CBDT Grants Conditional Income Tax Exemption To Odisha PVTG Empowerment

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which functions under the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), has issued a notification on 27 March 2026 in respect of the Odisha PVTG Empowerment and Livelihoods Improvement Programme (OPELIP), constituted by the Government of Odisha. This notification has been issued with a view to providing income-tax exemption on specified income.

According to the notification, the central government has granted income-tax exemption to OPELIP on certain specified income, which includes grants received from the state government; interest received on fixed deposit and savings accounts (which is refundable to the government of Odisha); and non-refundable tender fees.

This exemption is granted with certain specific conditions, which are mandatory for OPELIP to follow: –

• The first condition is that OPELIP will not engage in any kind of commercial activity. Meaning the organisation will limit its work to non-commercial purposes only.
• According to the second condition, the nature of OPELIP’s activities and specified income should remain unchanged during the financial years. This means that the nature of activities and income, which is strategically defined, should not change.
• The third important condition is that OPELIP must file its income tax return in accordance with the provisions of clause (g) of section 139(4C) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

If these conditions are not followed, it can have serious consequences. For not following these conditions, penal action can be initiated under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Apart from this, the exemption given under section 10(46) can also be withdrawn.

Therefore, it is important for OPELIP to strictly follow all these conditions so that the exemption continues and to avoid any kind of penalty or legal action.

Further, according to the notification, this exemption will be applicable with retrospective effect from Assessment Year 2025-26 (Financial Years 2024-25) and will remain applicable till Assessment Years 2026-27, 2027-28, 2028-29, and 2029-30 (Financial Years 2025-26 to 2028-29).

This notification has been issued in exercise of the powers of Clause (46) of Section 10 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961.