Rule 139 — Computation of exempt income of specified fund attributable to units held by non-resident under Schedule VI [Table: Sl. Nos. 1 to 4] to Act. Made under s.11 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Rule 139 gives effect to Section 11 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A rule cannot go beyond the section it serves: where the two seem to differ, the section governs.
Sub-rule (1) supplies the formula for the exempt income of a specified fund attributable to units held by a non-resident, not being the permanent establishment of a non-resident in India, for the purposes of Schedule VI [Table: Sl. Nos. 1 to 4]. The exempt amount is (A x r1) + (B x r2) + (C x r3) + (D x r4).
The four income streams are the four Schedule VI entries. A is income accrued or arisen to, or received by, the fund on transfer of a capital asset referred to in section 70(1)(r) on a recognised stock exchange located in an International Financial Services Centre where the consideration is paid or payable in convertible foreign exchange. B is income from transfer of securities other than shares in a company resident in India. C is income from securities issued by a non-resident, not being a permanent establishment of a non-resident in India, where such income does not otherwise accrue or arise in India. D is income from a securitisation trust chargeable under the head "Profits and gains of business or profession".
The four ratios are not computed alike, and that is the working core of the rule. R1 and r2 are averaged over a holding period: each is the ratio of the aggregate of daily assets under management of the fund held by non-resident unit holders to the aggregate of daily total assets under management, r1 running from the date of acquisition of the section 70(1)(r) capital asset to the date of its transfer, and r2 from the date of acquisition of the security to the date of its transfer. R3 and r4 are point-in-time ratios: each is the ratio of assets under management held by non-resident unit holders to total assets under management as on the date of receipt of the income, r3 for the income from securities issued by a non-resident and r4 for the securitisation trust income.
Sub-rule (2) requires the specified fund to furnish an annual statement of exempt income in Form No. 68, electronically under digital signature, on or before the due date specified under section 263(1)(c), duly verified in the manner indicated in the form.
Sub-rule (3) attaches the consequence: the income attributable to units held by such a non-resident shall not be exempt under section 11(1) read with Schedule VI [Table: Sl. Nos. 1 to 4] unless the fund complies with sub-rule (2).
Sub-rule (4) defines "assets under management" as the closing balance of the value of assets or investments of the fund as on a particular date, adopts the meaning of International Financial Service Centre from section 2(q) of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, and takes "permanent establishment", "securities", "specified fund" and "unit" from Note 1 below Schedule VI of the Act.
Schedule VI exempts four classes of a specified fund's income only so far as it is attributable to non-resident unit holders, but a fund is a pool whose ownership shifts daily. Without a prescribed attribution the same income could be claimed as exempt in full whatever the mix of unit holders. The rule fixes the measure of the non-resident share for each class of income, and ties the exemption to an annual statement so that the attribution is on record rather than asserted in a computation.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Due date for the annual statement of exempt income in Form No. 68 | On or before the due date specified under section 263(1)(c) | Furnished electronically under digital signature and duly verified in the manner indicated in the form | Sub-rule (2) |
| Measurement basis for r1 and r2 | Aggregate of daily assets under management held by non-resident unit holders over aggregate of daily total assets under management | R1 from the date of acquisition to the date of transfer of the section 70(1)(r) capital asset; r2 from the date of acquisition to the date of transfer of the security | Sub-rule (1) |
| Measurement basis for r3 and r4 | Assets under management held by non-resident unit holders over total assets under management as on the date of receipt of the income | R3 for income from securities issued by a non-resident; r4 for securitisation trust income chargeable as business profits | Sub-rule (1) |
The exemption is not all-or-nothing and it is not computed on a single ownership percentage. Each of the four income streams carries its own ratio, and two of those ratios are daily averages over the life of the asset while two are snapshots on the date of receipt — so a fund whose non-resident holding rose sharply late in the year gets a different answer under r1 and r2 than under r3 and r4, and correctly so. "Assets under management" is a closing-balance measure under sub-rule (4)(a), which is what makes a daily aggregate possible. The filing requirement is not administrative housekeeping: sub-rule (3) makes compliance with sub-rule (2) a condition of the exemption itself, so a fund that computes the attribution correctly but misses the Form No. 68 filing by the section 263(1)(c) due date loses the exemption on the attributed income. Note the carve-out running through every definition — a permanent establishment of a non-resident in India is not treated as a non-resident unit holder for any of the four ratios.
A specified fund has income of Rs 50 crore on transfer of securities other than shares in an Indian resident company, falling in B. Over the period from acquisition to transfer of those securities, the aggregate of daily assets under management held by non-resident unit holders is Rs 3,000 crore against an aggregate of daily total assets under management of Rs 5,000 crore, so r2 is 0.6 and Rs 30 crore of that income is exempt. The fund also receives Rs 10 crore falling in D, and on the date of receipt non-resident unit holders hold Rs 2,000 crore of the Rs 5,000 crore total, so r4 is 0.4 and Rs 4 crore is exempt. If the fund does not file Form No. 68 by the section 263(1)(c) due date, sub-rule (3) denies the exemption on both amounts.
A specified fund meets it in the annual Form No. 68 statement of exempt income and in the working papers behind the daily assets under management series that the ratios require. A unit holder does not deal with the rule directly; what reaches the unit holder is the fund's treatment of the income.
The specified fund shall furnish an annual statement of exempt income in Form No. 68 electronically under digital signature on or before the due date specified under section 263(1)(c)
shall not be exempt under section 11(1) read with Schedule VI [Table: Sl. Nos. 1 to 4] to the Act unless the specified fund complies with sub-rule (2)