1. Short title, extent and commencement. — (1) This Act may be called the Gift-tax Act, 1958.
(2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir*.
(3) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 1st day of April, 1958.
2. Definitions. — In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
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[(ii) “Appellate Tribunal” means the Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 252 of the
Income-tax Act;
(iii) “assessee” means a person by whom gift-tax or any other sum of money is payable under
this Act, and includes—
(a) every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the
determination of gift-tax payable by him or by any other person or the amount of refund due to
him or such other person;
(b) every person who is deemed to be an assessee under this Act;
(c) every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under this Act;
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[(iiia) “Assessing Officer” means the 4
[Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner] or
the Income-tax Officer who is vested with the relevant jurisdiction by virtue of directions or orders
issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 120 or any other provision of the
Income-tax Act which apply for the purposes of gift-tax under section 7 of this Act, and also the
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[Joint Commissioner] who is directed under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of the said section 120 to
exercise or perform all or any of the powers and functions conferred on or assigned to the Assessing
Officer under that Act;]
(iv) “assessment” includes reassessment;
* Subject to verification and confirmation by the Administrative ministry.
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. Clause (i) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
2. Subs. by Act 53 of 1962, s. 2, for clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv) (w.e.f. 1-4-1963).
3. Ins. by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
4. Subs. by Act 21 of 1998, s. 76, for “Assistant Commissioner” (w.e.f. 1-10-1998).
5. Subs. by s. 76, ibid., for “Deputy Commissioner” (w.e.f. 1-10-1998).
*. Vide notification No. S.O. 3912(E), dated 30th October, 2019, this Act is made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and
Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh.
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(iva) “assessment year” means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of April
every year;]
(v) “Board” means the 1
[Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under the Central Boards of
Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963)];
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[(va) “charitable purpose” includes relief of the poor, education, medical relief, and the
advancement of any other object of general public utility 3
***;]
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[(vii) the expressions “company”, “Indian company” and “company in which the public are
substantially interested” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them under section 2 of the
Income-tax Act;]
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(viii) “donee” means any person who acquires any property under a gift, and, where a gift is
made to a trustee for the benefit of another person, includes both the trustee and the beneficiary;
(ix) “donor” means any person who makes a gift;
(x) “executor” means an executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased person;
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[(xi) the expressions “firm”, “partner” and “partnership” shall have the meanings respectively
assigned to them under section 2 of the Income-tax Act;]
(xii) “gift” means the transfer by one person to another of any existing movable or immovable
property made voluntarily and without consideration in money or money’s worth, and 9
[includes the
transfer or conversion of any property referred to in section 4, deemed to be a gift under that section].
10[Explanation.—A transfer of any building or part thereof referred to in clause (iii), clause (iiia)
or clause (iiib) of section 27 of the Income-tax Act by the person who is deemed under the said clause
to be the owner thereof made voluntarily and without consideration in money or money’s worth, shall
be deemed to be a gift made by such person;]
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1. Subs. by Act 54 of 1963, s. 5 for “Central Board of Revenue constituted under the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1924”
(w.e.f. 1-1-1964).
2. Ins. by Act 53 of 1962, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-4-1963).
3. The words “not involving the carrying on of any activity for profit” omitted by Act 67 of 1984, s. 71 (w.e.f. 1-4-1984).
4. Clause (vi) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
5. Clause (via) omitted by s. 162, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
6. Subs. by s. 162, ibid., for clause (vii) (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
7. Clause (viia) omitted by s. 162, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
8. Subs. by s. 162, ibid., for clause (xi) (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
9. Subs. by Act 32 of 1971, s. 37, for “includes the transfer of any property deemed to be a gift under section 4”
(w.e.f. 1-4-1972).
10. Ins. by Act 11 of 1987, s. 90 (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
11. Clause (xiii) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
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[(xiv) “Income-tax Act” means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);]
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[(xvib) “legal representative” has the meaning assigned to it in clause (11) of section 2 of the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908);]
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(xviii) “person” includes a Hindu undivided family or a company or an association or a body of
individuals or persons, whether incorporated or not;
(xix) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(xx) “previous year”, in relation to any assessment year—
(a) in the case of an assessee 7
[having no source of income, profits or gains or] having a
source of income, profits or gains in respect of which there is no previous year under the
Income-tax Act, means the twelve months ending on the 31st day of March immediately
preceding the assessment year;
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(c) in the case of any other assessee, means the previous year as defined in 9
[section 3] of the
Income-tax Act if an assessment were to be made under that Act for that year :
10[Provided that where a person who has not been assessed under this Act for any assessment
year makes a gift on a date which does not fall within a previous year as defined in
sub-clause (a)
11*** or sub-clause (c), the previous year shall be the twelve months ending on the
31st day of March immediately preceding the assessment year;
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(xxi) “principal officer”, used with reference to a company or any association of persons,
means—
(a) the secretary and treasurer, manager, managing agent, managing director or agent of the
company or association; or
(b) any person connected with the management of the affairs of the company or association
upon whom the 13[Assessing Officer] has served a notice of his intention of treating him as the
principal officer thereof;
1. Subs. by Act 53 of 1962, s. 2, for clause (xiv) (w.e.f. 1-4-1963).
2. Clause (xv) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
3. Clause (xvi) omitted by, s. 162, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
4. Clause (xvia) omitted by, s. 162, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
5. Ins. by Act 53 of 1962, s. 2 (w.e.f. 1-4-1963).
6. Clause (xvii) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
7. Ins. by Act 12 of 1959, s. 27 (w.e.f. 1-4-1959).
8. Sub-clause (b) omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
9. Subs. by Act 53 of 1962, s. 2, for “clause (11) of section 2” (w.e.f. 1-4-1963).
10. Ins. by Act 12 of 1959, s. 27 (w.e.f. 1-4-1959).
11. The words “or sub-clause (b)” omitted by Act 4 of 1988, s. 162 (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
12. The Second proviso omitted by s.162, ibid, (w.e.f. 1-4-1989).
13. Subs. by s. 161, ibid., for “Gift-tax Officer” (w.e.f. 1-4-1988).
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(xxii) “property” includes any interest in property, movable or immovable;
(xxiii) “taxable gifts” means gifts chargeable to gift-tax under this Act;
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[(xxiiia) territories to which this Act extends shall be deemed to include the Union territories of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Pondicherry—
(a) as respects any period for the purposes of section 5; and
(b) as respects any period included in the previous year, for the purposes of making any
assessment for the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1963, or for any
subsequent year;]
(xxiv) “transfer of property” means any disposition, conveyance, assignment, settlement,
delivery, payment or other alienation of property and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing,
includes—
(a) the creation of a trust in property;
(b) the grant or creation of any lease, mortgage, charge, easement, licence, power,
partnership or interest in property;
(c) the exercise of a power of appointment 2
[(whether general, special or subject to any
restrictions as to the persons in whose favour the appointment may be made)] of property vested
in any person, not the owner of the property, to determine its disposition in favour of any person
other than the donee of the power; and
(d) any transaction entered into by any person with intent thereby to diminish directly or
indirectly the value of his own property and to increase the value of the property of any other
person;
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[(xxv) the expressions “Chief Commissioner”, “Director General”, “Commissioner”,
“Commissioner (Appeals)”, “Director”, 4
[“Additional Director of Income-tax”, “Additional
Commissioner of Income-tax”, “Additional Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)”, “
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[Joint
Director”]]
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[“Joint Commissioner”], “Deputy Commissioner (Appeals)”, 7
[“Assistant Commissioner
or Deputy Commissioner”], “Income-tax Officer”, “Tax Recovery Officer” and “Inspector of
Income-tax” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them under section 2 of the Income-tax
Act.]