law: 3. Definitions.-
  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
  (a) "appointed day" means the 1st day of May, 1972;
  (b) "coke oven plant" means the plant and equipment with which the manufacture of hard coke has been, or is being, carried on, and includes-
  (i) all lands, buildings, works, machinery and equipment, vehicles, railways, tramways and sidings, belonging to, or in, the coke oven plant,
  (ii) all workshops belonging to the coke oven plant, including buildings, machinery, instruments, stores, equipment of such workshops and the lands on which such workshops stand,
  (iii) all coke in stock or under production, and other stores, stocks and instruments, belonging to the coke oven plant,
  (iv) all power stations belonging to the coke oven plant or operated for supplying electricity for the purpose of working the coke oven plant or a number of coke oven plants,
  (v) all lands, buildings and equipment belonging to the coke oven plant where the washing of coal is carried on,
  (vi) all other fixed assets, movable or immovable, and current assets belonging to a coke oven plant, whether within its premises or outside.
  1[Explanation.-The expression "current assets" does not include,-
  (a) dues representing the sale of coal and coal products effected at any time before the appointed day and outstanding immediately before the said day;
  (b) dues from the Coal Board, established under section 4 of the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and Development) Act, 1952 (19 of 1952), prior to the repeal of the said Act, with respect to any period before the appointed day;
  (c) dues from sundry debtors, loans and advances to other parties and investments, not being investments in the coke oven plant;
  (d) security deposits made by the owners with the Coal Controller appointed by the Central Government or with the Railways for the fulfilment of contracts or with a State Electricity Board for the payment of bills;
  (e) earnest money deposited by the owners with the Railways for obtaining contracts;]
  (c) "coking coal mine" means a coal mine in which there exists one or more seams of coking coal, whether exclusively or in addition to any seam of other coal;
  (d) "company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), and includes a foreign company within the meaning of section 591 of that Act;
  (e) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Payments appointed under section 20;
  (f) "Custodian" means the Custodian appointed under sub-section (2) of section 14, to take over, or carry on, the management of a coking coal mine or coke oven plant;
  (g) "date of assent" means the date on which assent is given by the President to this Act;
  (h) "Government company" has the meaning assigned to it by section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956);
  (i) "managing contractor" means the person, or body of persons, who, with the previous consent in writing of the State Government, has entered into an arrangement, contract or understanding, with the owner of a coking coal mine or coke oven plant under which the operations of the coking coal mine or coke oven plant are substantially controlled by such person or body of persons;
  (j) "mine" means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried on, and includes-
  (i) all borings and bore holes;
  (ii) all shafts adjacent to, and belonging to, or in, a mine, whether in the course of being sunk or not;
  (iii) all levels and inclined planes in the course of being driven;
  (iv) all open cast working;
  (v) all conveyors or aerial ropeways provided for bringing into or removal from a mine of minerals or other articles or for the removal of refuse therefrom;
  (vi) all lands, buildings, works, adits, levels, planes, machinery and equipment, vehicles, railways, tramways and sidings belonging to, or in, or about, a mine;
  (vii) all workshops belonging to, or in, a mine, including buildings, machinery, instruments, stores, equipment of such workshops and the lands on which such workshops stand;
  (viii) all coal in stock or in transit or under production and other stores, stocks and instruments belonging to, or in, a mine;
  (ix) all power stations belonging to, or in, a mine or operated for supplying electricity for the purpose of working the mine or a number of mines;
  (x) all lands, buildings and equipment belonging to, or in, a mine where the washing of coal or manufacture of coke is carried on;
  (xi) all other fixed assets, movable or immovable, and current assets, belonging to a mine, whether within its premises or outside.
  1[Explanation.-The expression "current assets" does not include,-
  (a) dues representing the sale of coal and coal products effected at any time before the appointed day and outstanding immediately before the said day;
  (b) dues from the Coal Board, established under section 4 of the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and Development) Act, 1952 (19 of 1952), prior to the repeal of the said Act, with respect to any period before the appointed day;
  (c) dues from sundry debtors, loans and advances to other parties and investments, not being investments in the coking coal mine;
  (d) security deposits made by the owners with the Coal Controller appointed by the Central Government or with the Railways for the fulfilment of contracts or with a State Electricity Board for the payment of bills;
  (e) earnest money deposited by the owners with the Railways for obtaining contracts;]
  (k) "Mineral Concession Rules" means the rules, for the time being in force, made under the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act, 1957 (67 of 1957);
  (l) "mining company" means a company owning a coking coal mine, and in relation to a foreign company within the meaning of section 591 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), the undertaking of that company in India;
  (m) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
  (n) "owner",-
  (i) when used in relation to a mine, has the meaning assigned to it in the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952),
  (ii) when used in relation to a coke oven plant, means any person who is the immediate proprietor or lessee or occupier of the coke oven plant or any part thereof or is a contractor for the working of the coke oven plant or any part thereof;
  (o) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
  (p) "scheduled bank" means a bank included for the time being in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (1 of 1934);
  (q) "specified date" means such date as the Central Government may, for the purpose of any provision of this Act, by notification, specify; and different dates may be specified for different provisions of this Act;
  (r) words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and Development) Act, 1952 (12 of 1952), have the meanings, respectively, assigned to them in that Act;
  (s) words and expressions used herein and not defined in this Act or in the Coal Mines (Conservation, Safety and Development) Act, 1952 (12 of 1952), but defined in the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952), shall have the meanings, respectively, assigned to them in the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952).
  1. Subs. by Act 22 of 1978, s. 2, for the Explanation (w.e.f. 1-5-1972).