Report No. 250

22. Opium and Revenue Laws (Extension of Application) Act, Act 33 of 1950

Category: Taxes, Tolls and Cess Laws

Recommendation: Repeal

The Act provided for the extension of certain opium and revenue laws to certain parts of India. By means of Section 2 of this Act, the Opium Act, 1857, Opium Act, 1878, Revenue Recovery Act, 1890, Government Trading Taxation Act, 1926, Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930, Taxation on Income (Investigation Commission) Act, 1947 and the Payment of Taxes (Transfer of Property) Act, 1949, and the rules and orders made thereunder which were in force immediately before the commencement of this Act in certain parts of India, were extended to the rest of India (except the State of Jammu and Kashmir).

All these Acts so extended, except the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890, have now been repealed. Most States either have their own revenue recovery Acts or have introduced amendments to the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890 and consequently, this Act has fallen into disuse. Consequently, the Opium and Revenue Laws (Extension of Application) Act, 1950 has now become redundant.

There is no evidence of recent use of this Act. This Act has also been recommended for repeal by the PC Jain Commission Report (Appendix A-1). Hence, the Central Government should repeal this Act.