Introduction: The Ministry of Finance, under the Department of Revenue and the Central Board of Direct Taxes, has released Notification No. 68/2023 pertaining to the Income-tax Act of 1961. This notification, dated 23rd August 2023, clarifies the specified income pertaining to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Detailed Analysis:
1. Powers and Relevance: Under the authority granted by clause (46) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Central Government has released this notification, with a focus on the specified income arising to UIDAI.
2. Specified Incomes for UIDAI: The incomes specified under this notification include:
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- Grants/Subsidies from the Central Government.
- Fees/Subscriptions like RTI Fee, Tender Fee, Sale of Scrap, PVC card, etc.
- Charges for Authentication, Enrolment, and Updation services.
- Earnings from Term/Fixed Deposits.
- Interest acquired on the above-specified incomes.
3. Effective Conditions: For this notification to be in effect, UIDAI:
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- Must not participate in any commercial activities.
- Needs to ensure that the nature of its specified income and activities remain consistent across financial years.
- Is mandated to file an income return as per the provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
4. Applicability Timeline: The provisions of this notification will be applied retrospectively for assessment years ranging from 2019-2020 to 2023-2024, which correlates with financial years 2018-2019 to 2022-2023.
Conclusion: Notification No. 68/2023 provides clarity on the incomes specific to UIDAI, emphasizing the nature of the incomes, the conditions for the notification’s effectiveness, and the years it applies to. This transparency ensures an organized approach to tax-related matters and eases the understanding of stakeholders involved. The retrospective application further confirms the government’s stance on aligning past and current financial procedures.
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Ministry of Finance
(Department of Revenue)
(Central Board of Direct Taxes)
Notification No. 68/2023-Income Tax | Dated: 23rd August, 2023
S.O. 3782(E).—In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (46) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby notifies for the purposes of the said clause, ‘Unique Identification Authority of India’(PAN AAAGU0182Q), a statutory Authority established under the provisions of the AADHAAR Act, 2016 by the Govt. of India, in respect of the following specified income arising to the said Authority, as follows:
(a) Grants/Subsidies received from Central Government;
(b) Fees/ Subscriptions including RTI Fee, Tender Fee, Sale of Scrap, PVC card, etc;
(c) Authentication, Enrolment and Updation service charges received;
(d) Term/Fixed Deposits; and
(e) Interest earned on (a) to (d) above.
2. This notification shall be effective subject to the conditions that Unique Identification Authority of India –
(a) shall not engage in any commercial activity;
(b) activities and the nature of the specified income shall remain unchanged throughout the financial years; and
(c) shall file return of income in accordance with the provision of clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
3. This notification shall be deemed to have been applied for assessment years 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 relevant for the financial years 2018-2019 to 2022-2023 respectively.
[Notification No. 68/2023/ F. No. 300196/37/2018-ITA-I]
VIKAS SINGH, Director (ITA-I)
Explanatory Memorandum
It is certified that no person is being adversely affected by giving retrospective effect to this notification.
