Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India

The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Sixth Amendment) Act, 1956, brought taxes on inter-State sales and purchases of goods other than newspapers within the exclusive legislative and executive power of the Union, and levied taxes on inter-State sales and purchase of goods other than newspapers. Although these taxes would be levied and collected in accordance with an Act of Parliament, they would not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India, but would accrue to the States themselves in accordance with such principles of distribution as may be formulated by Parliament by law.

The 6th Amendment also expressly empowers Parliament to formulate by the principles for determining when a sale or purchase of goods takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. Parliament was also empowered to formulate principles for determining when a sale or purchase of goods takes place outside a State, or in the course of the import of the goods into, or export of the goods out of, the territory of India. Further, it gave Parliament the power to declare by law the goods which are of special importance to inter-State trade or commerce and also to specify the restrictions and conditions to which any State law (whether made before or after the Parliamentary law) would be subject in regard to the system of levy, rates and other incidents of the tax on the sale or purchase of those goods.