MUMBAI:
Customers who have got recently bought Life Insurance Corporation of India’s
newly launched unit-linked wellness coverage strategy Health Plus, will be in for a
shock. Especially if they were
counting on the fact that the full insurance premium amount will be eligible for tax
benefits under subdivision 80D. It
is reliably learnt that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority
(IRDA) have written to LIC on Thursday request it to divide the benefits. As per this, only the portion
of hazard insurance insurance premium that business relationships for basic wellness screen will be eligible for
benefits under subdivision 80D, while the balance or premium that travels towards the
unit-linked strategy will have got to come up under subdivision 80C. An IRDA functionary said since
the merchandise was linked to investings and earned a return, as per the Income-Tax
Act, that part of insurance premium was not eligible for benefits under subdivision 80D. Under subdivision 80D of the I-T
Act, a individual acquires a tax deduction on insurance premium paid towards mediclaim up to Rs 15,000
(Rs 20,000 for senior citizens). Section 80C lets investment
up to Rs 1 hundred thousand to help taxation benefits. This subdivision covers all other investment
options like the payments on common funds, life coverage premium, refund of
prinicpal amount of a place loan, national nest egg certification and even public
provident fund. Adding one more
component in the word form of a unit of measurement linked wellness coverage plan, will intend the
investor will have got to apportion littler amounts to other investing avenues or
forego the possibility of getting any taxation benefit on this scheme. The part of hazard premium
assigned to the wellness screen in Health Asset is littler compared to the premium
amount assigned to the unit of measurement linked component. A senior LIC functionary said
that given this development the corporation will have got to discourse the issue
further and see its options. The functionary also added that LIC will
structure future merchandises in such as a mode to give upper limit taxation benefit under
section 80D. This change, say
agents, is going to be a immense disadvantage to customers. "Most of my customers
have been looking forward to a merchandise that lets them wellness cover, have a tax
benefit and also gives them a tax return on investment. That is the gross sales pitch we
have been using," states a Mumbai-based LIC agent. The agent told TOI that LIC had informed the agents that the taxation benefit available to customers
will be subdivision 80D.