The existing provisions of section 80U, inter alia, provide for a deduction to an individual, being a resident, who, at any time during the previous year, is certified by the medical authority to be a person with disability (as defined under the said section).
The said section provides for a deduction of fifty thousand rupees if the person is suffering from disability and one lakh rupees if the person is suffering from severe disability (as defined under the said section).
The limits under section 80U in respect of a person with disability were fixed at fifty thousand rupees by Finance Act, 2003. Further, the limit under section 80U in respect of a person with severe disability was last enhanced from seventy five thousand rupees to one lakh rupees by Finance (No.2) Act, 2009.
In view of the rising cost of medical care and special needs of a disabled person, it is proposed to amend section 80U so as to raise the limit of deduction in respect of a person with disability from fifty thousand rupees to seventy five thousand rupees.
It is further proposed to amend the section so as to raise the limit of deduction in respect of a person with severe disability from one lakh rupees to one hundred and twenty five thousand rupees.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2016 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2016-17 and subsequent assessment years.
NOTE ON RELEVANT CLAUSES OF FINANCE BILL 2015
Clause 23 of the Bill, seeks to amend section 80U of the Income-tax Act relating to deduction in case of a person with disability.
The existing provisions of section 80U, inter alia, provide for a deduction to an individual, being a resident, who, at any time during the previous year, is certified by the medical authority to be a person with disability.
The section provides for a deduction of fifty thousand rupees if the person is suffering from disability and one lakh rupees if the person is suffering from severe disability.
It is proposed to amend the said section so as to raise the limit of deduction for a person with disability from fifty thousand rupees to seventy-five thousand rupees.
It is further proposed to amend the said section so as to raise the limit of deduction for a person with severe disability from one lakh rupees to one hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2016 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2016-17 and subsequent assessment years.
EXTRACT OF RELEVANT CLAUSES FROM FINANCE BILL 2015:
23. Amendment of section 80U.
In section 80U of the Income-tax Act, with effect from the 1st day of April, 2016, for sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—
“(1) In computing the total income of an individual, being a resident, who, at any time during the previous year, is certified by the medical authority to be a person with disability, there shall be allowed a deduction of a sum of seventy-five thousand rupees:
Provided that where such individual is a person with severe disability, the provisions of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words “seventy-five thousand rupees”, the words “one hundred and twenty-five thousand rupees” had been substituted.”