Wednesday, 25 January 2012

IRFC Tax Free Bond : Never Before ….. Perhaps Never Again

Today I am Posting IRFC (Indan Railway Finance Corporation Ltd.),    A Govt. Of India Enterprise - Tax free  Bonds. The Issue is about to open on January 27, 2012. The common FAQs regarding the Issue which are commonly being asked by the investors. I have tried to give answer in easy and simple way.








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 Salient Features :

Ø   The Income by way of interest on these Bonds is fully exempted from Income Tax and shall not form part of Total Income as per provision under section 10 (15) (iv) (h) of I.T. Act, 1961.

Ø   Wealth Tax is not levied on investment in Bond under section 2(ea) of the Wealth -tax Act, 1957

Ø   Tax Free bonds are issued by Government Owned Undertakings and carry high credit rating

Ø    Bonds to be allotted on first-cum-first serve basis up to the issue size of relevant tranches

Ø    Bonds are likely to be issued either in Demat form or physical form at the option of bondholders.

Ø   Bonds are listed on the WDN segment of the BSE and the NSE. and so, they will be traded, and this will provide liquidity to the instrument in a transparent manner.

Ø     No Limit on Investment

Ø   IRFC Tax Free Bonds are a lucrative option for investors in the 30% tax bracket. The return generated by the bonds are much higher than bank deposit. No banks are offering 11% interest rate neither for  short or for such a long period.

Ø   NRI’s can invest in bonds through Repatriable as well as Non - Repatriable basis.

IREC – Tax Free Bonds have 10 or 15 Yrs Maturity and offer an average 8.00 to 8.10 % of interest ( 8.15 to 8.30% of Interest – With Some Condition ). Pre tax yield on these bonds are close to 11 per cent. The coupon is attractive given the fact that it is tax free returns and compares favorably than other current avenues, like bank or corporate deposits

FAQs Of IRFC

( 1 ) . What is the Issue Size?

CBDT as vide its notification authorized us to raise tax free bonds for total amount of up to Rs. 6300 crores in one or more tranches in the financial year 2011-12.

( 2 ) . What is the face value of these Bonds?

The Face Value per Bond is Rs. 1,000. Each bond is being issued and shall be redeemed at par.

( 3 ). What is the frequency of interest payment?

Interest on bonds is payable  annually on  15 th October every year and on redemption date  Tranche Prospectus(es) from, and including, the Deemed Date of Allotment up to, but excluding their respective Maturity Dates, payable on the "Interest Payment Dates" (to be specified in the Tranche Prospectus(es)), to the Bondholders as of the relevant Record Date. There is no cumulative option. The Annual Interest , which Bond Holder recived can’t Reinvest in this bond.

( 4 ). What is the minimum application amount and mode of payment to be payable on application?

The Bonds are being issued at par and full amount of face value per Bond is payable on application. Eligible Applicants can apply  for any amount of the Bonds subject to a minimum application size of  10 Bonds and  in multiples of 5 Bonds thereafter, across any of the Series(s) or a combination thereof.

( 5 ). Is there any reservation for individual investor investing in this issue?

Yes. There is a reservation of 30 % for retail investors (individuals and HUFs applying for an amount upto Rs. 5 lacs) and reservation of 25 % for HNI investors (individuals and HUFs applying for an amount above Rs. 5 lacs).

( 6 ) . Is Demat account necessary to invest in these bonds?

No. The issuance shall be both in physical as well as in dematerialized form at the option of the investors. However as per the SEBI Debt Regulations, the  trading of the Bonds shall be compulsorily in dematerialised form.

( 7 ).  Can the application be made on joint names?

Yes. Applications may be made in single or joint names (not exceeding three). In the case of joint Applications, all refunds/ interests/ redemption amounts will be made out in favour  of the first Applicant. All communications will be addressed to the first named Applicant whose name appears in the Application Form at the address mentioned therein. Names in the Application Form should be identical to those appearing in the  account details in the Depositories. In case of joint holders, the names should necessarily be in the
same sequence as they appear in the account details in the Depositories.

( 8 ).  Which stock exchange are the bonds proposed to be listed on?

The Bonds will be listed on both BSE and NSE. NSE shall be the designated stock exchange.

( 9 ). What is the interest on application money on allotted amount?

Issuer shall pay interest on the amount for which Bonds are allotted to the Applicants subject to 108 deduction of income tax under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as amended, from the date of realization of the cheque(s)/demand draft(s) or 3  (three) days from the date of banking of the application (being the date of submission of each application as duly acknowledged by the Bankers to the Issue) whichever is later upto one day prior to the Deemed Date of Allotment, at the rate of  8% per annum.

( 10 ). What is the interest on application money which is liable to be refunded?

Issuer shall pay interest on application money which is liable to be refunded to the Applicants in accordance with the provisions of the SEBI Debt Regulations, or other applicable statutory and/or regulatory requirements, subject to deduction of income tax under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as amended, as applicable, from the date of realization of the cheque(s)/demand draft(s) or 3 (three) days from the date of receipt of  the application (being the date of presentation of each application as acknowledged by the Bankers to the Issue) whichever is later upto one day prior to the Deemed Date of Allotment, at the rate of 4% per annum.

( 11 ). What are the tenors of these bonds?

The tenor for these Bonds will be 10 years and 15 Years

( 12 ). Can an applicant trade the bonds in the market?

Yes. The Bonds will be listed on both BSE and NSE. The trading of the Bonds shall be in dematerialised form only.

( 13 ). Who is not eligible to invest in the issue?

Applications cannot be made by:

( 1 ). Minors without a guardian name;
( 2 ). Foreign nationals;
( 3 ). Persons resident outside India other than NRIs; and
( 4 ). Overseas Corporate Bodies         

( 14 ). Can a Minor apply to these bonds?

Yes, a minor can apply for these bonds, but only through a guardian.

( 15 ). what is the basis of allotment?

The basis of allotment of allotment is on first come first Serve basis. If there is any under subscription in any Portion, priority in allotments will be given in the following order:

[ I ].  Category III Portion
[ ii ].  Category II Portion
[ iii ]. Category I Portion
                 
In case of an oversubscription, allotments to the maximum extent, as possible, will be made on a first-come first-serve basis and thereafter on proportionate basis, i.e. full allotment of Bonds to the applicants on a first come first basis up to the date falling 1 (one) day prior to the date of oversubscription and proportionate allotment of Bonds to the applicants on the date of oversubscription (based on the date of submission of each application to the Bankers to the Issue, in each Portion).

( 16 ). Can an applicant make additional / multiple applications?

An Applicant may make multiple applications for the total number of Bonds required and the same shall be considered valid. For the purposes of allotment of Bonds under the Issue, applications shall be grouped based on the PAN, i.e. applications under the same PAN shall be grouped together.

Two or more applications will be deemed to be multiple applications if the sole or first applicant is one and the same. For the sake of clarity, two or more applications shall be deemed to be a multiple application for the aforesaid purpose if the PAN number of the sole or the first applicant is one and the same.

( 17 ). Who will get the interest in case of joint application?

In case of joint application, interest will be accounted to the first holder only.

( 18 ). What is the tax treatment of these bonds?

The interest on these bonds shall not be included while computing the Total Income of an assessee as per provisions of section 10(15)(iv)(h) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.Interest from bonds will be exempt from income tax Since the interest income on these bonds is exempt, no Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) is  required Under section 2 (29A) of the I.T. Act, read with section 2 (42A) of the I.T. Act, a listed Bond is treated as a long term capital asset if the same is held for more than 12 months immediately preceding the date of its transfer.

Under section 112 of the I.T. Act, capital gains arising on the transfer of long term capital assets being listed securities are subject to tax at the rate of 20% of capital gains calculated after reducing indexed cost of acquisition or 10% of capital gains without indexation of the cost of acquisition

Wealth-tax is not levied on investment in bond under section 2(ea) of the Wealth-tax Act, 1957.

Please note that the sum invested in these bonds is not eligible for any deduction under section 80C, 80CCF or 54EC.

The Bond Holder is advised to consider in his own case the tax implications in respect of subscription to the Bond after consulting his tax advisor as alternate views are possible interpretation of provisions where under the contents of his statement of tax benefit is formulated may be considered differently by income tax authority, government, tribunals or court. We are not liable to the Bond Holder in any manner for placing reliance upon the contents of this statement of tax benefits.

( 19 ).  Is there TDS on the Annual Interest?

There will be No deduction of tax at source ( TDS ) from the interest, which accrues to the bondholders in these bonds irrespective of the amount of the interest or the status of the investors.

( 20 ). What is Tax Free : Is the Principal Tax Free or the Interest Tax Free ?

This is not like the 80CCF infrastructure bonds that are open right now so don’t confuse these bonds with them. This is truly tax free in the sense that the interest you receive from these bonds will not be taxed.

The infrastructure bonds ( U/s.80 CCCF ) are called tax saving bonds but are not tax free. They save tax because when you invest in them then you can reduce the amount of investment (up to a maximum of Rs. 20,000) from your income and lower your tax incidence. But the interest income on them is taxable, so they are not tax free.

As far as the principal being tax free is concerned – the principal is always tax free. That’s your money anyway and tax is charged only on the income by the way of interest or capital gains.

( 21 ).  I don't have a PAN card. Can I still apply for subscription?

Income Tax PAN card is mandatory for subscribing to these bonds.

( 22 ). Can I appoint Nominee’s name in Bond Certificate ?

Yes. You can appoint NRI or resident Nominee in the Bond Certificate.

( 23 ). Is there Loan / Lien Facility is available ?

Yes. Loan can be availed against bonds and a lien / charge can be created.

( 24 ). What is Credit Rating of theses Bond ?

“ CRISIL LAAA/stable " By Crisil ; “ ICRA AAA “ By Icra ; “ CARE AAA “ By Care.
                                          
( 25 ).  Does this bond carry buyback options?

No. Neither  “Put Option ” shall be available to the Bondholder(s), nor would  “Call Option ”be available to the Company to redeem the Bonds prior to maturity

( 26 ). What is the Full Name Of IRFC ?

IREC : Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd , An Autonomous Body under the   Ministry  of Railways , Government of India.

( 27 ). In whose favour the Cheque is to be made ? ( Payment Instruction )

( a ). Cheques has to be made in the favour of IRFC Tax Free Bonds - Escrow Account – Tranche - I” For Non-NRI And Non-FII applicants.

( b ). Cheques has to be made in the favour of IRFC Tax Free Bonds - NRI Escrow Account – Tranche - I” For NRI applicants.

( c ). Cheques has to be made in the favour of IRFC Tax Free Bonds - FII  Escrow Account – Tranche - I” For FII applicants.



Any other questions ?

I've tried to cover all questions that I see pop up frequently , but if you have any other questions feel free to leave a comment , and I will try to answer them.

Till next time , Money Happy Returns.

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