Telangana: 7,500 institutions get Rs 50,000 crore tax waiver

Hyderabad: About 7,500 entities in the state, mainly hospitals and educational institutions run by trusts and claiming to be non-profit organisations, walk away with about Rs 50,000 crore in income-tax exemptions.

They do this by seeking exemption under Section 10 (23C) of the I-T Act, 1967 under the head ‘service to the society’.

According to sources in the I-T department, these entities apply for income-tax exemption of up to Rs 1 lakh crore. About half the amount is shown as expenditure and the rest is exempted.

The Rs 50,000 crore goes into the coffers of these entities. The question is whether or not these educational or hospitals which enjoy tax exemption fulfil their claimed objective of providing service.

A source said, the Hyderabad Cricket Association had applied for I-T exemption of Rs 36 crore which is under judicial consideration. Tax exempted to two leading educational institutions well-known in the Telugu states added up to, Rs 2000 crore in the 2017-18 financial year. “Even trust-run hospitals belonging to certain parliamentarians apply for exemptions,” the source said.

“During I-T reviews carried out against these entities, it is found that certain educational institutions run by trusts collect exorbitant fee from students but get tax exemption. So, where does the money go? Does it really serve society,” the source asked.