Qualifying ship definition governs tonnage tax eligibility by tying registration, certification, and operational use to tax benefit access.
The definition of qualifying ship in Clause 235(i) requires three operative conditions for tonnage tax eligibility: a minimum net tonnage, registration under the relevant shipping statute or an authorised foreign licence, and a valid certificate evidencing net tonnage. It lists explicit exclusions-vessels providing services normally provided on land, fishing vessels, factory ships, pleasure crafts, harbour and river ferries, offshore installations-and disqualifies vessels used for fishing beyond a specified threshold in a tax year, anchoring eligibility in maritime regulatory certification and operational use.

Place of effective management central to qualifying company status, restricting tonnage tax benefits to genuinely India-managed shipping firms.
The qualifying company for the tonnage tax regime must satisfy four cumulative conditions: be an Indian company; have its place of effective management in India-defined to include decisions made by executives as well as the board; own at least one qualifying ship; and have its main object as operating ships. Clause 235(h) consolidates these criteria within a broader definitional framework and references updated maritime legislation to clarify eligibility and reduce interpretive disputes.

Tonnage tax definitions: expanded, self-contained eligibility rules broaden coverage and tighten residency and exclusion tests.
Clause 235 consolidates and expands tonnage tax definitions by explicitly including inland vessels, embedding a detailed qualifying company test requiring Indian residency, ownership of qualifying ships, principal shipping business, and a specified place of effective management; it also defines qualifying ship with tonnage, registration/licensing and certification requirements and enumerated exclusions to prevent abuse.