Section 80U – Consequential amendments required due to the enactment of ‘The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’ w.e.f. 28.12.2016
Issue/Justification
Section 80U, inter alia, provide for a deduction to an individual, being a resident, who, at any time during the previous year, is certified by the medical authority to be a person with disability. As per Explanation to the said section, certain terms like “disability”, “medical authority”, “person with disability” and “person with severe disability” have been defined w.r.t. to provisions of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. However, the said Act has been repealed w.e.f. 28.12.2016 with the enactment of the ‘The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’. Accordingly, section 80U needs amendment in consonance with the new Act. Some of the salient features of the new law are:
i. Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept.
ii. The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities.
Suggestion
It is suggested that section 80U may be suitably amended so as appropriately incorporate the provisions of the newly enacted law i.e. ‘The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016’ repealing the law ‘the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995’ w.e.f. 28.12.2016 as referred in existing section 80U.
I have sickle cell anemia … can I claim under section 80u