The government’s move to make donations to the PM CARES fund more attractive by granting 100% tax exemption on contributions under Section 80G of Income Tax provisions is likely to help mop up resources for the fund created exclusively for disasters such as the coronavirus outbreak. The fund was announced by the prime minister last week and it invites individual contributions, no matter how small they are. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the chairman of PM CARES Fund trust and its members include defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
We bring you some key facts about the fund that you need to know before making any contribution.
1. The government has brought in an ordinance to make donations to PM CARES Fund eligible for 100% deduction under section 80G of the IT Act. Further, the limit on deduction of 10% of gross income shall also not be applicable for donations made to PM CARES Fund.
2. Giving money to the fund till June 30, 2020, makes you eligible for claiming deductions from the income tax for the financial year 2019-20. It is a huge opportunity for those who may have missed out on saving some money through investments eligible for tax deductions u/s 80G.
3. The ordinance issued on Tuesday has made it even more attractive for individuals and corporates paying concessional tax on the income of FY 2020-21 under the new regime. They can make a donation to PM CARES Fund up to June 30 this year and not only claim deduction under Section 80G against income of financial year 2019-20, but also remain eligible for concessional taxation regime for the income accrued in the financial year 2020-21.
4. There are several ways of making a payment to the fund. People comfortable with electronic transfers can use the following details to make online transfers. The fund accepts any amount as a contribution. Account Name: PM CARES, Account Number: 2121PM20202 , IFSC Code: SBIN0000691, SWIFT Code: SBININBB104, Name of Bank & Branch: State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch.
5. Payment to the fund can also be made by using the UPI ID of The PM CARES fund, which is: pmcares@sbi.
6. Apart from the above, the following modes of payments to the fund are available on the website- pmindia.gov.in. Any person can go and chose a suitable option from the following methods:
Debit Cards and Credit Cards
Internet Banking
UPI (BHIM, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, PayTM, Mobikwik, etc.)
RTGS/NEFT
7. Provision to accept donations from foreign contributors is still awaited. The official webpage for PM CARES donations says, it is likely to be announced in the next 2-3 days time.
