- In this Act unless the context otherwise requites,-(a)"annual household income" means the aggregate of the gross annual income from all sources of all the members of a family during the year ending on the 31st December 1979;(b)"creditor" means a person from or in respect of whom the debtor has borrowed or incurred a debt and includes the heir of such person;(c)"debt" means any liability in cash or in kind, whether secured or unsecured and whether decreed or not, but does not include arrears of taxes due to the Central Government or a State Government or a local authority;(d)"debtor" means any person from whom any debt is due and whose annual household income does not exceed four thousand and eight hundred rupees:[Provided that a person shall not be deemed to be a debtor, if he or any member of his family-(i)has, in either of the two financial years, or in both the two financial years, immediately preceding the 1st day of April 1979 has been assessed to income-tax under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (Central Act 43 of 1961) or under the income-tax law in force in any foreign country; or(ii)has, in either of the two financial years, or in both the two financial years, immediately preceding the 1st day of April 1979 has been assessed to sales tax under the [Tamil Nadu General Sales tax Act, 1959 (Tamil Nadu Act 1 of 1959)] or under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (Central Act 74 of 1956); or(iii)has, in any one or more within the four half years, or in all the four half years, immediately preceding the 1st October 1979 been assessed to property or house tax in respect of buildings or lands other than agricultural lands under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920), the [Chennai] [Substituted for the word 'Madras' by the City of Madras (Alteration of Name) Act, 1996 (Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1996).] City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 (Tamil Nadu Act IV of 1919), the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 15 of 1971), the [Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1958 (Tamil Nadu Act XXXV of 1958)] [This Act has been repealed and re-enacted as the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (Tamil Nadu Act 29 of 1994).], the Cantonments Act, 1924 (Central Act II of 1924)3 or any law governing municipal or local bodies in this State or in any other State or Union territory in India, provided that the aggregate annual rental value of such buildings and lands whether let out or in the occupation of the owner is not less than rupees one thousand and two hundred.Explanation. - The annual rental value of any building or land for the purposes of proviso (iii) shall-(1)where the assessment is based on the annual rental value, be deemed to be such value;(2)where the assessment, is based on the capital value, be deemed to be five per cent of the capital value; and(3)in any other case, be deemed to be the value ascertained in the prescribed manner; or(iv)has, in any one or more within the four half years, or in all the four half years, immediately preceding the 1st October 1979, been assessed to profession tax on half-yearly income of more than one thousand and two hundred rupees derived from a profession other than agriculture under the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act, 1920 (Tamil Nadu Act V of 1920), the [Chennai] [Substituted for the word 'Madras' by the City of Madras (Alteration of Name) Act, 1996 (Tamil Nadu Act 28 of 1996).] City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919 (Tamil Nadu Act IV of 1919), the Madurai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1971 (Tamil Nadu Act 15 of 1971), the [Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1958 (Tamil Nadu Act XXXV of 1958)] [This Act has been repealed and re-enacted as the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (Tamil Nadu Act 29 of 1994).], the [Cantonments Act, 1924 (Central Act II of 1924)] [This Act has been repealed and re-enacted as the Cantonment Act, 2003.] or any law governing Municipal or local bodies in this State or in any other State or Union territory in India.Explanation. - Proviso (iv) shall apply only to a person whose annual household income exceeds four thousand and eight hundred rupees and such person shall not be deemed to be a debtor for the purposes of this Act, or(v)whether individually or jointly owns in this State or elsewhere agricultural lands exceeding ten acres of unirrigated lands or five acres of irrigated lands (whether irrigated from a Government source or a private source).Explanation. - Where any person owns both irrigated and unirrigated lands, for the purpose of calculating under proviso (v), the extent of lands owned by him, one acre of irrigated land shall be deemed to be equal to two acres of unirrigated land; or(vi)whether individually or jointly owns in this State or elsewhere any other immovable property (other than agricultural lands), the market value of which exceeds twenty-five thousand rupees; or(vii)whether individually or jointly owns in this State or elsewhere both agricultural lands and other immovable property, the market value of both such agricultural lands and other immovable property exceeds twenty-five thousand rupees.Explanation. - For the purpose of provisos (vi) and (vii), the market value of the immovable property or both the agricultural lands and other immovable property, as the case may be, shall be estimated to be the price, which, in the opinion of the authority prescribed in this behalf, such immovable property or both the agricultural lands and other immovable property, as the case may be, would have fetched if sold in the open market on the 19th April 1980;] [This proviso was inserted by section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Debt Relief (Amendment) Act, 1981 (Tamil Nadu Act 10 of 1981) which was deemed to have come into force on the 19th April 1980](e)"family" in relation to a person, means the individual, the wife or husband, as the case may be, of such individual and their unmarried minor children.Explanation. - For the purpose of this clause, "minor" means a person who has not completed his or her age of eighteen years;(f)"interest" means any amount or other thing paid or payable in excess of the principal sum borrowed or pecuniary obligation incurred; or where anything has been borrowed in kind, in excess of what has been so borrowed, by whatsoever name such amount or thing may be called, and whether the same is paid or payable entirely in cash or entirely in kind or partly in cash and partly in kind and whether the same is expressly mentioned or not in the document or contract, if any;(g)"person" means an individual or a family;(h)"Tahsildar" includes a Deputy Tahsildar in independent charge of a taluk or sub-taluk and any other officer of the Revenue Department not below the rank of a Deputy Tahsildar empowered by the State Government to exercise the powers and perform the functions of a Tahsildar under this Act;(i)"transferee of the creditor" means any person (including an institution referred to in clause (h) of section 12) to whom-(i)the creditor has pledged the movable property pledged to him, by the debtor and includes any subsequent transferee to whom such transferee has pledged such movable property and also includes any person in possession of the property pledged;(ii)the creditor has transferred or otherwise assigned his interest in the property mortgaged by the debtor and includes any subsequent transferee to whom such transferee has transferred or otherwise assigned his interest in the property mortgaged and also includes any person in possession of the property mortgaged.
