SCHEDULE II INCOME NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN TOTAL INCOME

Income-tax Act, 2025

At a Glance

SCHEDULE II sets out classes of income that are excluded from "total income" for income-tax purposes. The Bill (Old Version) and the enacted Act differ in several material respects affecting life-insurance exclusions, pension/NPS entries, references to International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) entities, and the inclusion of equalisation-levy income. Affected parties include policyholders, insurers, employers, employees, pension subscribers, IFSC entities and tax authorities. Effective dates are stated within specific entries (for example, policy issue periods and 1 April 2002/2023) where provided; no single overarching commencement date for the Schedule is stated in the Bill text.

Background & Scope

Statutory hook: SCHEDULE II (See section 11) - "Income not to be included in total income." The Schedule lists categories of exempt income (column B) subject to conditions (column C). Definitions and notes at the end assign meanings to terms used in the table. The Bill (Old Version) is the source document for this commentary. Any differences vis-`a-vis the enacted Act are identified only insofar as both texts were provided; where a detail is absent in the Bill text, the phrase "Not stated in the document." has been used.

Statutory Provision Mode

Text & Scope

The Schedule enumerates 16 heads of income excluded from total income, including: agricultural income; sums under life-insurance policies (with sub-conditions tied to period of issue, premium-to-sum-assured ratios and aggregate premium ceilings); provident fund and recognised provident fund payments (with carve-outs for interest on large contributions on/after 1 April 2021); payments under Sukanya Samriddhi, National Pension System (NPS) Trust, Agniveer Corpus Fund, approved superannuation funds; scholarships; awards/rewards instituted or approved by government; interest or other receipts on specified government securities and deposits; interest on gold bonds/certificates; interest on bonds issued by local authorities or State Pooled Finance Entities; income on transfer of certain UTI units; income chargeable to equalisation levy (new insertion); and specific categories u/s 10(15) and related provisions of the 1961 Act as applicable.

Interpretation

The text frames exclusions as conditional: each head is subject to prescribed conditions and definitions in accompanying notes. Legislative intent, as discernible from the Bill text, is to preserve traditional exemptions (agriculture, certain pensions, scholarships, specified government securities) while tightening or clarifying tax-exempt treatment for life-insurance receipts and retirement/savings vehicles by reference to issue dates, premium ratios, aggregate premium ceilings and contribution thresholds. The insertion of equalisation-levy related exclusion (Sl. No. 15) signals explicit recognition of overlap between equalisation-levy chargeability and income-tax neutrality for certain cross-border digital services.

Exceptions/Provisos

Key carve-outs and conditions provided in the Bill include:

• Life-insurance sums excluded only if policies meet period-specific premium-to-sum-assured ratios and, for certain periods, aggregate premium ceilings (Rs. 2,50,000 or Rs. 5,00,000) - and certain sums (section 127 receipts; Keyman policies) are expressly ineligible.
• Portions of interest on provident fund/recognised provident fund balances attributable to contributions on/after 1 April 2021 are not eligible for exclusion where contributions exceed specified thresholds (Rs.5,00,000 / Rs.2,50,000) and the amount not excluded is to be computed as prescribed.
• NPS payments excluded only to the extent they do not exceed 60% of the total amount payable on closure/opt-out.
• Approved superannuation fund payments are exempt only in specified circumstances (death, commutation at retirement/age, refund in limited cases, transfer to specified pension schemes).
• Equalisation-levy related incomes are excluded only where not chargeable as royalty/FTS in India under agreements notified u/s 159 (explicit exception in Sl. No. 15).

Illustrations

• Example 1: A unit-linked life policy issued on 1 Oct 2023 with annual premium such that premium-to-sum-assured ratio is 12% and aggregate premium per tax year is Rs.2,00,000 - the Bill permits exclusion if it meets the Item 2 conditions (unit-linked post-1-April-2023: ratio <=15% for special, <=10% for others; aggregate <=Rs.2,50,000 for ULIP). Whether treated as "special policy" depends on disability/disease status u/rs - Not stated in the document.
• Example 2: An employee receives accumulated recognised provident fund balance including interest attributable to contributions of Rs.6,00,000 made on/after 1 April 2021 in a year when no employer contribution was made - interest attributable to that contribution is not eligible for exclusion (threshold exceeded Rs.5,00,000); the portion not excluded to be computed as prescribed (procedure Not stated in the document).

Interplay

The Bill references other statutory instruments and provisions: Section 11 (hook), Section 127 (for life-insurance ineligibility), Schedule XI para 8, Schedule XV (definition of "actual capital sum assured"), Insurance Regulatory regulations, the Provident Funds Act, Government Savings Promotion Act (Sukanya Samriddhi), Dept. notifications regarding NPS (notifications not reproduced in the Bill text), Finance Act, 2016 (equalisation levy Chapter VIII) and section 159 agreements. The Bill contemplates Board guidelines for removal of difficulties. Where computation methods are required ("as prescribed"), the Bill defers to rules/regulations; these procedural details are Not stated in the document.

Differences between the Bill (Old Version) and the Enacted Act - Practical Impact

Practical Implications

• Compliance and risk areas: Life-insurance exclusions carry detailed temporal and quantitative conditions (period of issue, premium-to-sum-assured ratio, aggregate premium ceilings). Insurers and policyholders must verify issue date classifications and compute premium ratios and aggregate premiums across the policy term. The explicit ineligibility for keyman policies and section 127 receipts increases scrutiny over policy ownership and assignment.
• NPS and provident fund entries impose record-keeping obligations: authorities and subscribers must track contributions made on or after 1 April 2021 separately, and identify portions of interest attributable to contributions exceeding thresholds. The method of computing the amount not excluded is left to prescribed rules - until rules are notified, potential uncertainty persists.
• Equalisation-levy clause (Sl. No. 15): taxpayers and digital service providers should reconcile equalisation-levy exposure and Income-tax chargeability; the clause excludes income chargeable to equalisation levy except where the income is otherwise taxable in India as royalty/FTS under notified agreements (thus creating an interplay with tax treaty determinations and notifications u/s 159).
• IFSC references: the Bill treats certain IFSC insurance intermediary office receipts differently in the life-insurance entry (exclusion/inclusion language differs versus the Act). Parties operating within IFSCs should note the special treatment and any administrative guidance forthcoming.
• Procedural uncertainty: multiple entries defer to "as prescribed" computations and to notifications by the Central Government; until those are issued, taxpayers face interpretation and compliance risk. The Board's power to issue binding guidelines (with Central Government approval) is preserved, indicating administrative rule-making will shape practical application.

Key Takeaways

• The Bill retains traditional exemptions (agriculture, scholarships, certain pension/retirement receipts) while imposing quantified tests on insurance exclusions (period-specific ratios and aggregate premium ceilings).
• Interest on provident fund balances attributable to large post-1-April-2021 contributions is explicitly excluded from exemption, with thresholds (Rs.5,00,000 / Rs.2,50,000) and prescribed computation methods.
• Equalisation-levy related income is newly addressed - excluded except where taxable in India as royalty/FTS under notified agreements.
• Certain specific sums are expressly excluded from insurance exemption (section 127 receipts; Keyman insurance), tightening the prior broader language.
• Several entries defer key operational questions to rules/notifications; substantial administrative guidance is required to operationalise the Schedule.

Full Text:

SCHEDULE II INCOME NOT TO BE INCLUDED IN TOTAL INCOME