Income tax slabs for AY 2013-2014 (FY 2012-13) & Deduction under section 80C

Here are the income tax slabs for AY 2013-2014 (FY 2012-13).

Income Tax Slabs – AY 2013-2014

General tax payers Income tax slab (in Rs.) Tax 0 to 2,00,000 No tax 2,00,001 to 5,00,000 10% 5,00,001 to 10,00,000 20% Above 10,00,000 30% India Income tax slab 2012-2013 for Female tax payers Income tax slab (in Rs.) Tax 0 to 2,00,000 No tax 2,00,001 to 5,00,000 10% 5,00,001 to 10,00,000 20% Above 10,00,000 30% India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for Senior citizens (Aged 60 years but less than 80 years) Income tax slab (in Rs.) Tax 0 to 2,50,000 No tax 2,50,001 to 5,00,000 10% 5,00,001 to 10,00,000 20% Above 10,00,000 30% India Income tax slabs 2012-2013 for very senior citizens (Aged 80 and above) Income tax slab (in Rs.) Tax 0 to 5,00,000 No tax 5,00,001 to 10,00,000 20% Above 10,00,000 30%
INCOME TAX SAVING TIPS: Optimal tax planning with section 80C: Eligible schemes under section 80C for 2012-2013 1. Life Insurance Premiums 2. Contributions to Employees Provident Fund 3. Public Provident Fund 4. NSC (National Savings Certificates) 5. Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP) 6. Repayment of Housing Loan (Principal) 7. Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS) of Mutual Funds 8. Tuition Fees including admission fees or college fees paid for full-time education of any two children of the tax payer. 9. Infrastructure Bonds issued by Institutions/ Banks such as IDBI, ICICI, REC 10.5-Year fixed deposits with banks and Post Office  Savings Schemes 11.Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (SCSS) Step by Step Guide to File Income Tax Returns: How To File Income Tax Returns Online  Income Tax Exemption Rules: Indian Tax Exemption Rules | Indian income tax sections Besides the section 80C of the income tax law, you can save tax under section 80D. All the health insurance products are eligible for tax saving under the section 80D and you can save tax up to Rs. 35000 in case you buy a policy for your family and your dependent parents . There are quite a few options you can opt for tax savings. Tax saving Mutual Funds ("MF") --> which comes with a lock-in period of generally 3 yrs.  i.e. you can not get back your money within 3 yrs. from the time you put them into MF. This is a Highest return given option and also the riskiest one.  Fixed Deposits ("FD") --> put a money in a bank FDs which are "Tax-savings" for  a fixed tenure (generally 5 yrs). You will get cumulative and safe interest.  Life Insurance Corporation of India(LIC). You must be knowing about this. It is advisable to secure your life against any danger. There are various plans provided by LIC out of which you can opt the best suited one.  Public Providend Fund(PPF), same as normal PF which a Salaried employees possess.  Difference is it is a scheme for a tenure of 15 yrs and you can withdraw the amount only once  and that too after 5 yrs. You can open a PPF accnt from any SBI branch or Post-office. You have to make sure to have atleast 1 entry per year  i.e. you have to deposit atleast a minimum amnt (Rs. 500/- I guess) atleast once in a year to continue healthy scheme. NSC bonds --> National Saving Certificate bonds are available at Post-offices. You will get safe return on this after a fixed tenure. These are the widely used investment plans now a days. If you are a risk taker then go for 100% MF,  if you are a moderate risk taker then go for 60% MF, 20% PPF and 20% FD and if you do not want any risk then go for 100% PPF, FD and/or NSC.  Thinking beyond Section 80C  Section     Quick Description and Deduction Limit 80D Premium Paid on Medical Insurance Maximum upto Rs.15000 or Rs.20000  in case of Senior Citizen 80DD  Maintainance including Medical Treatment of a Handicappped Dependent  who is a person with disability Rs.50000 irrespective of the amount  80DDB Expenditure Incurred in respect of  Medical Treatment Actual Incurred with a ceiling of upto Rs.40000 or  Rs.60000 in case senior Citizen whichever is lower 80E Repayment of loan taken for pursuing  higher education Maximum deduction for interest paid for a maximum of 8 years ot till such interest paid which ever is earlier 80G Donations of certain funds and charitable Institutions Maximum deduction allowed can be 50% or 100% of the donation subject to the stated limits as provided under this section 80GG Rent paid in respect of property occupied for residential use Maximum deduction allowed is least of the following: Rs.2000 per month; 25% of total income;excess of rent paid over 10% of total income 80GGC Contribution made to any political parties or  electoral trust Amount donated to Political parties is full exempt 80U Person suffering from Specific disability Rs.50000 irrespective of the amount incurred or deposited. However incase of disability of more than 80% higher deduction of Flat Rs.100000 is allowed 80CCF Investment in long term infrastructure funds Maximum Deduction allowed is Rs.20000 I would suggest to secure your life with LIC along with other investments.  Your home loan and tax planning  “Repayment of principal amount” and “Payment of interest” are eligible for tax benefit.  Repayment of principal amount: Makes you eligible to claim a deduction up to a sum of 100,000 under section 80C (It is immaterial  whether HP is Let Out or Self Occupied. Interest is eligible for deduction u/s 24(b) as follows: Self Occupied- Maximum of Rs 150000 Let Out- Actual amount of interest payable is eligible. It makes sense to include your spouse as a co-owner; especially if your spouse’s income is taxable. This will result in higher tax saving.

Union Budget – 2012-13 - Central Excise & Service Tax Notifications

Union Budget – 2012-13 - Notifications:

Notifications: All of the files are in PDF format. You need to have Acrobat Reader to read the .pdf files
Customs		Central Excise		Service Tax
Tariff	Non-Tariff	Tariff	Non-Tariff
10/2012 - Customs	20/2012 – Customs (N.T.)	05/2012 – Central Excise	07/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	01/2012 – Service Tax
11/2012 – Customs	21/2012 – Customs (N.T.)	06/2012– Central Excise	08/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	02/2012 – Service Tax
12/2012 – Customs	22/2012 – Customs (N.T.)	07/2012– Central Excise	09/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	03/2012 – Service Tax
13/2012 – Customs		08/2012– Central Excise	10/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	04/2012 – Service Tax
14/2012 – Customs		09/2012– Central Excise	11/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	05/2012 – Service Tax
15/2012 – Customs		10/2012– Central Excise	12/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	06/2012 – Service Tax
16/2012 – Customs		11/2012– Central Excise	13/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	07/2012 – Service Tax
17/2012 – Customs		12/2012– Central Excise	14/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	08/2012 – Service Tax
18/2012 – Customs		13/2012– Central Excise	15/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	09/2012 – Service Tax
19/2012 – Customs		14/2012– Central Excise	16/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	10/2012 – Service Tax
20/2012 – Customs		15/2012– Central Excise	17/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	11/2012 – Service Tax
21/2012 – Customs		16/2012– Central Excise	18/2012– Central Excise (N.T.)	12/2012 – Service Tax
22/2012 – Customs		17/2012– Central Excise		13/2012 – Service Tax
		18/2012– Central Excise		14/2012 – Service Tax
		19/2012– Central Excise		15/2012 – Service Tax
		01/2012 – Clean Energy Cess
		01/2012 – M & TP
5th Corrigendum to 12/2012-Cus		2nd Corrigendum to 12/2012-CE
4th Corrigendum to 12/2012-Cus		Corrigendum to 09/2012-CE		Corrigendum to 03/2012-ST
3rd Corrigendum to 12/2012-Cus		Corrigendum to 10/2012-CE
2nd Corrigendum to 12/2012-Cus		Corrigendum to 11/2012-CE
1st Corrigendum to 12/2012-Cus		1st Corrigendum to 12/2012-CE
Corrigendum to 21/2012-Cus		Corrigendum to 16/2012-CE
		Corrigendum to 18/2012-CE

Year end rate RBI

The Year end  rate for IGAAP revaluation of FOREX as on 31^st March 2012…

Date	USD	GBP	EURO
30/03/2012	51.1565	81.7992	68.3403
29/03/2012	51.145	81.4126	68.224

Budget 2012-2013 - Highlights

1. Turnover limit for compulsory tax audit for SMEs raised from Rs. 60 lakh to Rs. 1 crore
   
   
2. Relief in indirect taxes to sectors under stress; agriculture, infrastructure, mining, railways, roads, civil aviation, manufacturing, health and nutrition, and environment get duty relief
   
   
3. Union Budget 2012-13 Highlights
   
   
4. No capital gain tax if investment is made in manufacturing SMEs
   
   
5. Cascading effect in Dividend Distribution Tax removed
   
   
6. Peak customs duty rates remains unchanged.
   
   
7. Propose to set up a common tax code for service tax & excise
   
   
8. Rate of duty of excise increased from 10% to 12% and 1% to 2%
   
   
9. Rate of service tax increased from 10% to 12%
   
   
10. Negative list in service tax introduced.
    
    
11. Income tax slabs - Upto 2 lacs = nil, from 2 lacs to 5 lacs = 10%, from 5 lacs to 10 lacs = 20%, above 10 lacs = 30%
    
    
12. New equity savings scheme
    
    
13. India will become self-sufficient in urea production in five years
    
    
14. PDS to be computerized to enable better monitoring
    
    
15. Doubles allocation for tax-free bonds to Rs 60,000 crore for financing infrastructure projects in 2012/13
     
    
16. Foreign investment in low cost affordable housing projects
    
    
17. FDI in aviation is under active consideration
    
    
18. Rs 10000 crore of tax fee bonds for power sector
    
    
19. Government to include advance pricing in Finance Bill 2012
    
    
20. To implement Direct Tax Code at the earliest
    
    
21. Efforts continue to arrive at consensus for 51% in retail FDI
    
    
22. GST to be operational by August 2012
    
    
23. Fiscal balance has deteriorated
    
    
24. Amendment in the Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) - Palm oil, Palmolein, Soyabean Oil (Crude) and Brass Scrap (all grades) - Traiff Values. - Ntf. No. 19/2012-CUSTOMS (N. T.) Dated: March 15, 2012
    

Highlights of Union Budget 2011-2012

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday presented to Parliament India's budget for the coming financial year beginning in April.

Following are the highlights of the budget:

TAXES ( Read full story on taxes )
* Standard rate of excise duty held at 10 percent; no change in CENVAT rates
* Personal income tax exemption limit raised to Rs 180,000 from Rs 160,000 for individual tax payers
*For senior citizens, the qualifying age reduced to 60 years and exemption limit raised to Rs 2.50 lakh.
*Citizens over 80 years to have exemption limit of Rs 5 lakh.
* To reduce surcharge on domestic companies to 5 percent from 7.5 percent.
* A new revised income tax return form 'Sugam' to be introduced for small tax papers.
* To raise minimum alternate tax to 18.5 percent from 18 percent
* Direct tax proposals to cause 115 billion rupees in revenue loss
* Service tax rate kept at 10 percent
* Customs and excise proposals to result in net revenue gain of 73 billion rupees
* Iron ore export duty raised to 20 percent
*Nominal one per cent central excise duty on 130 items entering the tax net. Basic food and fuel and precious stones, gold and silver jewellery will be exempted.
*Peak rate of customs duty maintained at 10 per cent in view of the global economic situation.
*Basic customs duty on agricultural machinery reduced to 4.5 per cent from 5 per cent.
*Service tax widened to cover hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000 per day, A/C restaurants serving liquor, some category of hospitals, diagnostic tests.
*Service tax on air travel increased by Rs 50 for domestic travel and Rs 250 for international travel in economy class. On higher classes, it will be ten per cent flat.
* Electronic filing of TDS returns at source stabilised; simplified forms to be introduced for small taxpayers.
* Works of art exempt from customs when imported for exhibition in state-run institutions; this now extended to private institutions.

SUBSIDIES
* Subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 1.44 trillion rupees
* Food subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 605.7 billion rupees
* Revised food subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 606 billion rupees
* Fertiliser subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 500 billion rupees
* Revised fertiliser subsidy bill for 2010-11 at 550 billion rupees
* Petroleum subsidy bill in 2011-12 seen at 236.4 billion rupees
* Revised petroleum subsidy bill in 2010-11 at 384 billion rupees
* State-run oil retailers to be provided with 200 billion rupee cash subsidy in 2011-12

FISCAL DEFICIT ( Read full story )
* Fiscal deficit seen at 5.1 percent of GDP in 2010-11
* Fiscal deficit seen at 4.6 percent of GDP in 2011-12
* Fiscal deficit seen at 3.5 percent of GDP in 2013-14

SPENDING
* Total expenditure in 2011-12 seen at 12.58 trillion rupees
* Plan expenditure seen at 4.41 trillion rupees in 2011-12, up 18.3 percent

REVENUE
* Gross tax receipts seen at 9.32 trillion rupees in 2011-12
* Non-tax revenue seen at 1.25 trillion rupees in 2011-12
* Corporate tax receipts seen at 3.6 trillion rupees in 2011-12
* Tax-to-GDP ratio seen at 10.4 percent in 2011-12; seen at 10.8 percent in 2012-13
* Customs revenue seen at 1.52 trillion rupees in 2011-12
* Factory gate duties seen at 1.64 trillion rupees in 2011-12
*Service tax receipts seen at 820 billion rupees in 2011-12
* Revenue gain from indirect tax proposals seen at 113 billion rupees in 2011-12
* Service tax proposals to result in net revenue gain of 40 billion rupees in 2011-12

GROWTH, INFLATION EXPECTATIONS
* Economy expected to grow at 9 percent in 2012, plus or minus 0.25 percent
* Inflation seen lower in the financial year 2011-12

DISINVESTMENT
* Disinvestment in 2011-12 seen at 400 billion rupees
* Government committed to retaining 51 percent stake in public sector enterprises.

BORROWING
* Net market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 3.43 trillion rupees, down from 3.45 trillion rupees in 2010-11
* Gross market borrowing for 2011-12 seen at 4.17 trillion rupees
* Revised gross market borrowing for 2010-11 at 4.47 trillion rupees

POLICY REFORMS
* To create infrastructure debt funds
* FDI policy being liberalised.
* To boost infrastructure development with tax-free bonds of 300 billion rupees
* Food security bill to be introduced this year
* To permit SEBI registered mutual funds to access subscriptions from foreign investments
* Raised foreign institutional investor limit in 5-year corporate bonds for investment in infrastructure by $20 billion
* Setting up independent debt management office; Public debt bill to be introduced in parliament soon
* Bills on insurance, pension funds, banking to be introduced.
*Constitution Amendment Bill for introduction of GST regime in this session.
*New Companies Bill to be introduced in current session

SECTOR SPENDING
* To allocate more than 1.64 trillion rupees to defence sector in 2011-12 (Read: 11% hike in defence allocation )
* Corpus of rural infrastructure development fund raised to 180 billion rupees in 2011-12
* To provide 201.5 billion rupees capital infusion in state-run banks in 2011-12
* To allocate 520.5 billion rupees for the education sector. Rs.21,000 crore for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
* To raise health sector allocation to 267.6 billion rupees (Read: 20% hike in health budget )
* Rs.500 crore more for national skill development fund.
* Rs.54 crore each for AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) centres at Murshidabad and Mallapuram.
* Rs.58,000 crore for Bharat Nirman; increase of Rs.10,000 crore.
* Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme wage rates linked to consumer price index; will rise from existing Rs.100 per day.
* Increased outlay on social sector schemes. 
* Infrastructure critical for development; 23 percent higher allocation in 2011-12


AGRICULTURE
* Removal of supply bottlenecks in the food sector will be in focus in 2011-12
* Agriculture growth key to development: Green Revolution waiting to happen in eastern region.
* To raise target of credit flow to agriculture sector to 4.75 trillion rupees
* Gives 3 percent interest subsidy to farmers in 2011-12
* Cold storage chains to be given infrastructure status
* Capitalisation of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) of 30 billion rupees in a phased manner
* To provide 3 billion rupees for 60,000 hectares under palm oil plantation
* Actively considering new fertiliser policy for urea
* Food storage capacity to be augmented - 15 more mega food parks to be set up in 2011-12; of 30 sanctioned in previous fiscal, 15 set up.
* Comprehensive policy on further developing PPP (public-private-partnership) model.
* Farmers need access to affordable credit.
* Moving to improve nutritional security.
* Necessary to accelerate production of fodder.

ON THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY ( Read: Pranab on economy )
* "Fiscal consolidation has been impressive. This year has also seen significant progress in those critical institutional reforms that will pave the way for double digit growth in the near future."
* "At times the biggest reforms are not the ones that make headlines, but the ones concerned with details of governance which affect the everyday life of aam aadmi (common man). In preparing this year's budget, I have been deeply conscious of this fact."
* Food inflation remains a concern
* Current account deficit situation poses some concern
* Must ensure that private investment is sustained
* "The economy has shown remarkable resilience."
* Setting tone for newer, vibrant economy.
* Economy back to pre-crisis trajectory.
* Development needs to be more inclusive.

ON GOVERNANCE
* "Certain events in the past few months may have created an impression of drift in governance and a gap in public accountability ... such an impression is misplaced."
* Corruption is a problem, must fight it collectively

MORE
*Govt to move towards direct transfer of cash subsidy for kerosene, LPG and fertilisers.
*Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission, to be headed by former Supreme Court judge B Srikrishna, to complete its work in 24 months; to overhaul financial regulations.
* Five-fold strategy against black money; 13 new double taxation avoidance agreements; foreign tax division of CTBT strengthened; strength of Enforcement Directorate increased three-fold.
* Bill to be introduced to review Indian Stamp Act.
* New coins carrying new rupee symbol to be issued.
* Anganwadi workers salary raised from Rs.1,500 to Rs.3,000.
* Mortgage risk guarantee fund to be created for economically weaker sections.
* Housing loan limit for priority sector lending raised to Rs.25 lakh.

Special Economic Zone Benefits (SEZ Benefits)

Special Economic Zone Benefits:

1. A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is a "specifically delineated, duty-free enclave and shall be deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations and duties and tariffs" (EXIM Policy 2000).

2. All trade inflows into the SEZ are treated as imports and all outflows from the SEZ are treated as exports.

3. The concept of SEZ was introduced by the Indian Government in the EXIM Policy 2000. Since then the SEZ Act has been passed in 2005 and the rules and regulations governing the same have been notified in 2006.

4. The preferential policy framework within which an SEZ functions is designed to give an impetus to exports and provide the necessary supporting environment to make these export hubs an attractive investment destination point for global players with multi-lateral trade dimensions.

5. Income tax holiday for 15 years

☻ 100% for the first 5 years
☻ 50% for the next 5 years
☻ 50% for the following 5 years on plough back of profits

6. Exemptions from customs and excise duties, central sales tax and local taxes on construction material, capital equipment , raw material, spares, and consumables

7. Exemption from service tax

8. Exemption on stamp duty and land registration charges

9. Single window clearances

10. On-site customs and self-certification processes

11. Repatriation of profits without dividend balancing permitted

12.100% foreign direct investment permitted

For more information, please visit www.sezindia.nic.in

All the benefits are as per the SEZ Act 2005 outlined by the Government of India. However local taxes / duties which are under the purview of the State Government are governed by the respective State Governments.