Transitional Tariff Powers of Part B States (Omitted)
Official heading: “[Power of certain States in Part B of the First Schedule to impose restrictions on trade and commerce.]”
At the inception of the Constitution in 1950, Article 306 permitted certain Part B States (former princely states and unions) that levied pre-existing inter-state customs tariffs to continue doing so under bilateral agreements for an interim period up to 10 years. With the linguistic reorganization of States and the repeal of Part B classifications under the Seventh Amendment in 1956, this transitional exemption was omitted.
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XIII, Article 306, printed page 172
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1. In One Sentence
Article 306 formerly permitted Part B States to maintain transitional inter-state customs tariffs, and was omitted when state categories were unified in 1956.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
In 1950, certain former princely states (Part B States) had their own internal customs duties and trade levies.
Article 306 provided a temporary transitional mechanism allowing them to continue levying these duties under an agreement with the Government of India for up to 10 years.
The Constitution (Seventh Amendment) Act, 1956 abolished Part B States and omitted Article 306, eliminating internal customs barriers and creating a unified national economic market.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
A legal historian reviews pre-1956 transit taxes levied on goods passing through the former princely State of Hyderabad.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 306 was an interim transitional provision omitted in 1956.
- Omitted by 7th Amendment: Repealed effective 1 November 1956 along with the Part B State category.
- Abolished internal tariffs: Dismantled princely state transit duties and trade cordons.
- Unified Indian common market: Established direct national application of Article 301 across all territories.
5. Historical constitutional wording — not operative
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XIII, Article 306, printed page 172 • 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.