Income Tax Exemption Notification for District Legal Service Authority

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(Department of Revenue)

(CENTRAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 11th August, 2026

S.O. 4458(E).—Whereas, section 10 (46) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) provided for exemption of specified income of certain bodies or authorities or Boards or Trusts or Commissions as may be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette for the purposes of that section;

And whereas, the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) was repealed by section 536 (1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025);

And whereas, section 536(2)(a) and (b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025), inter alia, provides that irrespective of the repeal of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) (hereinafter referred to as the Act of 1961) and subject to sub-section (4) thereof, nothing shall affect—

(i) the previous operation of the provisions of the Act of 1961 and any order or anything duly done or suffered thereunder; or

(ii) any right, privilege, obligation or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the Act of 1961 or orders under that Act;

And whereas, section 536(2)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025) provides that the provisions of the Act of 1961 shall continue to apply to any proceeding pending on the date of commencement of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025) and to any proceedings initiated on after the 1^st April, 2026 (including notices, assessment, reassessment, recomputation, rectification, penalty, reference, revision and appeals) in respect of any tax year beginning before the 1st April, 2026 and such proceedings shall be carried out as per the procedure specified in the Act of 1961;

And whereas, section 536(2)(e) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025) provides that any proceeding pending on the date of its commencement before any income-tax authority or any other authority constituted under the repealed Income-tax Act, Appellate Tribunal, or any court, by way of application, appeal, reference or revision or by any other means, shall be continued and disposed of as if this Act had not been enacted;

Now, therefore, in pursuance of the provisions of section 536(2)(a) to (c) and (e) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (30 of 2025), the Central Government hereby notifies, for the purposes of section 10 (46) of the Act of 1961, ‘District Legal Service Authority, Panchkula (PAN: AAAGC0054R), an Authority constituted by the ‘Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987′(39 of 1987), in respect of the following specified income arising to the said body namely :-

grants received from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Central Authority i.e. the National Legal Services Authority and the State Authority i.e., Haryana State Legal Servies Authority for the purpose of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987(39 of 1987);

(a) grants or donation received from the Central Government or the State Government of Haryana for the purposes of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987(39 of 1987);

(b) amount received under the order of the Court;

(c) fees received as recruitment application fee; and

(d) interest earned on bank deposits.

2. This notification shall be effective subject to the conditions that the District Legal Service Authority, Panchkula –

(a) shall not engage in any commercial activity;

(b) its activities and the nature of the specified income shall remain unchanged throughout the financial years; and

(c) shall file return of income in accordance with the provisions of section 139(4C) (g) of the Act of 1961.

3. Failure to comply with these conditions shall result in the initiation of penal actions under the provisions of the Act of 1961, and withdrawal of exemption granted under section 10(46) of the Act of 1961.

4. This notification shall be deemed to have been applied for assessment years 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 relevant for the financial years 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Explanatory Memorandum

It is certified that the interests of no person are being adversely affected by giving retrospective effect [with effect from the year of application filed before the Board or Income-tax Department] to this notification.Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-