Extend income tax benefits to Gurez tribals on lines of Sixth Schedule areas, J&K Govt. urges Centre

Suhail Khan

JAMMU, Mar 28: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Saturday informed the Legislative Assembly that it has recommended to the Centre to extend income tax exemption benefits to the tribal population of the Gurez Valley, stating that a formal proposal was sent to the Union Finance Minister last year.

In a written reply to a question by MLA Nazir Ahmed Khan (Gurez), the Finance Department as per Kashmir Convener said the tribal population in Gurez Tehsil constitutes nearly 82 per cent of the total population, as per the 2011 census.

“The Government of J&K has vide D.O. No.PS/HCM/DO/2025/224 dated 23.10.2024 requested the Union Minister for Finance to consider extending benefits of Section 10(26) and Section 10 (26A) of Income Tax Act 1961 to the tribals of Gurez Valley,” the government said in its response.

The reply stated that while tax exemptions are currently available to tribals in the northeastern states, Ladakh, and areas under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, no comparative study has been conducted on the socio-economic status of tribals in Gurez versus those in exempted areas.

“Gurez is indeed one among the remote and far flung areas of J&K comprising of substantial tribal population,” the government stated, while adding that there is “no such study conducted by Government wherein comparison/analysis of socio-economic status of tribal residing in Gurez has been done with socio-economic status of tribal residing in areas having income tax exemptions.”

The government further informed the House that the tax exemption for tribals in specified regions continues under the newly enacted Income Tax Act of 2025.

The demand for tax exemption for the tribal-majority Gurez Valley, located near the Line of Control in north Kashmir, has been pending for several years.