Section 10(23FBA) of the Income Tax Act provides a targeted tax exemption for investment funds—but with a key limitation: it exempts only income other than that chargeable under the head “Profits and Gains of Business or Profession.”
Who Qualifies:
- Investment funds registered as Category I or Category II Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under SEBI’s AIF Regulations, 2012.
What’s Exempt:
- Income such as dividends, interest, and capital gains earned by the fund is exempt at the fund level.
- However, business income is not exempt—it is taxed in the hands of the fund.
Example:
Suppose Alpha Growth Fund, a SEBI-registered Category II AIF, earns the following in FY 2024–25:
- ₹10 crore in long-term capital gains from equity investments,
- ₹2 crore in interest income from debt instruments,
- ₹3 crore from business activities like advisory services.
Under Section 10(23FBA):
- The ₹10 crore and ₹2 crore are exempt at the fund level.
- The ₹3 crore is taxable as business income in the hands of the fund.
Meanwhile, the pass-through taxation of exempt income (like capital gains and interest) is handled under Section 115UB, where the income is taxed in the hands of the unit holders as if they earned it directly.
