CHAPTER VIII • REBATES AND RELIEFS | Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026)
Case Laws & Commentary
Section 88B — Rebate of Income-tax in Case of Individuals of Sixty-five Years or Above (Omitted)
Part A (Rebate of income-tax) — omitted by the Finance Act, 2005, w.e.f. 1-4-2006
A. STATUS
Section 88B 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 88B granted a special rebate from income-tax to resident individuals who had attained the age of sixty-five years, subject to an income ceiling — the senior-citizen relief delivered through the rebate route in the rebate-based regime that pre-dated AY 2006-07.
C. REASON FOR WITHDRAWAL / SUCCESSOR REGIME
When the savings-rebate model (section 88) was replaced by the deduction model from AY 2006-07, the category rebates were simultaneously withdrawn and the relief for senior citizens was rebuilt into the rate schedule as a higher basic exemption limit for senior (and, later, very senior) citizens in the annual Finance Act slabs.
Successor mechanism: the enhanced basic exemption thresholds for senior and very senior citizens in the Finance Act rate schedule (and, for the new regime, the section 115BAC slab structure).
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 88B ceased to operate from AY 2006-07 and carries no live case-law field for current assessments. No current authority is cited here, and none is invented.
Prepared for the bharattax.co treatise. Omission status verified against the bare Act (income-tax-act-1961-as-amended-by-finance-act-2025.pdf) read with the Finance Act, 2026. Per accuracy discipline, no live case law is invented for an omitted/spent provision; the note records the legislative history, the reason for withdrawal and the successor regime.
Case Laws & Commentary
Section 88B — Rebate of Income-tax in Case of Individuals of Sixty-five Years or Above (Omitted)
Part A (Rebate of income-tax) — omitted by the Finance Act, 2005, w.e.f. 1-4-2006
A. STATUS
Section 88B 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 88B granted a special rebate from income-tax to resident individuals who had attained the age of sixty-five years, subject to an income ceiling — the senior-citizen relief delivered through the rebate route in the rebate-based regime that pre-dated AY 2006-07.
C. REASON FOR WITHDRAWAL / SUCCESSOR REGIME
When the savings-rebate model (section 88) was replaced by the deduction model from AY 2006-07, the category rebates were simultaneously withdrawn and the relief for senior citizens was rebuilt into the rate schedule as a higher basic exemption limit for senior (and, later, very senior) citizens in the annual Finance Act slabs.
Successor mechanism: the enhanced basic exemption thresholds for senior and very senior citizens in the Finance Act rate schedule (and, for the new regime, the section 115BAC slab structure).
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 88B ceased to operate from AY 2006-07 and carries no live case-law field for current assessments. No current authority is cited here, and none is invented.
Prepared for the bharattax.co treatise. Omission status verified against the bare Act (income-tax-act-1961-as-amended-by-finance-act-2025.pdf) read with the Finance Act, 2026. Per accuracy discipline, no live case law is invented for an omitted/spent provision; the note records the legislative history, the reason for withdrawal and the successor regime.