Amendment of section 80E.
32. In section 80E of the Income-tax Act, in sub-section (3), for clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2010, namely:—
'(c) "higher education" means any course of study pursued after passing the Senior Secondary Examination or its equivalent from any school, board or university recognised by the Central Government or State Government or local authority or by any other authority authorised by the Central Government or State Government or local authority to do so;'.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 32 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 80E of the Income-tax Act relating to deduction in respect of interest on loan taken for higher education.
Under the existing provisions a deduction is allowed to an individual under the said section in respect of interest on loan taken from any financial institution or any approved charitable institution for the purposes of pursuing his higher education or that of his relative. As per clause (c) of sub-section (3) of said section, "higher education" means full time studies for any graduate or postgraduate course in engineering, medicine, management or for postgraduate course in applied sciences or pure sciences including mathematics and statistics.
It is proposed to substitute clause (c) so as to provide that "higher education" will mean any course of study pursued after passing the senior secondary examination or its equivalent from any school, board or university recogised by the Central Government or State Government or local authority or by any other authority authorised by the Central Government or State Government or local authority. The proposed amendment will take effect from the 1st day of April, 2010 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to assessment year 2010-2011 and subsequent years.
