As per the amendments proposed in the Finance Bill 2021, exemption under section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 shall not apply to the ULIP policies issued on or after February 1, 2021 where the aggregate annual premium of all ULIP policies payable in the financial year exceeds INR 2,50,000/-.  Once policy becomes ineligible, it will remain so till term of policy except death claim. Premium includes riders, top up premium, loading (if any).

 

It will be considered as a capital asset and accordingly will be taxable as ‘Capital Gains’ in the hands of policyholders at the time of receipt of partial withdrawal /surrender/maturity proceeds on gains.

 

In case of death, total death proceeds will remain exempted. The amount received on the death of the Life Assured shall continue to be TAX FREE irrespective of the threshold on aggregate premium.

‘Security transaction tax’ (STT) @ 0.001% of fund value will be levied at the time of partial withdrawal /surrender/maturity payout (except death claim) on ULIP policies issued on or after February 1, 2021 where the aggregate premium exceeds INR 2,50,000/-. This will not apply to : Cases exempted under section 10 (10D) | Premium upto INR 2,50,000/- and non-compliant under section 10(10D) | Keyman Policies | Employer- Employee Policy

• Existing provision of section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act will continue. If the Sum Assured of any Life Insurance Policy is 10 times or more than 10 times the annual premium, then the amount received at partial withdrawal /surrender/maturity is exempted under section 10 (10D). 

Only Unit- Linked Insurance Plans (ULIP) will see changes in tax implications. There will be no change in the tax implications of other insurance plans. 

The period of holding (to determine whether short term or long term) to be computed based on such allocated units every year.

 

Based on current interpretation, all ULIP policies are classified as Equity Oriented Fund.

 

Short Term - Gap between last Annualised Premium (ANP) / Top up and Date of partial withdrawal /surrender/maturity is less than 12 months. Tax rate is 15% (Excl. surcharge and Cess)

 

Long Term – Other than above , gain till INR 1 Lakh will be exempted. Gain exceeding INR 1 Lakh will be taxed @ 10% (Excl. surcharge and Cess).

 

As mentioned in section 10(10D) of Income Tax Act, for the purpose of removing difficulty in interpretation of law, CBDT may issue Guidelines. Above tax rates may change on account of further clarification by Govt.

ULIP pension policies will continue to be treated as a pension policy. There will be no impact due to proposed provisions on pension policy. 

Applicability of TDS will continue to be 5% for policies that are ineligible under section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act at the time of partial withdrawal /surrender/maturity and also free-look cancellation for Indian Residents.

All the above provisions of section 10(10D) will be applicable for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) except rate of TDS. In accordance to proposed changes, TDS will be deducted considering capital gain based on the classification between short term / long term capital gain and rates will differ depending upon DTAA (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement) and Indian Income Tax law

 

Annexure – Tax Implications under Different Scenarios
No.	Scenarios	Exemption under Section 10(10D)*
1	Single policy issued on or after February 1, 2021 where the ANP exceeds INR 2,50,000/-	Not Exempted
2	Single policy issued on or after February 1, 2021 where the ANP is less than INR 2,50,000/-	Exempted
3	Three policies purchased on or after February 1, 2021 where the individual ANP is less than INR 2,50,000/-  but the total aggregate ANP exceeds INR 2,50,000/-	Not Exempted
4	One ULIP policy purchased on or after February 1, 2021 where ANP is below INR 2,50,000/- in a year. In year 3 the ANP is followed by a top up of INR 50,000 , than the aggregate ANP of the ULIP policy in year 3 exceeds INR 2,50,000/-	Not Exempted
5	Policy 1 issued prior to February 1, 2021 where ANP exceeds INR 2,50,000/- Policy 2 issued on or after February 1, 2021 where ANP exceeds INR 2,50,000/-	Policy 1 : Exempted Policy 2: Not Exempted

*Assume that all the above policies meet the condition of premium to Sum Assured ratio

 

Disclaimer

• Above views are based on interpretation of proposed Finance Bill 2021 read with existing provisions of Income Tax Act 1961.
• For the purpose of removing difficulty in interpretation / or different interpretation, CBDT may issue Guidelines in this regards and accordingly our views will be amended, if required
• Tata AIA Life Insurance does not assume any liability due to different interpretation of law. Policyholders are advised to consult their own tax consultant for more clarifications.