Operating ships.

115VB.  For the purposes of this Chapter, a company shall be regarded as operating a ship if it operates any ship ¹[“inland vessel, as the case may be,”] whether owned or chartered by it and includes a case where even a part of the ship ¹[“inland vessel, as the case may be,”] has been chartered in by it in an arrangement such as slot charter, space charter or joint charter :

Provided that a company shall not be regarded as the operator of a ship ¹[“inland vessel, as the case may be,”] which has been chartered out by it on bareboat charter-cum-demise terms or on bareboat charter terms for a period exceeding three years.

Note:-

1 .Inserted by The Finance Act, 2025 dated 29.03.2025 w.e.f.01.04.2026.