Form 15G & 15H: Save TDS on interest on FDs

No TDS is deducted by banks on interest earned in saving bank accounts and recurring
deposit accounts

We invest money in fixed deposits to get better

returns. If you go through the instructions mentioned on your FD certificate, it usually mentions:
If the depositor is not liable to pay income tax and the interest to be paid in a financial year does
not exceed the maximum amount which is not chargeable to income tax, the depositor may
submit a declaration in Form No. 15G / 15H so that income tax is not deducted at source. What
does the statement mean. The below article provides a comprehensive picture of what does 'Form
No. 15G' and 'Form No. 15H' mean.
Banks normally ask depositors to submit Form No. 15G and Form No. 15H each year. There are
different rules as to who can submit Form No. 15G and Form No. 15H.
Form No. 15G and Form No. 15H are self-declaration forms required to be furnished by the
assessee to his banker for nil deduction / lower deduction of TDS (tax deducted at source) on
interest on fixed deposit.
Form 15G / H is a self-declaration, which is provided by a person resident in India (not being a
company or firm) to their deductor that the tax on his estimated total income for the previous
year, will be nil. The duty to submit these forms with assessee before end of the financial year or
first payment of interest whichever is earlier.
The declaration in writing should be collected by the deductor in duplicate.

Form No. 15H: For senior citizens

Form No. 15G: For other than senior citizens

Previous year income should not be taxable

No TDS is deducted by banks on interest earned in saving bank accounts and recurring deposit
accounts. Interest on fixed deposits is subject to deduction of tax as per income tax rules.
According to Section 197A of the Income Tax Act, 1961, an individual who is resident in India
and whose estimated total income of the previous year is less than the minimum liable to
income-tax will receive interest on securities, dividends and other interest without deduction of
tax at source. The facility of claiming payments of interest on securities, dividends, etc., under
section 197A is available only in the case of individuals who are resident in India. Accordingly, it
is not permissible for Hindu undivided families and other categories of taxpayers to claim
payments of interest on securities, dividends, etc., without deduction of tax at source on
furnishing the declaration in Form No. 15G or 15H.
All banks and financial institutions will deduct TDS on all interest payments exceeding Rs.
10,000 on fixed deposits in a financial year. If a customer receives more than Rs. 10,000 per
annum on his FDs as interest from a bank, the bank deducts tax on such income arising in the
hands of the customer. The tax deducted is directly paid to the government on the behalf of the
customer.
The bank issues a TDS Certificate also called Form 16A which mentions the details of the TDS
payment with the government. The bank will deduct tax at source once the amount of interest to
be credited in respect of all the fixed deposits taken together exceeds Rs. 10,000 in a financial
year. This limit of Rs. 10,000 is applicable for each branch of a bank and not for all the branches
of a bank taken together. So each branch of the bank will see whether the interest for the whole
year on all the FDs exceed the threshold of Rs. 10,000.
Banks are not required to deduct any TDS on interest credited on your savings bank account
even the amount of interest may be very substantial.
In case of FDs made for longer duration where the interest will be paid to you only on maturity,
the bank will deduct tax at source on the interest accrued for the year even though no interest in
fact has been paid to you.
Form No 15G: Only a person who is resident in India can submit Form No. 15G. So an NRI
cannot submit this form. Any person other than a company can submit Form No. 15 G. So any
individual, HUF, Trust, Association of Persons or Body of Individuals can submit Form No. 15G.
Form 15G is submitted by individuals who are less than 60 years of age.
Form No. 15H: Any resident Individual who is above sixty years of age or completes sixty years
during the financial year can submit Form No. 15H provided his tax liability on the basis of his
estimated income is nil for the financial year.
Please ensure to submit your PAN details to the bank while submitting the Form No. 15G or
15H. In case you fail to include your PAN number to the bank, the bank will deduct TDS @ 20%
against the applicable rate of 10% even if you have submitted Form No. 15G and 15H. Please
take an acknowledgement from the bank for Form No. 15 G or 15H while submitting it.

The Form No. 15G or 15H as the case may be, should be submitted at the beginning of the year
so as to avoid a situation where bank has already deducted the tax before you submit the form.
However in case the bank deducts the tax inspite of the fact that you have submitted the form or
before you actually submit the same, the bank will not refund the tax already deducted, as the
bank would have already deposited the tax with the government. In such a situation the only
option available with you is to file your income tax return and claim the amount of TDS a refund.
Form 15G and Form 15H have the validity of only one financial year. These forms are valid only
for the financial year in which you have furnished these forms. If you want to apply for nil TDS
in the new financial year, then you will have to resubmit these forms. Form 15H or 15G are
meant to prevent TDS and not to avoid tax or file your tax return. You may be required to file
your tax return if your total income before the deductions is above the basic tax exemption limit.

Why registration of immovable property is important?

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Legally, the sale of property won't be considered valid till the sale deed is duly stamped and
registered

Registering your immoveable property should be

the top priority when you buy a house, commercial shop or land as it proves your legitimacy to
carry out any transaction. A person is considered the legal owner of a property only after he gets
the property registered in his name.
If you fail to register the property, the previous owner or the developer will be considered the
legal and rightful owner. Legally, the sale of property won't be considered valid till the sale deed
is duly stamped and registered. The basic purpose of registration is to record the ownership of the
flat.
The seller of the property is called the transferor and the purchaser is called the transferee.
The purchaser of the property pays the stamp duty and registration charges.
If the sale deed is duly stamped and registered, then no right, title or interest in an immoveable
property can be transferred. In case of a dispute, you will not have any rights on the property if it
is not registered in your name.
Stamp duty charges:

Stamp duty is a type of tax collected by the government under its jurisdiction for a transaction of
property. The types of property may include agricultural, independent houses, flats, commercial
units, etc. The percentage of stamp duty levied varies in different states.
Without the payment of this stamp duty, your solicitor will not be able to officially register your
new house in your name, even when the house is transferred within the family. Stamp duty is
normally a certain percent of the total cost or agreement value of the property. For instance:
Stamp duty in Mumbai is 6 percent of the total cost or sale consideration of the property. The
final amount is calculated on the basis of the agreement value, or the ready reckoner rates
decided by the state government, whichever is higher. The ready reckoner rates are revised every
year during the first week of January.
Registration Fee
According to Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, it is mandatory to register the
documents regarding the transfer, sale or lease of property. For registration, the original
document printed on one side along with two photocopies of the original; have to be submitted to
the registering officer. The registration procedure also requires the presence of two witnesses and
the payment of the appropriate registration fees.
The registration fee currently fixed for registering documents relating to property transactions is
approximately 1% of the market value or agreement value, whichever is higher, subject to
Maximum of Rs.30,000. The reason that there is a cap of Rs. 30,000 on the registration amount
is because sometimes, the ready reckoner rates can be very high depending upon the location,
size, floor, lift availability, age of the building, among other factors.
You will need to register the property within four months of the date of execution of the sale
deed. In case of a delay, you can request the district registrar to grant you an extension of another
four months for registration. However, there is a certain amount of penalty charged.
Tax benefit
Under Section 80C of the I-T Act, an individual/HUF assessee is eligible to a deduction of stamp
duty, registration fee and other expenses for the purpose of acquiring a house. This deduction is
from gross total income. The maximum limit of deduction under Section 80C every financial
year is Rs 1 lakh.

Mutual Funds: Change of bank mandate

Unitholders need to submit a written request for change in their bank account details

Most of us invest in mutual funds for long-term

say for 5-10 years. During this period, some of the unit-holders may forget what were their
registered savings bank account details in their mutual fund investments.
What happens in case you have closed your savings bank account, which was also a registered
bank account for your mutual fund investments. Now you would be unable to redeem your
mutual funds as the AMC (asset management company) would transfer funds in your bank
account mentioned in their records. However, the bank account is closed now and no longer
operative. The electronic fund transfer made by the AMC to your bank account would be
declined as the account is closed. Also, you won't be able to deposit the cheque sent to you by the
AMC as the cheque would mention your bank account number, which is closed.
The below article provides a comprehensive analysis of what you need to do in case you want to
change your bank mandate for your mutual fund investments.
Unitholders need to submit a written request for change in their bank account details. The written
letter should be duly signed by the unit holders. Besides, unitholders also need to submit anyone
of the following documents to their nearest CAMS (Computer Age Management Services) or
mutual fund branch for change of bank mandate.
1. Original and cancelled cheque leaf of new bank account wherein the first unit holder's
name is printed on the face of the cheque.
2. Self attested photocopies of the bank account statement issued by the respective bank
(statement not older than three months) attested either by AMC or by bankers.
3. Copy of the Bank Passbook with current entries (not older than three months) attested by
AMC or by bankers.
4. Letter from the respective bank (on their letterhead) duly signed by Branch
Manager/Authorized Personnel, stating the investor's bank account number, name,
account type, bank branch, MICR, IFSC code of the bank branch.
In case the photocopies of the document are being submitted kindly ensure that the same is
attested by the bank manager of the respective bank.
Alternately, the attestation can be obtained from the branch office of the Asset Management
Company Ltd. or at any of the designated Official Point of Acceptance of Transactions (OPAT)
by producing the original documents for verification.