Section 2 is the dictionary of the Income Tax Act — before you can apply any rule, you need to know what the law means by its key words. For CA Inter, three definitions from this section show up repeatedly: agricultural income, assessment year, and amalgamation. Let's break down the ones that actually trip students up.
Agricultural Income (Section 2(1A)) is exempt from income tax under Section 10(1), but it's not a blanket exemption for anything grown on a farm. The law has three ingredients: (a) rent or revenue from agricultural land in India, (b) income from actual farming operations — including processing the produce to make it market-ready (like drying wheat or pressing sugar cane), and (c) income from a farm building that's on or near the land and used by the farmer or landlord for agricultural purposes. The building exemption has a crucial catch: the land must not fall within a municipality/cantonment area with population over 10,000, and beyond that, there's a distance rule — within 2 km if the municipal population is 10,001–1 lakh; 6 km if 1–10 lakh; 8 km if over 10 lakh. Capital gains on sale of agricultural land are NOT agricultural income — this is explicitly clarified in Explanation 1.
Assessment Year (Section 2(9)) is the 12-month period from 1st April to 31st March in which your income is assessed. So income earned in Previous Year 2025-26 is assessed in Assessment Year 2026-27. This is foundational — every question in income tax is anchored to AY. Amalgamation (Section 2(1B)) becomes relevant in corporate tax questions: it requires ALL property and liabilities of the merging company to transfer, and shareholders holding at least three-fourths (75%) in value of shares must become shareholders of the new company. Miss that 75% threshold in an MCQ and you'll mark a valid amalgamation as invalid. Assessee (Section 2(7)) simply means anyone liable to pay tax or any sum under the Act — including someone assessed in default (like a payer who forgot to deduct TDS). This is asked in 4-mark theory questions.
Example 1 — Is this agricultural income?
Mr. Rajan owns farmland 5 km from the limits of Coimbatore Municipal Corporation (population: ~11 lakh). He earns ₹3,00,000 from selling wheat grown on this land.
Working:
- Step 1: Is the land in India? ✅ Yes
- Step 2: Is it used for agriculture? ✅ Yes
- Step 3: Is it within the distance limit? Coimbatore population > 10 lakh → limit is 8 km. The land is 5 km away → within 8 km → land is urban agricultural land (not rural)
- Step 4: Since the land is within 8 km of a city with population > 10 lakh, it is not agricultural land for income tax purposes.
- Result: ₹3,00,000 is NOT agricultural income. It is taxable as income from other sources.
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Example 2 — Amalgamation validity check
Sunrise Ltd. merges into Apex Ltd. Before merger, Apex holds shares worth ₹25,00,000 in Sunrise. Total shares of Sunrise are worth ₹1,00,00,000. After merger, shareholders of Sunrise holding shares worth ₹72,00,000 become shareholders of Apex.
Working:
- Step 1: Shares already held by Apex in Sunrise = ₹25,00,000 → exclude these
- Step 2: Remaining shares of Sunrise = ₹1,00,00,000 − ₹25,00,000 = ₹75,00,000
- Step 3: Shareholders who became Apex shareholders = ₹72,00,000
- Step 4: Percentage = ₹72,00,000 ÷ ₹75,00,000 = 96% ≥ 75% ✅
- All property and liabilities transfer ✅
- Result: This qualifies as a valid amalgamation under Section 2(1B).
📖 Bare Act text — Section 2, Income Tax Act 1961
(click to expand)
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
1[(1) "advance tax" means the advance tax payable in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XVII-C;]
2[(1A)] "agricultural income" means—
3[(a) any rent or revenue derived from land which is situated in India and is used for agricultural purposes;]
(b) any income derived from such land by—
(i) agriculture; or
(ii) the performance by a cultivator or receiver of rent-in-kind of any process ordinarily employed by a cultivator or receiver of rent-in-kind to render the produce raised or received by him fit to be taken to market; or
(iii) the sale by a cultivator or receiver of rent-in-kind of the produce raised or received by him, in respect of which no process has been performed other than a process of the nature described in paragraph (ii) of this sub-clause;
(c) any income derived from any building owned and occupied by the receiver of the rent or revenue of any such land, or occupied by the cultivator or the receiver of rent-in-kind, of any land with respect to which, or the produce of which, any process mentioned in paragraphs (ii) and (iii) of sub-clause (b) is carried on: Provided that—
(i) the building is on or in the immediate vicinity of the land, and is a building which the receiver of the rent or revenue or the cultivator, or the receiver of rent-in-kind, by reason of his connection with the land, requires as a dwelling house, or as a store-house, or other out-building, and
(ii) the land is either assessed to land revenue in India or is subject to a local rate assessed and collected by officers of the Government as such or where the land is not so assessed to land revenue or subject to a local rate, it is not situated—
(A) in any area which is comprised within the jurisdiction of a municipality (whether known as a municipality, municipal corporation, notified area committee, town area committee, town committee or by any other name) or a cantonment board and which has a population of not less than ten thousand; or
2[(B) in any area within the distance, measured aerially,—
(I) not being more than two kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in item (A) and which has a population of more than ten thousand but not exceeding one lakh; or
(II) not being more than six kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in item (A) and which has a population of more than one lakh but not exceeding ten lakh; or
(III) not being more than eight kilometres, from the local limits of any municipality or cantonment board referred to in item (A) and which has a population of more than ten lakh.]
3[Explanation 4[1.]—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that revenue derived from land shall not include and shall be deemed never to have included any income arising from the transfer of any land referred to in item (a) or item (b) of sub-clause (iii) of clause (14) of this section.]
5[Explanation 2.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that income derived from any building or land referred to in sub-clause (c) arising from the use of such building or land for any purpose (including letting for residential purpose or for the purpose of any business or profession) other than agriculture falling under sub-clause (a) or sub-clause (b) shall not be agricultural income.]
6[Explanation 3.—For the purposes of this clause, any income derived from saplings or seedlings grown in a nursery shall be deemed to be agricultural income.]
7[Explanation 4.—For the purposes of clause (ii) of the proviso to sub-clause (c), "population" means the population according to the last preceding census of which the relevant figures have been published before the first day of the previous year;]
8[9[(1B)] "amalgamation", in relation to companies, means the merger of one or more companies with another company or the merger of two or more companies to form one company (the company or companies which so merge being referred to as the amalgamating company or companies and the company with which they merge or which is formed as a result of the merger, as the amalgamated company) in such a manner that—
(i) all the property of the amalgamating company or companies immediately before the amalgamation becomes the property of the amalgamated company by virtue of the amalgamation;
(ii) all the liabilities of the amalgamating company or companies immediately before the amalgamation become the liabilities of the amalgamated company by virtue of the amalgamation;
(iii) shareholders holding not less than 1[three-fourths] in value of the shares in the amalgamating company or companies (other than shares already held therein immediately before the amalgamation by, or by a nominee for, the amalgamated company or its subsidiary) become shareholders of the amalgamated company by virtue of the amalgamation,
otherwise than as a result of the acquisition of the property of one company by another company pursuant to the purchase of such property by the other company or as a result of the distribution of such property to the other company after the winding up of the first-mentioned company;]
2[(1C) "Additional Commissioner" means a person appointed to be an Additional Commissioner of Income-tax under sub-section (1) of section 117;
(1D) "Additional Director" means a person appointed to be an Additional Director of Income-tax under sub-section (1) of section 117;]
(2) "annual value", in relation to any property, means its annual value as determined under section 23;
(4) "Appellate Tribunal" means the Appellate Tribunal constituted under section 252;
(5) "approved gratuity fund" means a gratuity fund which has been and continues to be approved by the 4[5[Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner] or 6[Principal Commissioner or Commissioner]] in accordance with the rules contained in Part C of the Fourth Schedule;
(6) "approved superannuation fund" means a superannuation fund or any part of a superannuation fund which has been and continues to be approved by the 4[5[Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner] or 6[Principal Commissioner or Commissioner]] in accordance with the rules contained in Part B of the Fourth Schedule;
(7) "assessee" means a person by whom 7[any tax] or any other sum of money is payable under this Act, and includes—
(a) every person in respect of whom any proceeding under this Act has been taken for the 8[assessment of his income or assessment of fringe benefits] or of the income of any other person in respect of which he is assessable, or of the loss sustained by him or by such other person, or of the amount of refund due to him or to such other person;
(b) every person who is deemed to be an assessee under any provision of this Act;
(c) every person who is deemed to be an assessee in default under any provision of this Act;
9[(7A) "Assessing Officer" means the 10[11[Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner] or 12[Assistant Director or Deputy Director]] or the Income-tax Officer who is vested with the relevant jurisdiction by virtue of directions or orders issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of section 120 or any other provision of this Act, and the 2[Additional Commissioner or] 1[Additional Director or] 2[Joint Commissioner or Joint Director] who is directed under clause (b) of sub-section (4) of that section to exercise or perform all or any of the powers and functions conferred on, or assigned to, an Assessing Officer under this Act;]
(8) "assessment" includes reassessment;
(9) "assessment year" means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of April every year;
3[(9A) "Assistant Commissioner" means a person appointed to be an Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax 4[or a Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax] under sub-section (1) of section 117;]
5[(9B) "Assistant Director" means a person appointed to be an Assistant Director of Income-tax under sub-section (1) of section 117;]
(10) "average rate of income-tax" means the rate arrived at by dividing the amount of income-tax calculated on the total income, by such total income;
6[(11) "block of assets" means a group of assets falling within a class of assets comprising—
(a) tangible assets, being buildings, machinery, plant or furniture;
(b) intangible assets, being know-how, patents, copyrights, trade-marks, licences, franchises or any other business or commercial rights of similar nature,
in respect of which the same percentage of depreciation is prescribed;]
(12) "Board" means the 7[Central Board of Direct Taxes constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963)]; [text continues to page break and is incomplete as provided]