Chapter I — Preliminary

Section 2Definitions

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Act 59 of 1988)

Text of the section

Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (1) “area”, in relation to any provision of this Act, means such area as the State Government may, having regard to the requirements of that provision, specify by notification in the Official Gazette; (2) “articulated vehicle” means a motor vehicle to which a semitrailer is attached; (3) “axle weight” means in relation to an axle of a vehicle the total weight transmitted by the several wheels attached to that axle to the surface on which the vehicle rests; (4) “certificate of registration” means the certificate issued by a competent authority to the effect that a motor vehicle has been duly registered in accordance with the provisions of Chapter IV; (5) “conductor”, in relation to a stage carriage, means a person engaged in collecting fares from passengers, regulating their entrance into, or exit from, the stage carriage and performing such other functions as may be prescribed; (6) “conductor’s licence” means the licence issued by a competent authority under Chapter III authorising the person specified therein to act as a conductor; (7) “contract carriage” means a motor vehicle which carries a passenger or passenger or passengers for hire or reward and is engaged under a contract, whether expressed or implied, for the use of such vehicle as a whole for the carriage of passengers mentioned therein and entered into by a person with a holder of a permit in relation to such vehicle or any person authorised by him in this behalf on a fixed or an agreed rate or sum— (a) on a time basis, whether or not with reference to any route or distance; or (b) from one point to another, and in either case, without stopping to pick up or set down passengers not included in the contract anywhere during the journey, and includes— (i) a maxicab; and (ii) a motor cab notwithstanding that separate fares are charged for its passengers; (8) “dealer” includes a person who is engaged— 2* * * * * (b) in building bodies for attachment to chassis; or 1.1st July, 1989, vide notification No. S.O. 368(E), dated 22nd May, 1989, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii).

Reproduced from the India Code text of the Act. Bracketed superscript numerals are the official footnote markers for earlier amendments.

Before you rely on this. The base text above is the Act as consolidated by the India Code, which predates the 2019 amendment; any 2019 change is shown separately rather than merged in. Later amendments may also apply. For anything official, read the current text on the e-Gazette or the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways site.

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