Mumbai, the financial nerve centre of India, recently faced nature's fury at its peak with rains flooding every part of the city, killing people and animals like never before.
While during calamity humans find it tough to carry on but can express their plight and make way somehow, animals become vulnerable to the nature's fury and the filthiest treatment of human creation.
The cattlesheds of various dairy firms, which supply to the metro its daily requirement of milk and milk products, have reported death of cattle in hundreds.
Easier said than done, but possibly one wise way of handling things could have been to let loose the cattle, which could have found their way through water into some safer place or the other.
Here comes the role of various charitable organisations and trusts dedicated specifically to the objective of animal welfare. In fact, a lot of them are there in India.
Now, just think of it: can there be a way out so that you can take care of such innocent and vulnerable creatures during your daily hectic schedule in a busy place like Mumbai?
Yes, you can do it, and with that get some benefits attached to it, as well. You can take care of animals and for doing so, can get tax benefits on personal income. There are two ways of going about it.
1. First, try and look for charitable organisations -- mutt or trusts that have been set up for the sole purpose of taking care of animals, which may include cattle or birds or any exotic and endangered species.
Importantly, such bodies should be registered and certified by the Income-Tax department, enabling them to offer tax exemption.
It is because if a donation is made to such an organisation, the latter can give the donor a certificate that will grant the donor tax exemption under Section 80G of Income-Tax Act. The exemption is calculated as a deduction to the total taxable income.
However, the exemption sum will be either 50 per cent of the donation amount or a maximum of 10 per cent of the gross income, whichever is less.
This means, if somebody donates Rs 50,000 and has a gross income of Rs 1,00,000, he can avail of a personal tax deduction -- as part of tax exemption -- to the tune of 10 per cent of the gross income -- Rs 10,000.
2. Second, look for a charitable body or trust set up for animal welfare in rural areas. Explaining the concept, T P Oswal, a leading tax consultant, said this way of taking care of animals is not new in India.
In olden days, believers in Hinduism used to have 'panjrapol,' which is equivalent to cattle station, usually found in the western part of India -- Maharastra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.
In ancient time, people would leave their cattle in such stations during famine or flood when they themselves found it difficult to survive.
Such a body located in Mount Abu, K P Sanghvi Trust, still exists. It looks after almost 7,500 cows and buffaloes. These bodies in rural areas need to be registered and certified with the central government so that if donations are made to them they could give donors certificates guaranteeing tax exemption to them under Section 35AC of the Income Tax Act.
Similar institutions set up for saving animals are also found among the Jain community, and they are called 'Jivdaya.'
To summarise, a charitable body or trust you choose to make donation to -- for taking care of animals -- needs either an exemption certificate from Income Tax under Section 80G or from the Central government under Section 35AC for you to avail of the tax exemption benefit. Your altruistic self may decide to donate up to 10 per cent of your gross income for animal care.