- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires?(1)"appellate authority" means any officer or authority appointed by the Government to exercise the powers of an appellate authority under this Act;(1A)"bank" means-(i)a banking company to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (Central Act 10 of 1949), applies;(ii)The State Bank of India constituted under the State Bank of India Act, 1955 (Central Act 23 of 1955);(iii)a subsidiary bank as defined in clause (k) of section 2 of the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959 (Central Act 38 of 1959);(iv)the Industrial Development Bank of India established under the Industrial Development Bank of India Act, 1964 (Central Act 18 of 1964);(v)a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970 (Central Act 5 of 1970);(vi)a Regional Rural Bank established under the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 (Central Act 21 of 1976);(vii)a corresponding new bank constituted under section 3 of the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings)Act, 1980 (Central Act 40 of 1980);(viii)the Export Import Bank of India established under the Export Import bank of India Act, 1981 (Central Act 28 of 1981);(ix)the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development established under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981 (Central Act 61 of 1981);(x)the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India established under the Industrial Reconstruction Bank of India Act, 1984 (Central Act 62 of 1984);(1B)"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes appointed under the provisions of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (Act 15 of 1963);(2)"co-operative society" means a society registered or deemed to be registered under the Madras Co-operative Societies Act, 1932 [(Madras Act VI of 1932) or the Travancore- Cochin Co-operative Societies Act, 1951(`Act X of 1952);(3)"Interest" includes the return to be made over and above what was actually lent, whether the same is charged or sought to be recovered specifically by way of interest or otherwise, but does not include any sum charged by a lender in accordance with the provisions of this Act or any other law for the time being in force, for or on account of costs, charges or expenses;(4)"licence" means a money-lender's licence granted under this Act;(4A)"licensing authority" means an officer or authority appointed by the Government to perform the functions of a licensing authority under this Act;(5)"loan" means an advance whether of money or in kind at interest, and includes any transaction which the Court finds in substance to Amount to such an advance but does not include?(i)a deposit of money or other property in a Government Post Office Savings Bank or in a bank, or in a company as defined in the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act I of 1956), or with a co-operative society;(ii)an advance made to any loan floated by the Government of India or the Government of any State;(iii)an advance made by a bank or a Co-operative society or an advance made from a provident fund to which the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (Central Act XIX of 1925) applies;(iv)an advance made by the Government or by any person authorized by the Government to make advances in their behalf, or by any local authority;(v)an advance made by any authority specified by the Government by notification in the Gazette;(vi)an advance made by a trader bona fide carrying on any business, other than money lending, if such loan is advanced in the regular course of such business;(vii)[ *****************************](viii)an advance made to its members by any Nidhi or Permanent Fund. ["established by or under an Act of Parliament or the Legislature of a State and sponsored by the Central Government or the State Government or their agency, or by any nationalised Bank"](ix)an advance made under any chit fund scheme or kuri or chitty;(6)a person shall be deemed to "molest" another person if he?(a)obstructs, or uses violence to, or intimidates, such other person, or(b)interferes with any property owned or used by him or deprives him of, or hinders him in the use of any such property, or(c)does any act calculated to annoy or intimidate the members of the family or such other person;(7)"money-lender" means a person whose main or subsidiary occupation is the business of advancing and realising loans or acceptance of deposits in the course of such business and includes any person appointed by him to be in charge of a branch office or branch offices or a liaison office or any other office by whatever name called, of his principal place of business and a pawn broker, but does not include-(a)a bank or a co-operative society; or(b)the Life insurance Corporation of India established under section 3 of the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 (Central Act 31 of 1956); or(bb)the industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India Limited incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1913 (7 of 1913);(c)the industrial Finance Corporation established under section 3 of the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, 1948 (Central Act 15 of 1948)(d)[ **********************************](e)the State Financial Corporation established under section 3 of the State Financial Corporation Act, 1951 (Central Act 63 of 1951); or(f)any institution established by or under an Act of Parliament or the Legislature of a State, which grants any loan or advance in pursuance of the provisions of that Act, or(g)any institution in the public sector, whether incorporated or not exempted by the Government by notification.Explanation I. - Where a person, who carries on in the State of Kerala the Business of advancing and realising loans is resident outside the State, the agent of such person resident in the State shall be deemed to be the money-lender in respect of that business for the purposes of this Act.Explanation II. - For the purposes of this Clause (7A), proviso to sub-section (1) of section 3, clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section10, [section 16B] and section 17, the word "person" shall include "a firm or a joint family;"(7A)"pawnbroker" means a person who carries on the business of taking goods and chattels in pawn for a loan.Explanation. - Every person who keeps a shop for the purchase or sale of goods or chattels and who purchases goods or chattels and pays or advances thereon any sum of money, with or under any agreement or understanding expressed or implied that the goods or chattels may be afterwards repurchased on any terms is a pawnbroker within the meaning of this clause;(7B)"pawner" means a person delivering an article for pawn to a pawnbroker;(7C)"pledge" means an article pawned with a pawnbroker;"; and(8)"prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;(9)"principal" in relation to a loan means the amount actually lent to the debtor. ["or the pawner"];(9A)"trader" means a person who in the regular course of business buys and sells goods or other property, whether movable or immovable, and includes-(a)a wholesale or retail merchant;(b)a commission agent;(c)a broker; and(d)a manufacturer;(10)"year" means the financial year.
