News

Volume 2 Issue 21 - November 01, 2004

Ministry of Finance clarifies Income Tax issue

DNIS Network News - The Ministry of Finance clarifies doubts regarding income tax concessions available to disabled people.

The latest Income Tax policy announced by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram resulted in some queries being raised by disabled people regarding the concessions available to them, especially with regard to personal income tax where a flat rate deduction of Rs 50,000 has been allowed to everyone. The confusion was whether people with disabilities would continue to get the additional deductions under Section 80U of the Income Tax Act NCPEDP, to clarify the matter, wrote to the Ministry of Finance.

In a letter to NCPEDP, the Ministry of Finance has clarified the terms of the Income Tax policy as it applies to disabled people.

The letter states that the Finance (No 2) Act, 2004 has inserted a new section 88D in the IT Act, to provide that no income tax shall be payable by an individual, resident in India whose total income is up to Rs 1 lakh. This 'total income' is the taxable income computed after allowing, inter alia, deduction u/s 80U from the gross income. Accordingly, a 'person with disability' or a 'person with severe disability' would continue to get the deduction of Rs 50,000 or Rs 75,000, as the case may be, under section 80U, and would be further entitled to the rebate under section 88D of the entire amount of the income tax payable where the total income, after claiming deduction u/s 80U, comes to Rs 1 lakh or less.