The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued Notification No. 66/2025, dated June 19, 2025, granting income tax exemption under section 10(46) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the Forum of Regulators (PAN: AAAJF0126G), a statutory body constituted by the Government of India under the Ministry of Power.
This move exempts the Forum of Regulators from income tax on specified categories of income for the financial years 2011-12 to 2015-16 (Assessment Years 2012-13 to 2016-17), with retrospective effect.
Specified Incomes Exempted:
The notification applies to the following income sources of the Forum of Regulators:
- Grants received from the Government
- Membership fees collected from Central and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions
- Interest income earned on bank deposits
Conditions of the Exemption:
The exemption is subject to the following conditions:
- The Forum must not engage in any commercial activity
- The nature of the income and its activities must remain unchanged across the specified financial years
- It must file its income tax return as per clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act
Retrospective Application
The notification clarifies that it shall be deemed to have been applied for the financial years 2011-12 to 2015-16, ensuring compliance for earlier years. An Explanatory Memorandum attached to the notification affirms that no taxpayer is adversely affected by this retrospective effect.
This development reinforces the government's stance on tax neutrality for statutory and regulatory bodies that do not carry out commercial activities, in line with the broader fiscal policy framework.
Official copy of the notification is as follows
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