under
Section 29-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951).?. [1] Received the
assent of the President on 11-9-2003 and published in the Gazette of India,
Extra., Part II, Section 1, dated 12-9-2003, pp. 1-5, Sl. No. 51. [2] Ed.: Act 46 of
2003 repealed by Act 17 of 2015, S. 2 & Sch. I. See also S. 4 of the
Repealing and Amending Act, 2015: ?4. Savings.? The repeal by this Act of any enactment
shall not affect any Act in which such enactment has been applied, incorporated
or referred to; and 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; nor shall this Act affect any principle or rule of law,
or established jurisdiction, form or course of pleading, practice or procedure,
or existing usage, custom, privilege, restriction, exemption, office or
appointment, notwithstanding that the same respectively may have been in any
manner affirmed, recognised or derived by, in or from any enactment hereby
repealed; nor shall the
repeal by this Act of any enactment provide or restore any jurisdiction,
office, custom, liability, right, title, privilege, restriction, exemption,
usage, practice, procedure or other matter or thing not now existing or in
force.?Election and Other Related Laws (Amendment)
Act, 2003[1]
[Repealed]
PREAMBLE
Section
1. Short title.
Section
2. Insertion of new Sections 29-B and 29-C.
Section
3. Insertion of new Section 39-A.
Section
4. Amendment of Section 77.
Section
5. Insertion of new Part V-A.
Section
6. Amendment of Section 169.
Section
7. Amendment of Section 293-A of Act 1 of 1956.
Section
8. Amendment of Section 13-A.
Section
9. Amendment of Section 80-A.
Section
10. Insertion of new Sections 80-GGB and 80-GGC.