Raising the limit of deduction under section
80DDB
Under the existing provisions of section 80DDB
of the Act, an assessee, resident in India is allowed a deduction of a sum not
exceeding forty thousand rupees, being the amount actually paid, for the
medical treatment of certain chronic and protracted diseases such as Cancer,
full blown AIDS, Thalassaemia, Haemophilia etc. This deduction is allowed up to
sixty thousand rupees where the expenditure is in respect of a senior citizen
i.e. a person who is of the age of sixty years or more at any time during the
relevant previous year.
The above deduction is available to an individual
for medical expenditure incurred on himself or a dependant relative. It is also
available to a Hindu undivided family (HUF) for such expenditure incurred on
its members. Dependant in case of an individual means the spouse, children,
parents, brother or sister of an individual and in case of an HUF means a
member of the HUF ,wholly or mainly dependant on such individual or HUF for his
support and maintenance.
Under the existing provisions of this section,
a certificate in the prescribed form, from a neurologist, an oncologist, a
urologist, a haematologist, an immunologist or such other specialist working in
a Government hospital is required. It has been represented that the requirement
of a certificate from a doctor working in a Government hospital causes undue
hardship to the persons intending to claim the aforesaid deduction .Government
hospitals at many places do not have doctors specialising in the above branches
of medicine. For this and other reasons, it may be difficult for the taxpayer
to obtain a certificate from a Government hospital.
In view of the above, it is proposed to amend
section 80DDB so as to provide that the assessee will be required to obtain a
prescription from a specialist doctor for the purpose of availing this
deduction.
Further, it is also proposed to amend section
80DDB to provide for a higher limit of deduction of upto eighty
thousand rupees, for the expenditure incurred in respect of the medical
treatment of a “very senior citizen”.
A “very senior citizen” is proposed to be
defined as an individual resident in India who is of the age of eighty years or
more at any time during the relevant previous year.
These amendments will take effect from 1st
April, 2016 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year
2016-17 and subsequent assessment years.
