Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

07-December-2012 18:29 IST

The Interest Subvention Scheme is being implemented by the Government of India since 2006-07 to make short-term crop loans up to Rs. 3 lakh for a period of one year available to farmers at the interest rate of 7 per cent per annum. The Government of India has since 2009-10 been providing additional interest subvention to prompt payees farmers, i.e. those who repay their loans in time. The additional subvention was 1% in 2009-10, 2% in 2010-11 and 3% in 2011-12. Further, order to discourage distress sales, the benefit of interest subvention was made available in the year 2011-12 to small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Card (KCC) for a further period of up to six months post harvest on the same rates as available to crop loans against negotiable warehouse receipts for keeping their produce in warehouses. The Interest Subvention Scheme for the year 2011-12 has been continued in 2012-13 as well.

There is no provision under the Income Tax Act 1961 specifically for accounting “Gold Holding” for assessment of income tax.

Through Finance Act, 2012, a provision has been made in section 139 of the Income Tax Act, which inter-alia, provides that a person, being a resident other than not ordinarily resident in India within the meaning of clause (6) of section 6 of the Income Tax Act and who during the previous year has any asset (including any financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India, shall furnish, on or before the due date, a return in respect of his income or loss for the previous year in such form and verified in such manner and setting forth such other particulars as may be prescribed. Also a new Schedule FA has been inserted in Income Tax Return Forms ITR 2, ITR 3, ITR 4, ITR 5 ITR 6 and ITR 7 for assessment year 2012-13 wherein the assesee is required to give the details of the asset (including any financial interest in any entity) located outside India or signing authority in any account located outside India.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Finance, Shri Namo Narian Meena in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

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DSM/RS/ka

Interest subvention continued, extending concessional crop loan benefits while new foreign-asset return and Schedule FA reporting obligations apply. The Interest Subvention Scheme provides concessional short-term crop credit with additional prompt-repayment subvention and was extended in 2012-13; small and marginal farmers with Kisan Credit Cards were permitted a post-harvest extension of interest benefits for stored produce under negotiable warehouse receipts. The Finance Act, 2012 introduced a requirement for resident taxpayers with assets or signing authority abroad to furnish returns in prescribed form and added Schedule FA to capture foreign asset and signing-authority details.