VoxJuris
Home › Acts › Constitution › Part XII › Article 276

Constitution of India · Part XII: Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits · Distribution of Revenues between the Union and the States

Article 276: Taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments

In plain words

A State law taxing professions, trades, callings or employments, for the State or a local authority, is not invalid merely because it is a tax on income. The total such tax payable by one person to the State or any one local authority cannot exceed two thousand and five hundred rupees a year.

  • This does not limit Parliament's power to tax income from professions, trades, callings and employments.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

(1) Notwithstanding anything in article 246, no law of the Legislature of a State relating to taxes for the benefit of the State or of a municipality, district board, local board or other local authority therein in respect of professions, trades, callings or employments shall be invalid on the ground that it relates to a tax on income.

(2) The total amount payable in respect of any one person to the State or to any one municipality, district board, local board or other local authority in the State by way of taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments shall not exceed [two thousand and five hundred rupees] per annum. * * * *

(3) The power of the Legislature of a State to make laws as aforesaid with respect to taxes on professions, trades, callings and employments shall not be construed as limiting in any way the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to taxes on income accruing from or arising out of professions, trades, callings and employments.

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the official text of the Constitution of India. As amended up to the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023. Text as on 10 September 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the article 276