Income Tax exemption for people having an annual income below 8 lakh!

Chennai: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, on Tuesday has issued notice to the Central government on a petition seeking exemption from income tax for people with less than Rs 8 lakh annual income.

A bench of Justice R Mahadevan and Justice Sathya Narayan Prasad have also issued notices to Union Ministeries of Law and Justice, Finance Personnel, Public Grievance and Pension. They have directed to respond within four weeks.

A Kunnur Seenivasan, a member of the Assets Protection Council of DMK, who filed a petition said that a part of the Finance Act, 2022, that requires individuals with an annual income of more than ₹2.5 lakh to pay income tax, is “ultra vires”, in light of the Supreme Court ruling that categorises families with a gross annual income of less than Rs 8 lakh as economically weaker section (EWS).

According to the plea, the government should not collect income tax from individuals having income upto limit Rs. 7,99,999 as a family having gross income below Rs 8 lakhs is considered to be a part of Economically Weaker Section(EWS). Those having an annual income below Rs. 7,99,999 can avail benefits of EWS reservation.

On 7th Novmber, the Supreme Court upheld the 103rd Constitution Amendment Act which granted 10% reservation to the economically weaker sections among the upper castes in a 3:2 decision.