Claiming Medical Expenditure under Sec 80DDB of the IT Act made easy - Factly
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 23, 2015
In continuation of the commitment made during the Budget Speech of 2015-16, the government has now made certain changes to the process of claiming medical expenditure under Sec 80DDB of the IT Act. The process has been made easier now.
In his budget speech for the year 2015-16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced certain benefits in claiming medical expenditure under section 80DDB of the Income Tax Act (IT Act).  He announced increase in the limits of the amount that can be claimed under this section.
This particular section allows a deduction for expenditure incurred on treatment of specified ailments for self or a dependent.  The government has now issued a notification amending rule 11DD of the IT Rules making it easier to claim such expenditure.
Claiming Medical Expenditure under Sec 80DDB
Under this section, the assessee will now be allowed a deduction of actual amount or Rs 40,000 (whichever is less) in case of normal citizens for certain ailments. These limits are higher for Senior & Very Senior citizens as noted below.
The following ailments or diseases will be eligible for the purpose of this section
Process made easier
The government has now issued a notification amending rule 11DD of the IT Rules making it easier to claim such expenditure. Earlier, the prerequisite condition for claiming expenditure under this section was obtaining a certificate from a specialist working in a Government hospital. Now this condition is relaxed and henceforth, it will not be mandatory to obtain a certificate from a specialist working in a Government hospital.
As per the amended rules, it will be enough if the certificate is obtained from a doctor with a relevant Doctorate of Medicine (DM) degree recognized by the Medical Council of India (MCI).
If the patient is receiving the treatment in a Government hospital, the prescription or certificate  may be issued by any specialist working full-time in that hospital and having a post- graduate degree in General or Internal Medicine or any equivalent degree, which is recognized by the MCI.
The Prescription or the certificate issued should contain the following,
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