FinMin exempts CBSE from paying income tax with retrospective effect from FY'21 till FY'25

NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry has exempted the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) from paying income tax on earnings from examination fees, the sale of textbooks and publications, among others.

The I-T exemption has been given retrospectively from the financial year 2020-2021 (for the period from June 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021) and for the fiscal years 2021-22, and 2022-23.

The exemption will continue in the current fiscal and the next financial year (2024-25).

In a notification, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the government has notified the Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi, a Board constituted by the Central government, under section 10 (46) of the I-T Act and exempted it from paying income tax on specified income.

Such income include examination fees; affiliation fees; sale of textbooks & publications; registration fees, sports fees, training fees and other academic receipts.

Also, receipts from CBSE projects/programmes; interest on income tax refunds; and interest earned on these specified income would be exempted from income tax.

The tax exemption is subject to the condition that CBSE shall not engage in any commercial activity; activities and the nature of the specified income shall remain unchanged throughout the financial years, the CBDT said.

AMRG & Associates Joint Partner (Corporate & International Tax) Om Rajpurohit said given that the current notification has been provided for a limited period beginning retroactively from June 1, 2020, to FY 2024-25, the CBSE may file an application to the CBDT for special permission to revise earlier years' income tax returns and claim a refund for taxes paid on specified income, as the time period for revision of returns has already expired.