Electoral Bond scheme: Donate to political parties to save on tax; SBI to begin sale on November 9 | Check issue date, tax benefits, limit and other details

Electoral Bond scheme: The government of India has approved issuance of the 23rd tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale on November 9.

The decision was taken ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The Gujarat assembly elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and 5, while Himachal Pradesh will go to polls on November 12.

Date of the Sale of Electoral Bonds

State Bank of India (SBI), in the 23rd phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through 29 authorised branches from November 9-15.

Sale of Electoral Bonds only through State Bank of India

SBI is the only authorised bank to issue electoral bonds. The authorised SBI branches include those in Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issuance. No payment would be made to any political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period, the statement said.

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What is Electoral Bond scheme?

The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme in 2018. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding.  Electoral bonds can be purchased by Indian citizens or entities incorporated or established in the country. 

Electoral Bond - Tax Benefits

You can take advantage of tax exemption by buying Electoral Bonds. Income tax exemption is available for donations to political parties under section 80GGC/80GGB of Income Tax.

Who is eligible to recieve Electoral Bond?

Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the people or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the electoral bonds.

Usually, electoral bond tranches are open for sale between 1-10 of a designated month. For instance, the 22nd tranche of bond sales took place from October 1-10, 2022 while 21st tranche was from July 1-10, 2022. Sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened from March 1-10, 2018.

(Agency Inputs)

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