Article 271

Union Surcharge on Central Taxes and Duties

Official heading: “Surcharge on certain duties and taxes for purposes of the Union”

Check this article against the official editionAwaiting human legal review

Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XII, Article 271, printed page 160
Last human source-link check: Not yet checked
Last human legal review: Not yet reviewed

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1. In One Sentence

Empowers Parliament to increase any tax or duty mentioned in Articles 269 or 270 by a surcharge for exclusive Union purposes.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Article 271 gives Parliament the extraordinary power to impose an additional surcharge on any tax or duty covered by Article 269 or Article 270 (such as a surcharge on income tax).

The entire proceeds of any surcharge levied under Article 271 form part of the Consolidated Fund of India and belong exclusively to the Union Government.

Unlike the general divisible pool under Article 270, surcharges are not shared with the States and are not subject to Finance Commission devolution.

Following the 101st Amendment in 2016, Goods and Services Tax (GST) was expressly excluded from Article 271; Parliament cannot levy an Article 271 surcharge on GST.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

Parliament levies a 10% surcharge on high-income taxpayers to fund central defence modernization.

Core takeaway: Under Article 271, 100% of that surcharge revenue is retained by the Union Government and zero percent is distributed to the States.

Illustrative Notice: State Governments frequently raise federal concerns over the expansion of cesses and surcharges because they reduce the proportion of divisible revenue.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 271 provides exclusive fiscal augmentation for the Union.

Exclusive Union revenue: Entire proceeds belong to the Union without sharing.
Not subject to Finance Commission: Bypasses the Article 280 devolution formula.
GST exclusion: Expressly excludes goods and services tax from surcharge impositions.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

Notwithstanding anything in articles 269 and 270, Parliament may at any time increase any of the duties or taxes referred to in those articles except the goods and services tax under article 246A, by a surcharge for purposes of the Union and the whole proceeds of any such surcharge shall form part of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Transcription for reference; compare with the linked official editionNot yet verified by a human legal reviewer

6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations

Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.

Sources & Citation Metadata

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Constitutional TextThe Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)Cited PDF page
Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XII, Article 271, printed page 160 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.

Human legal review is pending; compare the text with the cited editionNon-partisan educational resource