Ordinance for 100% income tax relief on donation to PM-CARES Fund passed

The government on Tuesday brought in an Ordinance to give 100% tax relief for donations to newly-formed Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES FUND) for the coronavirus fight. 

The Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020 amended the provisions of the Income-tax Act to provide the same tax treatment to PM-CARES Fund as available to Prime Minister National Relief Fund. 

Now the donation made to the PM-CARES Fund will be eligible for 100% deduction under section 80G of the IT Act, the government said in a press release. 

Further, the limit on the deduction of 10% of gross income will also not be applicable for donation made to PM-CARES Fund, it said.

As the date for claiming deduction under section 80G of IT Act has been extended up to June 30, 2020, the donation made up to that date will be eligible for deduction from income of FY 2019-20. Any person including a corporate paying concessional tax on the income of FY 2020-21 under new regime can make a donation to PM CARES Fund up to June 30 and can claim deduction u/s 80G against income of FY 2019-20 and shall also not lose his eligibility to pay tax in concessional taxation regime for the income of FY 2020-21.  

PM-CARES Fund is a special fund set up for providing relief to the persons affected by the outbreak of coronavirus. From corporate to celebrities, the fund has been flooded with donations since Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an appeal in this regard. 

The ordinance also gives effect to the recently announced relief measures relating to statutory and regulatory compliance matters across sectors in view of COVID-19 outbreak. 

The last date for filing income tax returns for 2018-19 as well as that for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar has been extended by three months to June 30.

The date for making various investment/payment for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of IT Act which includes Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim), 80G (Donations) has been extended to June 30, 2020. The investment can now be made up to June 30, 2020 for claiming the deduction under these sections for FY 2019-20.

The date for making investment/construction/purchase for claiming roll over benefit/deduction in respect of capital gains under sections 54 to 54GB of the IT Act has also been extended. 

The last date for furnishing of the central excise returns due in March, April and May 2020 has also been extended to June 30, 2020.

"The govt has brought in an Ordinance on March 31 which provides for the extension of various time limits under the Taxation and Benami Acts. It also provides for the extension of time limits contained in the rules or notification which are prescribed/ issued under these Acts," an official statement said.