Section 151 — Deduction in respect of royalty income, etc , of authors of certain books other than text-books. Successor to s.80QQB of the 1961 Act.
Section 151 is in Chapter VIII — Deductions to Be Made in Computing Total Income, which runs from section 122 to section 154.
Sub-section (1) applies to an individual who is an author resident in India whose gross total income includes income derived in the exercise of his profession on account of a lump sum consideration for the assignment or grant of any of his interests in the copyright of a book that is a work of a literary, artistic or scientific nature, or royalty or copyright fees, whether receivable in a lump sum or otherwise, in respect of such a book; a deduction is allowed from that income, computed as sub-section (2) directs.
Sub-section (2) sets the deduction at the whole of that income or Rs. 300000, whichever is less. Sub-section (3) restricts the income that can be brought into the computation where the royalty or copyright fee is not a lump sum consideration in lieu of all the assessee's rights in the book: so much of that income, taken before allowing expenses attributable to it, as exceeds 15% of the value of the books sold during the tax year is ignored for the purposes of the deduction.
Sub-section (4) governs foreign-source income: only so much of it is taken into account as is brought into India by or on behalf of the assessee in convertible foreign exchange within six months from the end of the tax year in which it is earned, or within such further period as the competent authority may allow.
Sub-sections (5) and (6) impose two certificates. No deduction is allowed unless the assessee furnishes, along with the return, a certificate in the prescribed form and manner duly verified by the person responsible for making the payment, setting forth the prescribed particulars; and for income from a source outside India, no deduction is allowed unless the assessee also furnishes a certificate in the prescribed form from the prescribed authority along with the return in the prescribed manner. Sub-section (7) bars a deduction for the same income under any other provision of the Act in any tax year.
Sub-section (8) defines "author" to include a joint author, excludes from "books" brochures, commentaries, diaries, guides, journals, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, text-books for schools, tracts and similar publications, defines "competent authority" as the Reserve Bank of India or another authority authorised to regulate foreign exchange payments, and provides that "lump sum" in regard to royalties or copyright fees includes a non-returnable advance.
An author's earnings from one book can arrive in a single year after several years of work, and the section gives a flat relief for that income rather than taxing it as though it were an ordinary year's profit. The 15% restriction in sub-section (3) is there because a royalty that is not a buy-out of all rights can be set at any figure between related parties, so the relief is tied to actual sales; the certificates keep the claim anchored to what the payer and, for foreign income, the prescribed authority will confirm.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum deduction | The whole of such income or Rs. 300000, whichever is less | Income of the kind described in sub-section (1), derived by a resident individual author in the exercise of his profession | Sub-section (2) |
| Restriction on non-lump-sum royalty taken into account | 15% of the value of the books sold during the tax year | Where the royalty or copyright fee is not a lump sum consideration in lieu of all the assessee's rights in the book; the excess, measured before allowing attributable expenses, is ignored | Sub-section (3) |
| Time to bring foreign income into India | Six months from the end of the tax year in which the income is earned | Brought in by or on behalf of the assessee in convertible foreign exchange; extendable by such further period as the competent authority may allow | Sub-section (4) |
Two cuts happen in order and only the second is the ceiling. Where the royalty is not a lump sum for all rights, sub-section (3) first discards everything above 15% of the value of books sold in the year — and it measures that before attributable expenses are allowed — and the Rs. 300000 limit in sub-section (2) is then applied to what is left. Foreign income is not counted at all unless it is actually remitted in convertible foreign exchange within six months of the end of the tax year, or within an extension the Reserve Bank or other competent authority grants, so an author who leaves foreign royalties abroad loses the deduction for them entirely. The two certificates are conditions of allowance, not evidence to be produced on demand: sub-sections (5) and (6) both require them along with the return. Note that "books" is narrower than it sounds — school text-books, guides, commentaries, journals and magazines are excluded by sub-section (8)(b) — and that a non-returnable advance counts as a lump sum under sub-section (8)(d).
A resident author receives Rs. 5 lakh of royalty in a tax year, not as a lump sum for all rights. Books sold during the year have a value of Rs. 16 lakh, so 15% of that is Rs. 2.4 lakh and the remaining Rs. 2.6 lakh of royalty is ignored under sub-section (3). The deduction is then the lower of Rs. 2.4 lakh and Rs. 3 lakh — Rs. 2.4 lakh — and it is allowed only if the payer's verified certificate is furnished with the return.
You meet this section as a deduction claimed in the return that stands or falls on the certificate under sub-section (5); an author who files without it, or who has left foreign royalties unremitted, meets the section instead as a disallowance in the processing of the return.
The deduction under this section shall be equal to the whole of such income referred to in sub-section (1), or an amount of Rs. 300000, whichever is less.
so much of the income, before allowing expenses attributable to such income, as is in excess of 15% of the value of such books sold during the tax year shall be ignored for the purposes of deduction under this section
"books" shall not include brochures, commentaries, diaries, guides, journals, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, text-books for schools, tracts and other publications of similar nature, by whatever name called
See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.
All of them are in the Rules 2026 index.
