Article 273

Transitional Grants in Lieu of Jute Export Duty

Official heading: “Grants in lieu of export duty on jute and jute products”

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Source edition: The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
Source locator: Part XII, Article 273, 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

Provided ten-year transitional grants from the Consolidated Fund of India to Assam, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal in lieu of their former share of jute export duty.

2. What It Means in Everyday Language

Prior to the Constitution, jute-growing Provinces received a designated share of the export duty on jute under the Government of India Act, 1935.

When the 1950 Constitution gave the Union exclusive control over export duties, Article 273 provided transitional compensation.

It mandated that prescribed sums be paid out of the Consolidated Fund of India as grants-in-aid to the States of Assam, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal in lieu of jute export duty.

Under clause (2), these transitional grants were limited to a duration of ten years from the commencement of the Constitution, expiring in 1960.

3. Practical Illustrative Example

Everyday Scenario:

A legal historian researches federal compensation to Bengal and Assam following the loss of jute revenue upon Independence.

Core takeaway: Article 273 provided a guaranteed 10-year constitutional grant from the Union to offset the loss of provincial export duty shares.

Illustrative Notice: The transitional period expired in 1960; fiscal support to these States is now provided through general Finance Commission grants under Article 275.

4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions

Article 273 was a time-bound transitional fiscal safeguard for jute-producing eastern States.

Specified beneficiaries: Limited to Assam, Bihar, Odisha, and West Bengal.
Ten-year sunset: Expired ten years after the commencement of the Constitution.
Charged on Consolidated Fund: Paid as non-voted grants-in-aid during its operative decade.

5. Operative Constitutional Text

(1) There shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India in each year as grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States of Assam, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, in lieu of assignment of any share of the net proceeds in each year of export duty on jute and jute products to those States, such sums as may be prescribed. (2) The sums so prescribed shall continue to be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India so long as any export duty on jute or jute products continues to be levied by the Government of India or until the expiration of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, whichever is earlier. (3) In this article, the expression “prescribed” has the same meaning as in article 270.

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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 273, 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