[Conditions for the purpose of section 10(5).

2B.(1) The amount exempted under clause (5) of section 10 in respect of the value of travel concession or assistance received by or due to the individual from his employer or former employer for himself and his family, in connection with his proceeding,—

(a) on leave to any place in India;

(b) to any place in India after retirement from service or after the termination of his service,

shall be the amount actually incurred on the performance of such travel subject to the following conditions, namely :—

[(i) where the journey is performed on or after the 1st day of October, 1997, by air, an amount not exceeding the air economy fare of the national carrier by the shortest route to the place of destination;

(ii) where places of origin of journey and destination are connected by rail and the journey is performed on or after the 1st day of October, 1997, by any mode of transport other than by air, an amount not exceeding the air-conditioned first class rail fare by the shortest route to the place of destination; and

(iii) where the places of origin of journey and destination or part thereof are not connected by rail and the journey is performed on or after the 1st day of October, 1997, between such places, the amount eligible for exemption shall be :—

(A) where a recognised public transport system exists, an amount not exceeding the 1st class or deluxe class fare, as the case may be, on such transport by the shortest route to the place of destination; and

(B) where no recognised public transport system exists, an amount equivalent to the air-conditioned first class rail fare, for the distance of the journey by the shortest route, as if the journey had been performed by rail.]

¹[“(1A) For the assessment year beginning on the 1st day of April, 2021, where the individual referred to in sub-rule (1) avails any cash allowance from his employer in lieu of any travel concession or assistance, the amount exempted under the second proviso to clause (5) of section 10 shall be the amount, not exceeding thirty-six thousand rupees per person, for the individual and the member of his family, or one-third of the specified expenditure, whichever is less, subject to fulfilment of the following conditions, namely:-

(i) the individual has exercised an option to avail exemption under the second proviso of clause (5) of section 10, in lieu of the exemption under clause (5) of section 10 in respect of one unutilised journey during the block of four calendar years commencing from the calendar year 2018;  

(ii) the payment in respect of the specified expenditure is made by the individual or any member of his family to a registered person during the specified period;

(iii) the payment in respect of the specified expenditure is made by an account payee cheque drawn on a bank or account payee bank draft, or use of electronic clearing system through a bank account or through such other electronic mode as prescribed under rule 6ABBA; and

(iv) the individual obtains a tax invoice in respect of specified expenditure from the registered person referred in clause (ii).

Explanation 1- For the purpose of this sub-rule,-

(i) „tax invoice?  means an invoice issued by the registered person under section 31 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (No. 12 of 2017);

(ii)„registered person?  shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (94) of section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (No. 12 of 2017);

(iii) „specified expenditure?  means expenditure incurred by an individual or a member of his family  during specified period on goods or services, which are liable to tax at an aggregate rate of twelve per cent. or above under various Goods and Services Tax (GST) laws and goods are purchased or services procured from GST registered vendors or service providers;

(iv) „specified period?  means the period commencing from the 12th day of October, 2020 and ending on the 31stday of March, 2021.

Explanation 2  For the removal of doubt, it is hereby clarified that if the amount received by or due to an individual, as per the terms of his employment, from his employer in relation to himself and member of his family, in connection with the specified expenditure is in excess of the thirty six thousand rupees per person, for the individual and the member of his family, the exemption under this sub-rule would be restricted to thirty-six thousand rupees per person, for the individual and the member of his family, or one-third of the specified expenditure, whichever is less.

Explanation 3  It is hereby clarified that the clarification issued by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, vide OM F. No 12(2)/2020-EII (A) Dated 12th October, 2020 and any subsequent clarifications, if any, issued in this regard shall apply mutatis mutandis to the exemption under this sub-rule.

(1B) Where an exemption under the second proviso to clause (5) of section 10 is claimed and allowed, sub-rule (2) shall have effect as if for the words  „two journeys? , the words  „one journey"  has been substituted.”. ]

2) The exemption referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be available to an individual in respect of two journeys performed in a block of four calendar years commencing from the calendar year 1986 :

[Provided that nothing contained in this sub-rule shall apply to the benefit already availed of by the assessee in respect of any number of journeys performed before the 1st day of April, 1989 except to the extent that the journey or journeys so performed shall be taken into account for computing the limit of two journeys specified in this sub-rule.]

(3) Where such travel concession or assistance is not availed of by the individual during any such block of four calendar years, an amount in respect of the value of the travel concession or assistance, if any, first availed of by the individual during first calendar year of the immediately succeeding block of four calendar years shall be eligible for exemption.

Explanation : The amount in respect of the value of the travel concession or assistance referred to in this sub-rule shall not be taken into account in deter-mining the eligibility of the amount in respect of the value of the travel con-cession or assistance in relation to the number of journeys under sub-rule (2).]

[(4) The exemption referred to in sub-rule (1) shall not be available to more than two surviving children of an individual after 1st October, 1998:

Notes:

1. Inserted by the Income tax (15th Amendment), Rules, 2021. Notification No. 50/2021 dated 05 may 2021 w.e.f 01-04-2021