NEW DELHI: Soldiers, serving and retired, are miffed at the circular notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as they feel it is a case of apathy and lack of understanding towards the military matters.
In the notification dated June 24, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that “such tax exemption will be available only to armed forces personnel who have been invalidated from service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise.”
Armed forces personnel who suffer any kind of disability due to their service are granted separate disability pension. The amount depends on their rank and the kind of disability as decided by a medical board. The income tax exemptions were granted in 1922.
Maj Gen Ian Cardozo (Retd) sees this as a blow to morale. He says, “Leg of Lt Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd) was blown off in 1965 and my limb was amputated in 1971 war but we, like many others, continued to serve without an iota of doubt of the fairness and the system supporting us in every way.”
The genesis of this letter lies in misuse by senior officers when there was a spurt in the number of officers applying for disability pension. Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia, former DG Military Operations calls it a wrong message. He says, “We must not sweep the genuine people just because few people have misused the rules.”
Disabled War Veterans (DIWAVE) organization says it will take up the issue with the government. released.