Definitions: In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) 'bank' means a banking company as defined in clause (c) of Section 5

of the Banking Companies Act, 1949 (Central Act 10 of 1949);

(2) 'company' means any company as defined in Section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (Central Act I of 1956); (3)

"Co-operative Society" means a society registered or deemed to be

registered under the Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 1949 (Assam Act No. I 1950); (4)

'court' includes acourt acting in the exercise of insolvency jurisdiction;

(5)

'debtor' means a person to whom a loan is advanced and includes a

successor-in-interest or surety. (6) "Government' means the State Government; (7) 'interest' includes any amount, by whatever name called, paid or payable

to a lender in consideration of, or otherwise in respect of, a loan in

excess of the principal, but does not include any sum lawfully charged by a lender in accordance with the provisions of this or any other act for the time being in force or on account of costs, charges or expenses;

(8) 'license'meansamoney lender's license granted under this Act and licensed shall be construed accordingly; (9) 'loan' means an advance whether of amoney or articles, goods or materials made on consideration for interest, and includes any transaction which the Court hds in substance to amount to such an advance, but does not include-

1. (i) deposit of money or other property in a bank, Post Office Saving Bank, or Company;
2. (ii) an advance made by a bank, or company;
3. (iii) an advance made by the Government or by any person authorized by the Government to make advance in their behalf of by any local authority;
4. (iv) an advance made by any person bona fide carrying on any business,

not having for its primary object the lending of money, if such

loan is advanced in the regular course of such business; and

1. (v) an advance made by a landlord to his tenant, by a lessor to his lessee, by one partner or co-sharer in cultivation to another for the purpose of carrying on agriculture. (10) 'money lender' means a person whose business is that of advancing

and realizing loans, and shall include a mundy merchant and a

pawnbroker, but does not include a bank, or company and the expression

'money lending' shall be construed accordingly;

(1 1) 'mundy merchant' means a person who advances money on the security of any standing crop or produce; (12)

'pawnbroker' means a person who carries on the business of

taking goods and cattle in pawn for a loan given by him; (13) 'pawner' means a person delivering an articles for pawn to a pawnbroke. (14)

'pledge' means an article pawned with a pawnbroker;

(15) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (16) 'principal' in relation to a loan means the amount actually lent to the debtor; (17) 'year' means the financial year. 3. Money-lender to obtained license annually: No person shall, on or after the date on which the provisions of this Act come into force, carry on business of money lending at any place in the State, unless he has obtained a money-lender's license under this Act.

4. Grant and refusal of licenses: (a)

Evety application for a money-lender's license shall be in writing

and shall be made to the prescribed licensing authority; (b) Every such application shall be accompanied by such fee, as the State Government may, from time to time prescribe; (c)

The fee payable under this sub-section shall be paid through

Treasury Challan under the appropriate Head of Account; (d) Where the license applied for is refused, the fee paid under this sub-section shall be refunded in full and where the application for the lilcense is withdrawn by the applicant before the license is

actually granted the fee paid less ten percent thereof shall be

refunded. 2 Every license shall be granted in such form and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed; The licensing authority may, by order in writing, refuse to grant a license if such authority is satisfied: (a)

That the applicant has not complied with the provisions of this

Act or the rules made thereunder in respect of an application for grant of a license;

1. (b) That the applicant has knowingly acted in contravention of any other Act or rule for the time being in force; or
2. (c) that the applicant has- (i) knowingly participated in, or connived at, any fraud or dishonestly in the conduct of, or in connection with, the business of money lending, or
   • (ii) been found guilty of any offence under Chapter XVII or Chapter XVIII of the Indian Penal Code (Central Act 45 of 1860);

Provided that before passing an order refusing a license on any of the

grounds specified above other than the ground specified in sub-clause

1. (ii) of Clause (C), the applicant shall be given a reasonable oppohty of being heard.