Financial Year 1979-80
Circular No. 255 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 23 May 1979. Its subject is Financial Year 1979-80.
Forwards a draft circular letter to be issued at once to every Treasury Officer and Sub-Treasury Officer, giving the rates for deducting income-tax and surcharge from interest on Government securities paid or credited after 31 March 1979 under the Finance Act, 1979. Except for interest payable to the Life Insurance Corporation of India, exempt from deduction since 1 June 1976, tax is deducted on the whole interest: for a resident other than a company, ten per cent with no surcharge on interest other than on a tax-free security; for a non-resident other than a company, 30 per cent with surcharge at 6 per cent, or the rates in Sub-Paragraph I of Paragraph A of Part III of the First Schedule applied as if the interest were the total income, whichever is higher, and 15 per cent with surcharge at 3 per cent on a tax-free security; for a domestic company 22.5 per cent with surcharge at 1.5 per cent; and for a company that is not a domestic company 44 per cent with surcharge at 3.3 per cent on tax-free securities and 70 per cent with surcharge at 5.25 per cent on others. Certificates under section 197(1) are honoured: those issued before 1 April 1979 if operative for the year ending 31 March 1980, and those issued later at the rate specified. No tax is deducted where the payee is satisfied to be exempt under sections 10 to 15, on 7 per cent Gold Bonds, 1980 held by a resident individual who declares in writing that his holding did not exceed Rs. 10,000 in nominal value at any time in the period, or on the National Savings Certificates specified.
It continues the Department's circular No. 238 dated 28 April 1978 and puts the rates fixed by the Finance Act, 1979 into the hands of the treasuries that pay the interest.
FINANCIAL YEAR 1979-80
1725. Instructions for deduction of tax at source from interest on securities during financial year 1979-80 at the rates specified in Part III of First Schedule to Finance Act, 1979
1. In continuation of this Department’s Circular : No. 238 [F.No. 275/13/78-IT(B)], dated 28-4-1978 a copy of the draft circular letter setting out the rates at which income-tax and surcharge should be deducted from interest on Government securities after March 31, 1979 is forwarded herewith.
2. A circular on the basis of this draft may please be issued immediately to all Treasury Officers and Sub-Treasury Officers under your control individually.
Circular : No. 255 [F.No. 275/29/79-IT(B)], dated 23-5-1979.
DRAFT CIRCULAR REFERRED TO IN INSTRUCTIONS
1. I am to invite your attention to this Office Letter No........regarding deduction of income-tax and surcharge from interest on Government securities during the financial year 1978-79.
2. According to the Finance Act, 1979 except in the case of interest on securities payable to the Life Insurance Corporation of India which is exempt from deduction of income-tax with effect from June 1, 1976, income-tax is to be deducted from the entire amount of interest on securities at the following rates, namely :Income-tax
Rate of Income-tax
Rate of Surcharge
I.
In the case of a person other than a company—
( i) where the person is resident in India—
on interest on securities (excluding interest payable on a tax-free security)
10 per cent
Nil
(ii) where the person is not resident in India—
(a) on interest on securities (excluding interest payable on a tax-free security)
income-tax at 30 per cent and surcharge at 6 per cent of the amount of the interest,
or
income-tax and surcharge on income-tax in respect of the interest at the rates prescribed in Sub-Paragraph I of Paragraph A of Part III of the First Schedule to the Finance Act,1979, if such interest income had been the total income,
whichever is higher;
(b) on interest payable on a tax-free security
15 per cent
3 per cent
II
In the case of a company—
22.5 per cent
1.5 per cent
(i) where the company is a domesticcompany—on interest on securities (excluding interest payable on a tax-free security)
(ii) where the company is not a domestic company—
(a) on interest payable on a tax-free security
44 per cent
3.3 per cent
(b) on interest on other securities
70 per cent
5.25 per cent
3. The term "domestic company" means an Indian company or any other company which, in respect of its income liable to income-tax under the Act for the assessment year commencing on April 1, 1979 has made the prescribed arrangements for the declaration and payment within India of the dividends (including dividends on preference shares) payable out of such income in accordance with the provisions of section 194.
4. In making payment or crediting interest on Government securities after March 31, 1979, you are requested to deduct income-tax at the rates specified above, except in cases where an exemption or abatement certificate granted by an Income-tax Officer under sub-section (1) of section 197 is produced. The following instructions should be followed in this connection :
(1) Exemption or abatement certificates issued before April 1, 1979 authorising deduction of tax at a particular rate expressed as percentage of the amount of interest should be accepted and acted upon, if operative for the financial year ending on March 31, 1980.
(2) Where a certificate is issued by the Income-tax Officer on or after April 1, 1979 authorising deduction of tax at a specified rate in respect of any person, income-tax should be deducted at the rates specified therein.
(3) No tax should be deducted in cases in which, from a certificate issued by the Income-tax Officer or otherwise, you are satisfied that the payee is a person exempt from income-tax under sections 10 to 15.
(4) No tax should be deducted from any interest payable on 7 per cent Gold Bonds, 1980 where any such Bonds are held by a resident individual and in the case of the aforesaid Gold Bonds, where the holder thereof makes a declaration in writing before the person responsible for making the payment that the total nominal value of 7 per cent Gold Bonds, 1980 held by him (including such Bonds, if any, held on his behalf by any other person) did not in either case exceed Rs. 10,000 at any time during the period to which the interest relates.
(5) No tax should be deducted from interest payable on National Savings Certificates (First Issue) including National Savings Certificates (First Issue) Bank Series or 7-year National Savings Certificates (Fourth Issue).
(6) No tax should be deducted from any interest payable on National Development Bonds.
(7) No tax should be deducted from any interest payable on any other security of the Central or State Government where the security is held by a resident individual, and the holder makes a declaration in writing before the person responsible for making the payment to the effect that—
(a) he has not previously been assessed under the 1961 Act or under the 1922 Act ;
(b) his total income of the previous year in which the interest is due is not likely to exceed the minimum amount not chargeable to income-tax; and
(c) the total nominal value of the securities held by him (including such securities, if any, as are held on his behalf by any other person) did not exceed Rs. 2,500 at any time during the said previous year.
(8) No tax should be deducted from any sum payable in respect of any securities owned by a corporation established by or under a Central Act which under any law for the time being in force is exempt from income-tax on its income.
(9) Under section 288B, fractions of one rupee contained in the amount of tax will have to be rounded off to the nearest rupee by ignoring amounts less than fifty paise and increasing amounts of fifty paise or more to one rupee. Hence, the amount of tax to be deducted at source should be rounded off to the nearest rupee in accordance with the aforesaid provisions of the Act.
(10) In the case of doubt, the Income-tax Officer should be consulted before making the deduction from interest on Government securities.
Only in an old dispute about deduction on Government security interest paid in 1979-80.
Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.
