Section 88D — Rebate of income-tax in case of certain individuals (Omitted)

Case Laws & Commentary

Section 88D — Rebate of Income-tax in Case of Certain Individuals (Omitted)

Part A (Rebate of income-tax) — omitted by the Finance Act, 2005, w.e.f. 1-4-2006

A. STATUS

Section 88D has been OMITTED by the Finance Act, 2005, with effect from 1 April 2006. It is not operative for any current assessment year.

B. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Section 88D provided a full rebate of income-tax to resident individuals whose total income did not exceed a prescribed threshold, with a marginal-relief mechanism for incomes marginally above it — effectively a ‘no-tax up to threshold’ rebate for small taxpayers in the rebate regime.

C. REASON FOR WITHDRAWAL / SUCCESSOR REGIME

Section 88D was withdrawn from AY 2006-07 along with the other category rebates. Its policy idea — a full rebate of tax up to an income threshold, with marginal relief above it — was, several years later, revived in a different form as section 87A (inserted by the Finance Act, 2013), which is the modern descendant of this concept.

Successor/analogue: section 87A (Rebate of income-tax in case of certain individuals), which carries forward the ‘full rebate up to a threshold, with marginal relief’ idea.

D. FINANCE ACT 2026 — IMPACT NOTE

The Finance Act, 2026 does not revive or amend this provision. It remains omitted/spent for AY 2026-27.

E. CASE LAW

Section 88D ceased to operate from AY 2006-07 and carries no live case-law field for current assessments. The modern litigation on the analogous ‘threshold rebate’ concept is found under section 87A.

Prepared for the bharattax.co treatise. The note records the legislative history, the reason for withdrawal and the successor regime.