Page 15 - Insurance Times March 2023

insurer post amalgamation of the FY22, not many chose to move to the
Life insurers to approach
erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce new income tax regime.
FinMin seeking clarity on
(OBC) into itself last fiscal year.
"The revenue impact for providing a tax
"The bank intends to divest its stake in incentive for investments in various saving Budget tax announcement
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance Co. instruments, repayment of housing loan After the Union Budget for 2023-24
Ltd, an associate of the bank, at an and payment of tuition fees for children proved to be a dampener for the life
appropriate time depending upon is the single largest tax expenditure in case insurance industry, sector players are
market conditions and available of individual taxpayers followed by rebate now joining hands to approach the
options," PNB said in a regulatory on tax in case of resident individuals Finance Ministry likely to seek a
filing. having income up to Rs. 5 lakh, deduction rollback of or clarity on the tax
on account of health insurance premium announcement. The most crucial thing
The erstwhile OBC held 23 per cent
and contribution to the new pension being sought is to increase the tax
stake in the life insurer, which by virtue
scheme," reads the receipt budget for exemption limit to Rs. 10 lakh from Rs.
of amalgamation has come to PNB.
FY24. 5 lakh announced in the Budget, and
Canara Bank owns 51 per cent stake, to make the cap applicable on single
The next biggest contributor is Section
while HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) policies and not on the cumulative
80D, which is around Rs. 7,231 crore.
Holdings Ltd as a foreign partner owns policies held by an individual.
Every individual or HUF can claim a
26 per cent.
deduction from their total income for According to sources instead of
medical insurance premiums paid up to individual companies, life insurers are
Centre lost around
Rs. 25,000 in any financial year. In the expected to make a representation via
Rs.84,000 crore due to the case of senior citizens, the deduction the Life Insurance Council or one of
limit allowed is Rs. 50,000. the CFO industry groups and that
80C deduction in FY22
IRDAI will be kept in the loop.
The amount under this Section has
In FY22, India is projected to have
been rising every year and in FY22, it The Budget proposed limiting tax
foregone Rs. 1.43-lakh crore by
is projected to have jumped by 12 per exemption from proceeds of insurance
allowing incentives to income
cent, compared with FY21, indicating policies with very high value. Effective
taxpayers. This is a 12 per cent
that more people are taking up health April 2023, aggregate premium from
increase from the revenue Impact of
insurance. policies other than ULIPs, of over Rs. 5
major income tax Incentives for in
FY21, which was Rs. 12.82-lakh crore.
However, it is much lower than the GST authorities summon insurance intermediaries
pre-pandemic figures of Rs. 1.55-lakh
Widening its probe in the bogus invoicing case against insurance
crore.
intermediaries and aggregators, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities
A major chunk of this money, 58.4 per issued summons to several of them seeking extensive information.
cent of it, comes from deductions
The information sought includes their agreement and contract with insurance
claimed on account of investments and
companies, total input tax credit passed to them since 2018-19, along with
payments under Section 80C of the
supporting documents proving rendering of services. The summons were
Income Tax Act. This Section allows
issued in connection with the Directorate General of GST intelligence (DGGI)
individuals and Hindu Undivided
probe launched in 2022 against at least 16 insurance companies for allegedly
Families a maximum deduction of Rs.
availing input tax credit in a fraudulent manner.
1.5 lakh every year from the total
These intermediaries allegedly generated bogus invoices in the guise of
income.
marketing and sales in collusion with insurance companies. "The summons
This includes investments made under
have been issued under section 70 of the Central GST Act to some of the
Public Provident Fund (PPF),
intermediaries," a source said.
Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), LIC
"Some of them provided partial information, but in many cases they failed to
premia and equity. In FY22, the centre
prove the services rendered against which invoices were raised," the source
is projected to forego Rs. 84,080 crore,
added. The GST authorities recently launched prosecution proceedings against
on account of this incentive. This is,
a listed e-intermediary. "The matter is still ongoing and the company
however, not part of the new tax
concerned sought some time to furnish details," the source said.
regime. This could also mean that in
The Insurance Times March 2023 13