There are few income tax categories which envelop various investment options available in India on the basis of which the applicable taxes are levied. The government advises the Income Tax Department to classify various investment options
into these categories which can mutually channelise the benefits to the people, as well as the revenue department of the government.
into these categories which can mutually channelise the benefits to the people, as well as the revenue department of the government.
The exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) tax category is the superlative classification in India. The investment options falling under this category are considered as completely tax-free or tax-exempt. That implies that the individuals putting their money in ‘EEE’ categorised investment options will be eligible for a tax break upon investment at the time of filing the income tax returns.
The applicability of tax breaks on investment in 'EEE' grouped investment options is ascertained by various sections of the Income Tax Act of 1961. The most popular Sections under which a person is eligible to claim a tax break include Section 80C, Section 80D, Section 80E, Section 80DD, Section 80EE, Section 80GG and Section 80B etc. There are several investment options in India which are grouped under the ‘EEE’ tax category.
The conventional examples include Public Provident Fund (PPF), Sukanya Samriddhi Account (SSA), National Pension Scheme (NPS), Employee Provident Fund (EPF), Virtual Provident Fund (VPF), unit-linked investment plans (Ulips) and some corporate and government-backed bonds which are traded on exchanges, as well as issued privately.
The specifications of the bonds indexed under ‘EEE’ or any other category can be obtained from National Stock Exchange, Bombay Stock Exchange and, separately, people can acquire the document describing the features of bonds from the bond-issuer itself.
As far as the small saving schemes such as PPF, SSA, NPS, EPF and VPF are concerned, the information about all these investment options is maintained by government-designated regulators Employees Provident Fund Organisation, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
