Section 34 - Substitution of new section for section 80DD - Finance Act, 2003

34. Substitution of new section for section 80DD.- For section 80DD of the Income-tax Act, the following section shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2004, namely:- '80DD. Deduction in respect of maintenance including medical treatment of a dependant who is a person with disability-(1) Where an assessee, being an individual or a Hindu undivided family, who is a resident in India, has, during the previous year,- (a) incurred any expenditure for the medical treatment (including nursing) , training and rehabilitation of a dependent, being a person with disability; or (b) paid or deposited any amount under a scheme framed in this behalf by the Life Insurance Corporation or any other insurer or the Administrator or the specified company subject to the conditions specified in sub-section (2) and approved by the Board in this behalf for the maintenance of a dependant, being a person with disability, the assessee shall, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this section, be allowed a deduction of a sum of fifty thousand rupees from his gross total income in respect of the previous year: Provided that where such dependant is a person with severe disability, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words "fifty thousand rupees", the words "seventy-five thousand rupees" had been substituted. (2) The deduction under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be allowed only if the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:- (a) the scheme referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (1) provides for payment of annuity or lump sum amount for the benefit of a dependant, being a person with disability, in the event of the death of the individual or the member of the Hindu undivided family in whose name subscription to the scheme has been made; (b) the assessee nominates either the dependant, being a person with disability, or any other person or a trust to receive the payment on his behalf, for the benefit of the dependant, being a person with disability. (3) If the dependant, being a person with disability, predeceases the individual or the member of the Hindu undivided family referred to in sub-section (2) , an amount equal to the amount paid or deposited under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the income of the assessee of the previous year in which such amount is received by the assessee and shall accordingly be chargeable to tax as the income of that previous year. (4) The assessee, claiming a deduction under this section, shall furnish a copy of the certificate issued by the medical authority in the prescribed form and manner, along with the return of income under section 139, in respect of the assessment year for which the deduction is claimed: Provided that where the condition of disability requires reassessment of its extent after a period stipulated in the aforesaid certificate, no deduction under this section shall be allowed for any assessment year relating to any previous year beginning after the expiry of the previous year during which the aforesaid certificate of disability had expired, unless a new certificate is obtained from the medical authority in the form and manner, as may be prescribed, and a copy thereof is furnished along with the return of income. Explanation-For the purposes of this section,- (a) "Administrator" means the Administrator as referred to in clause (a) of section 2 of the Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act, 2002 (58 of 2002) ; (b) "dependant" means- (i) in the case of an individual, the spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters of the individual or any of them; (ii) in the case of a Hindu undivided family, a member of the Hindu undivided family, dependant wholly or mainly on such individual or Hindu undivided family for his support and maintenance, and who has not claimed any deduction under section 80U in computing his total income for the assessment year relating to the previous year; (c) "disability" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (i) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) ; (d) "Life Insurance Corporation" shall have the same meaning as in clause (iii) of sub-section (8) of section 88; (e) "medical authority" means the medical authority as referred to in clause (p) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) ; (f) "person with disability" means a person as referred to in clause (t) of section 2 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) ; (g) "person with severe disability" means a person with eighty per cent or more of one or more disabilities, as referred to in sub-section (4) of section 56 of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 (1 of 1996) ; (h) "specified company" means a company as referred to in clause (h) of section 2 of the Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act, 2002 (58 of 2002) .'.