Home The Constitution Part XII Article 286

Art. 286 Part XII: Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits

Restrictions as to Imposition of Tax on the Sale or Purchase of Goods

Exact text — Constitution of India

(1) No law of a State shall impose, or authorise the imposition of, a tax on the supply of goods or of services or both where such supply takes place—(a) outside the State; or (b) in the course of the import of the goods into, or export of the goods out of, the territory of India. (2) Parliament may by law formulate principles for determining when a supply of goods or of services or both in any of the ways mentioned in clause (1).

In Plain English

What this Article actually means

This Article bars a state from taxing sales/supplies that genuinely happen outside its own territory or as part of India's international import/export trade — preventing states from overreaching their taxation power into transactions that aren't really 'theirs' to tax, and giving Parliament power to set the principles for determining exactly when a transaction falls into these excluded categories.

Why This Matters To You

How it shows up in everyday life

This is part of why a purely export transaction, or a genuinely out-of-state sale, isn't subject to a particular state's local sales/GST-equivalent tax — a jurisdictional boundary preventing overlapping or inappropriate state-level taxation of transactions outside that state's proper reach.

Read alongside this one

Art. 301 — Freedom of Trade, Commerce and Intercourse

Frequently Asked

Quick answers about Article 286

Does this Article still matter after GST replaced most state sales taxes?

Its underlying jurisdictional principle (states can't tax genuinely out-of-state or international transactions) remains relevant conceptually within the GST framework's 'place of supply' rules, even though the specific pre-GST sales tax context has evolved.

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The text above reproduces Article 286 of the Constitution of India as amended to date, for general educational reference. It is public-domain legislative text, but we recommend cross-checking the authoritative version at legislative.gov.in or india.gov.in before relying on it for a legal matter. The explanation, examples and FAQs are general information, not legal advice — consult a qualified advocate for guidance on your specific situation.