Deduction under new section 80CCG w.e.f. 1st April,2013 in terms of the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, 2012- a complex deduction with lot of conditions and contingencies- apparently an avoidable deduction by new small investors.

[C.A. DEV KUMAR KOTHARI]

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, 2012

Main provision of Section 80CCG analysed:

From section with highlights added	Remarks:
Deduction in respect of investment made under an equity savings scheme.	As per heading it appears to be for investment under an ESS.
80CCG. (1) Where an assessee, being a resident individual, has, in a previous year, acquired listed equity shares in accordance with a scheme, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf, he shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (3), be allowed a deduction, in the computation of his total income of the assessment year relevant to such previous year, of fifty per cent of the amount invested in such equity shares to the extent such deduction does not exceed twenty-five thousand rupees.	Apply only to resident individual. Apply to acquisition of listed equity shares, in accordance with scheme. The Scheme has been notified on 23rd November, 2012, and has seen some amendments thereafter. Deduction shall be allowed from Gross Total Income. Deduction is restricted to 50% of eligible investment subject to upper limit of Rs.25000/- for deduction. That means limit for investment is fixed at Rs.50,000/-
(2) Where an assessee has claimed and allowed a deduction under this section for any assessment year in respect of any amount, he shall not be allowed any deduction under this section for any subsequent assessment year.	This deduction is allowed only once in life. So even in a smaller amount is claimed in one year, then no deduction shall be allowed in any other year even to make up short fall.
(3) The deduction under sub-section (1) shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:—	There are many more conditions if we read the ESS
(i)  the gross total income of the assessee for the relevant assessment year shall not exceed ten lakh rupees;	GTI should not exceed Rs. Ten lakh
(ii)  the assessee is a new retail investor as may be specified under the scheme referred to in sub-section (1);	Only new investor is entitled. New investor has very restricted meaning.
(iii) the investment is made in such listed equity shares as may be specified under the scheme referred to in sub-section (1);	Listed shares will have to be specified in ESS.
(iv) the investment is locked-in for a period of three years from the date of acquisition in accordance with the scheme referred to in sub-section (1); and	There is lock-in period of three years- a long period of contingencies in which price of shares may increase and fall several time.
(v)  such other condition as may be prescribed.	More conditions can be provided in the ESS.
(4) If the assessee, in any previous year, fails to comply with any condition specified in sub-section (3), the deduction originally allowed shall be deemed to be the income of the assessee of such previous year and shall be liable to tax for the assessment year relevant to such previous year.	If any condition fails in case of assessee, then the amount of deduction allowed shall be income of the year in which condition fails.Thus, if in any subsequent year GTI exceed Rs. Ten lakh or if shares are sold within three years, or it is found that the assessee was not a new investor, or any other conditions stand non complied, then the amount of deduction allowed shall be considered income.
Notes:-1. Inserted vide Finance Act, 2012,  w.e.f. 01-04-2013.	The investmens made during FY 2012-13 will be eligible. However the ESS has been announced on 23rd November, 2012 and has been recently amended. Therefore, a major portion of FY 2012-13 has lapsed even before announcement of the ESS. Clarifications on doubts will be resolved over a period of time.

About Scheme:

In terms of the powers conferred by Section 80CCG (1) the Central Government has notified  ‘Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, 2012’ vide Notification No. S.O. 2777(E), dated 23.11.2012.  A  Corrigendum has been issued vide Notification No. 53/2012 Dated 5-12-2012 to amend the originally announced scheme. The object contradictions and and complexities: The object of the new provision is to encourage the savings by new and small investors in domestic equity market. The deduction is of a meager  maximum amount of Rs.25000/- on maximum investment of Rs.50000/-  Therefore, the provisions and related schemes must be very simple, sure and certain. A deduction in life of Rs.25000/- is not a big relief allowed which requires so many restrictions, contingencies and conditions in the year of investment as well as in subsequent years. Aim of promoting investment in equity shares could be better achieved, if deduction was also allowed to all investors (new as well as old investors) and it deserves to be extended to HUF, AOP, BOI also. Restrictions due to new investor: the following type of  resident individuals are only ‘new retail investor’ - who has not opened a demat account (as first holder) and has not made any investments in the derivative segment as on the date of notification of the scheme;  who has opened a demat account (as first holder) before the notification of the scheme but has not made any transaction in the equity segment or the derivative segment till the date of notification of the scheme; Note: Having joined as second or subsequent joint holder earlier will not disqualify as an old investor. Observations of author: Large number of small investors are not eligible for making investment under the scheme merely because at some time even one transaction has been carried in his demat A/c. For a small deduction and a small tax saving of about Rs. 8000/- at most, so many conditions and contingencies have been prescribed that one would like to avoid such a deduction. In view of so many conditions a claim under this section shall require verification by the AO. Tough electronic reports will be obtained by the revenue authorities, yet to verify the same the authorities will have to / or even in case of no such need can call small tax payers to appear and produce documents and establish eligibility. When a large number of returns of income are accepted as per self-assessment of assessee, any deduction should be simple to clam and satisfy requirements. In case of deductions burdened with so many conditions, it may be necessary for AO to call the assessee, and that can be just beginning of harassment of assessee for a very small deduction claimed. This scheme was introduced by the Finance Minister in his budget for the year 2012-13. A major period of accounting period for the first year of eligible investment has already been over. The scheme has been recently announced, and is still in stage of clarifications. The share market is also in a bullish mood, therefore, new investors making investment before 31st March, 2013 will be making investment in a bullish market at higher prices. An investment made in a bullish market generally results into losses and erosion of capital. Once a claim is made (even of lesser amount) the person becomes disqualified to make further investment. Therefore, new investors will do well to wait  for a bearish market and make investment at proper time instead of rushing to make investment in eligible securities just to avail a deduction(up to Rs.25000) for Financial Year to end on 31.03.2013. They can make investment in next year and claim deduction.

Tax Management India .Com

Notification - Income Tax - IT

[TO BE PUBLISHED IN PART II, SECTION 3, SUB-SECTION (ii) OF THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAORDINARY, DATED THE 23rd

Government of India November, 2012]

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue

Notification

New Delhi, the 23rd November, 2012.

(Income-tax)

Notification No. 51/2012

SO 2777(E), In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 80CCG of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby makes the following Scheme, namely:-

Short title, commencement and application

1. (1) This Scheme may be called the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, 2012.

(2) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

(3) This Scheme shall apply for claiming deduction in the computation of total income of the assessment year relevant to a previous year on account of investment in eligible securities under sub-section (1) of section 80CCG of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Objective of Scheme

2. The objective of the Scheme is to encourage the savings of the small investors in domestic capital market.

Definitions

3. In this Scheme, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(i) "Act" means the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);

(ii) "demat account" means an account opened with the depository participant in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Securities and Exchange Board of India established under section 3 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992);

(iii) "depository" means a company as defined in clause (e) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Depositories Act, 1996 (22 of 1996);

(iv) "depository participant" means a participant as defined in clause (g) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Depositories Act, 1996 (22 of 1996);

(v) "eligible securities" means any of the following :-

(a) equity shares, on the day of purchase, falling in the list of equity declared as "BSE-100" or "CNX-100" by the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, as the case may be;

(b) equity shares of public sector enterprises which are categorised as Maharatna, Navratna or Miniratna by the Central Government;

(c) Units of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or Mutual Fund (MF) schemes with Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme (RGESS) eligible securities as underlying, as mentioned in sub-clause (a) or sub-clause (b) above, provided they are listed and traded on a stock exchange and settled through a depository mechanism;

(d)  Follow on Public Offer of sub-clauses; (a) and (b) above

(e)  New Fund Offers (NFOs) of sub-clause (c) above;

(f)  Initial Public Offer of a public sector undertaking wherein the government shareholding is at least fifty-one per cent, which is scheduled for getting listed in the relevant previous year and whose annual turnover is not less than four thousand crore rupees during each of the preceding three years;

(vi) "financial year" means a year commencing on the 1st day of April and ending on the 31st day of March;

(vii) "Form" means the Form appended to the Scheme;

(viii) "investment" means investment by an assessee in any of the eligible securities in accordance with the Scheme;

(ix) "new retail investor" means the following resident individuals:-

(a) any individual who has not opened a demat account and has not made any transactions in the derivative segment as on the date of notification of the Scheme;

(b) any individual who has opened a demat account before the notification of the Scheme but has not made any transactions in the equity segment or the derivative segment till the date of notification of the Scheme, and any individual who is not the first account holder of an existing joint demat account shall be deemed to have not opened a demat account for the purposes of this Scheme

(x) "Scheme" means the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme;

(xi) words and expressions used and not defined in this Scheme, but defined in the Act, shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.

Eligibility

4. The deduction under the Scheme shall be available to a new retail investor who complies with the conditions of the Scheme and whose gross total income for the financial year in which the investment is made under the Scheme is less than or equal to ten lakh rupees.

Procedure at time of opening demat account

5. The new retail investor shall follow the following procedure at the time of opening or designating a demat account:-

(a)  the new retail investor shall open a new demat account or designate his existing demat account for the purpose of availing the benefit under the Scheme;

(b)  the new retail investor shall submit a declaration in Form A to the depository participant who will forward the same to the depository for verifying the status of the new retail investor;

(c)  the new retail investor shall furnish his Permanent Account Number (PAN) while opening the demat account or designating the existing account as a Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme eligible account, as the case may be.  taxmanagementindia.com

Procedure for investment under Scheme

6. A new retail investor shall make investments under the Scheme in the following manner:-

(a) the new retail investor may make investment in eligible securities in one or more than one transactions during the year in which the deduction has to be claimed;

(b) the new retail investor may make any amount of investment in the demat account but the amount eligible for deduction, under the Scheme shall not exceed fifty thousand rupees;

(c) the eligible securities brought into the demat account, as declared or designated by the new retail investor, will automatically be subject to lock-in during its first year, as per the provisions of paragraph 7, unless the new retail investor specifies otherwise and for such specification, the new retail investor shall submit a declaration in Form B indicating that such securities are not to be included within the above limit of investment;

(d) the new retail investor shall be eligible for a deduction under sub-section (1) of section 80CCG of the Act in respect of the actual amount invested in eligible securities, in the first financial year in respect of which a declaration in Form B has not been made, subject to the maximum investment limit of fifty thousand rupees;

(e) the new retail investor who has claimed a deduction under sub-section (1) of section 80CCG of the Act, in any assessment year, shall not be allowed any deduction under the Scheme for any subsequent assessment year;

(f) the new retail investor shall be permitted a grace period of three trading days from the end of the financial year so that the eligible securities purchased on the last trading day of the financial year also get credited in the demat account and such securities shall be deemed to have been purchased in the financial year itself;

(g) the new retail investor may also keep securities other than the eligible securities covered under the Scheme in the demat account through which benefits under the Scheme are availed;

(h) the new retail investor can make investments in securities other than the eligible securities covered under the Scheme and such investments shall not be subject to the conditions of the Scheme nor shall they be counted for availing the benefit under the Scheme;

(i) the investment under the Scheme shall consist of all eligible securities covered under the Scheme that are initially bought by the investor under the Scheme or that are bought subsequently by the investor as per the provisions of the Scheme;

(j) the deduction claimed shall be withdrawn if the lock-in period requirements of the investment are not complied with or any other condition of the Scheme is violated.

Period of holding requirements

7. (1) The period of holding of eligible securities shall be three years to be counted in the manner detailed hereunder.

(2) All eligible securities are required to be held for a period called the fixed lock-in period which shall commence from the date of purchase of such securities in the relevant financial year and end one year from the date of purchase of the last set of eligible securities (in the same financial year) on which deduction is claimed under the Scheme.

(3) The new retail investor shall not be permitted to sell, pledge or hypothecate any eligible security during the fixed lock-in period.

(4) The period of two years beginning immediately after the end of the fixed lock-in period shall be called the flexible lock-in period.

(5) The new retail investor shall be permitted to trade the eligible securities after the completion of the fixed lock-in period subject to the following conditions:-

(a)  the new retail investor shall ensure that the demat account under the Scheme is compliant for a cumulative period of a minimum of two hundred and seventy days during each of the two years of the flexible lock-in period as laid down hereunder:-

(A)  the demat account shall be considered compliant for the number of days where value of the investment portfolio of eligible securities, within the flexible lock-in period, is equal to or higher than the amount claimed as investment for the purposes of deduction under section 80CCG of the Act;

(B)  in case the value of investment portfolio in the demat account falls due to fall in the market rate of eligible securities in the flexible lock-in period, then notwithstanding sub-clause(A),-

(i)  the demat account shall be considered compliant from the first day of the flexible lock-in period to the day any such eligible securities are sold during this period;

(ii)  where the assessee sells the eligible securities mentioned in sub-clause (B) from his demat account, he shall have to purchase eligible securities and the said demat account shall be compliant from the day on which the value of the investment portfolio in the account Incomes -

(I)  at least equivalent to the investment claimed as eligible for deduction under section 80CCG of the Act; or

(II)  the value of the investment portfolio under the Scheme before such sale, whichever is less.

(6) The new retail investor's demat account created under the Scheme shall, on the expiry of the period of holding of the investment, be converted automatically into an ordinary demat account.

(7) For the purpose of valuation of investment during the flexible lock-in period, the closing price as on the previous day of the date of trading, shall be considered.

(8) While making the initial investments upto fifty thousand rupees, the total cost of acquisition of eligible securities shall not include brokerage charges, Securities Transaction Tax, stamp duty, service tax and all taxes, which are appearing in the contract note.

(9) Where the investment of the new retail investor undergoes a change as a result of involuntary corporate actions like demerger of companies, amalgamation, etc. resulting in debit or credit of securities covered under the Scheme, the deduction claimed by such investor shall not be affected.

(10) In case of voluntary corporate actions like buy-back, etc. resulting only in debit of securities, where new retail investor has the option to exercise his choice, the same shall be considered as a sale transaction for the purpose of the Scheme.

(11) The Securities and Exchange Board of India established under section 3 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) shall notify the corporate actions, referred to in sub-paragraph (9), allowed under the Scheme in this regard.  ****

8. If the new retail investor fails to fulfil any of the provisions of the Scheme, the deduction originally allowed to him under sub-section (1) of section 80CCG of the Act for any previous year, shall be deemed to be the income of the assessee of such previous year and shall be liable to tax for the assessment year relevant to such previous year.

9. (1) The depository shall certify the new retail investor status of the assessee at the time of designating his demat account as demat account for the purpose of the Scheme.

(2) The depository participant shall furnish an annual statement of the eligible securities invested in or traded through the demat account to the demat account holder.

10. The depository shall provide a consolidated statement of details in the electronic format, as specified in Form C, on all the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme beneficiaries to the Director General of Income Tax (Systems) or any other person authorised by him, within a period of thirty days from the end of the relevant financial year.

11. For the purpose of paragraph 10, the Director General of Income Tax (Systems) shall determine the procedures, formats and standards for furnishing of the report in electronic format in Form C by the depositories.

12. Assessees shall be liable to submit the relevant records to the income-tax authorities for verification, as and when required.

[F.No. 142/35/2012-TPL]

(Raman Chopra)

Director (TPL-II)

Form A

[See paragraph 5(b)]

Declaration to be submitted by the investors to the depository participants for availing the benefits under the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

Name of the Investor:

(first holder)

Address of the investor:

Permanent Account Number (PAN):

1. It is hereby certified that*---

(a) I do not have a demat account and I have not traded in any derivatives.

(b) I have demat account no ................ in ........................ depository participant but I have not traded in any equity shares or derivatives in this account.

(c) I have a joint demat account no ....................... in ........................ depository participant but I am not the first account holder.

2. I hereby declare that I have read and understood all the terms and conditions of the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

3. It is hereby verified that I am an eligible new retail investor for availing the benefits under the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

4. I undertake to abide by all the requirements and fulfil all obligations under the Scheme, and will comply with all the terms and conditions of the Scheme.

5. I understand that, in case I fail to comply with any condition specified in the Scheme, the benefits availed thereunder will be withdrawn and the tax shall be payable by me accordingly.

Signature of the Investor

Place:

Date:

*Tick whichever is appropriate.

Form B

[See paragraph 6(c) and (d)]

Declaration to be submitted by the new retail investor to the depository participant on purchase of eligible securities.

To

Depository participant

Address

It is hereby informed that I have demat account no ................................... in ....................... depository participant and the following securities:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e) 

 purchased in the aforesaid demat account on .............. are not to be included as investment for the purpose of the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

Signature

Name of the Investor:

(first holder)

Address of the investor:

Permanent Account Number (PAN):

Form C

[See paragraphs 10 and 11]

Annual report be submitted by the depository to the Income Tax Department in Electronic Format before 30th April.

(For 80CCG benefits of Financial Year 2012-13)

							2012-13 Report to be furnished by 30th April 2013	2013-14 Report to be furnished by 30th April 2014	2014-15 Report to be furnished by 30th April 2015	2015-16 Report to be furnished by 30th April 2016
Name	PAN	DEMAT A/c No.	Date of opening A/c	Date of investment for the Purpose of lock-in (date of making the last investment in RGESS# eligible scrip)	Amount of Investment	Scrips locked in RGESS#	Whether A/c eligible under the RGESS# Scheme	Whether A/c compliant with RGESS# with respect to fixed lock-in*	Whether A/c compliant with RGESS# with respect to 270 days period*	Whether A/c compliant with RGESS# with respect to 270 days period*

*The Electronic Format shall be determined by the Director General of Income Tax (Systems) by 31st March, 2013.

**The Financial Year shall be enhanced by one Financial Year every year.

#RGESS means the Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme, 2012 - Corrigendum Notification No. 53/2012 Dated 5-12-2012 In the notification of Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, No. 51/2012, dated 23rd November, 2012 bearing S.O. 2777(E) and published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (ii), dated 23rd November, 2012- (i) at page 10 of the Gazette Notification, in third and fourth line of sub-clause (c) of clause (v) of section 3 related to "definitions", for "sub-clause (i) or sub-clause (ii)", read "sub-clause (a) or sub-clause (b)" ; (ii) at page 10 of the Gazette Notification, in sub-clause (d) of clause (v) of section 3 related to "definitions", for "sub-clause (i) and sub-clause (ii)", read "sub-clause (a) and sub-clause (b)"; and (iii) at page 10 of the Gazette Notification in sub-clause (e) of clause (v) of section 3 related to "definitions", for "sub-clause (iii)", read "sub-clause (c)". 2. The other contents of the Gazette Notification shall remain unchanged. [F. No. 142/35/2012 -TPL],