83. Terminal Tax on passengers by Railway or Inland Steam-Vessel. - (1) Every passenger brought to or taken from any station in the Calcutta Municipality or the Howrah Municipality by railway, and
every passenger brought to or taken from any landing place in the port of Calcutta, within [eight kilometers] from Government House, by inland steam-vessel,shall pay a tax of [three naye paise] in respect of each journey so made by him:Provided as follows: -(a)the said tax shall not be payable by any passenger brought from, or taken to, any place situated within a radius of [forty-eight kilometers] from Government House;(b)the [State Government] may, by notification, either -(i)[* * *] reduce the said radius to any distance less than [forty-eight kilometers], in its application either to passengers generally or to passengers of any specified class, or(ii)[* * *] cancel proviso (a), or(iii)reduce the said tax to any lower rate, either in respect of passengers generally or in respect of passengers making frequent journeys;(c)the said tax may, in the case of passengers taking suburban season tickets, be calculated at the rate of [thirty-seven naya paise] per mensem for each such ticket, or at such lower rate as the [State Government] may prescribe by notification.(2)The said tax shall be collected by means of a surcharge on fares, by the administration of the railway, or the owner of the vessel, by which the passengers are carried, and shall be paid to the Board at such time as may be prescribed by rule made under section 86, after making such deduction as the [State Government] may approve to meet any expenses incurred in connection with the collection of the tax.(3)The owner of every inland steam-vessel referred to in sub-section (1) shall prepare and deliver, or cause to be prepared and delivered, to the Chairman, each quarter, a return in the form prescribed by rule made under section 86, of all passengers, carried by such vessel, by whom the tax imposed by that sub-section is payable; and shall subscribe, at the foot of such return, a declaration of the truth thereof.(4)Every such return shall be delivered to the Chairman or posted to his address within fifteen working days, or at most within thirty days, after the end of the quarter to which it relates.Explanation. - - The expression "working day" as used in this sub-section, means every day except a public holiday as defined in section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.(5)If this Act is directed to come into force during a quarter, the first of the said returns shall be made for the unexpired portion of that quarter.(6)The expression "administration" and the expressions "owner" and "inland steam-vessel" as used in this section, have the same meanings as in the Indian Railways Act, 1890, and the Indian Steam-vessels Act, [1917], respectively.[(7) After the commencement] of [the Constitution], a tax on passengers by railway shall only be leviable under this section if it [was lawfully levied] immediately before that date, and shall only be leviable until provision to the contrary is made by [Parliament],Customs duty on Jute.
