New Delhi, February 12 Congress MP Manish Tiwari on Thursday demanded that the government restore income tax exemptions on disability pensions for soldiers.
"Chandigarh is home to a large number of ex-servicemen who served this country with great honor and valor, safeguarding our frontiers at the risk of their lives," Tiwari, the Congress MP from Chandigarh, said in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.
It is unfortunate that in the Finance Bill 2026, Para 108, the income tax exemption on the service element plus disability has been restricted to only those servicemen who have been discharged from service, Tiwari said.
The Bill proposes to terminate tax benefits accruing from disability pensions to those soldiers who have served and retired with disabilities, he said.
"This is a clear violation of Article 14 of the Constitution," he added.
Tiwari urged the government to restore income tax exemptions on disability pensions for soldiers when the Lok Sabha discusses the Finance Bill 2026.
The Bill will be discussed and passed in the next phase of the Budget Session, which begins on March 9.
The tax exemption for disability pensions, which was provided for in the Income Tax Act, 1922, was continued in the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Tiwari also demanded that the pending allocation for social security schemes for the Union Territory of Chandigarh be released immediately.
He claimed that the money earmarked for social security schemes like old-age pension and widow pension has been pending since October.
