Rule 61 — Certificate of a medical authority in respect of autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities for the purposes of deduction under section 127 and section 154. Made under s.127, s.154 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Rule 61 gives effect to Section 127 and Section 154 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) names the medical authority for sections 127(9)(e) and 154(3). For certifying "autism", "cerebral palsy", "multiple disabilities", "person with disability" and "severe disability" as referred to in clauses (a), (c), (h), (j) and (o) of section 2 of the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, the authority is either a Neurologist having a degree of Doctor of Medicine (md) in Neurology - in the case of children, a Paediatric Neurologist having an equivalent degree - or a Civil Surgeon or Chief Medical Officer in a Government hospital.
Sub-rule (2) requires the assessee, for sections 127(6), 127(7) and 154(2)(c), to furnish along with the return of income a copy of the certificate issued by the relevant medical authority. Clause (a) applies where the person has a disability or severe disability such as autism, cerebral palsy or multiple disability: the certificate is in Form No. 30. Clause (b) covers all other cases, where the form is the one prescribed in notifications No. 16-18/97-ni.1 dated the 1st June, 2001 and No. 16-18/97-ni.1 dated the 18th February, 2002, published in the Gazette of India, and is to be submitted as per the Guidelines for the evaluation of various disabilities and certification procedures outlined in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
Sub-rule (3) fixes the life of a certificate that is subject to re-evaluation. If the disability is temporary and needs to be reevaluated after a certain period, the certificate is valid for the period starting from the tax year during which it was issued and ending with the tax year during which its validity expires.
Sections 127 and 154 give deductions that turn on a medical fact, and the Act leaves both the certifying authority and the form to be prescribed. This rule names who may certify, so a certificate from a doctor outside those descriptions does not support the claim, and it fixes the filing obligation on the assessee. Sub-rule (3) answers the question the sections do not: for how many years one certificate goes on working when the condition itself is temporary.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period for which a certificate for a temporary disability holds good | From the tax year in which the certificate was issued to the tax year in which its validity expires | Where the disability is temporary and needs to be reevaluated after a certain period | Rule 61(3) |
Form No. 30 is not the form for every disability claim. Sub-rule (2)(a) confines it to autism, cerebral palsy or multiple disability; every other case goes on the form prescribed in the two Ministry notifications named in clause (b), and this rule does not itself set out that form. The certificate must be furnished along with the return of income, so obtaining it after filing and producing it in assessment is not what the sub-rule asks for. Where the condition is temporary, sub-rule (3) works in whole tax years at both ends, and once the year of expiry has passed a fresh certificate is needed before the deduction can be claimed again.
An individual claiming under section 127(6) obtains a certificate of severe disability on account of cerebral palsy from a Civil Surgeon in a Government hospital in the tax year 2026-27, valid for three years. The certificate is in Form No. 30 as sub-rule (2)(a) requires, and under sub-rule (3) it holds good from the tax year 2026-27 up to the tax year in which its validity expires. A copy must go with the return of income for each of those years.
You meet it when filing a return that claims a deduction under section 127 or 154, where a copy of the certificate has to accompany the return, and at the certifying hospital when the certificate is obtained or renewed.
a Neurologist having a degree of Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Neurology (in case of children, a Paediatric Neurologist having an equivalent degree)
the certificate shall be valid for the period starting from the tax year during which the certificate was issued and ending with the tax year during which the validity of such certificate expires