Everything you Need to Know About an Income Certificate

An income certificate is an authorized certificate issued by the state government. It certifies the annual income of the family from different sources. It is required by various organizations. It is required by educational institutions, to avail pension or other government schemes or benefits. In this blog, we will provide you with a comprehensive guide on Income certificates, purpose, usage, application form, and much more.

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What is Income?

Income refers to a person’s regular earnings or financial gain by working for an organization, labouring, or running a business. It includes an employee’s pay, different pensions, a labourer’s daily wage, weekly wage, profits from the company, consultation fees, commissions from agency work, and any other regular financial advantages received by a person. Employee bonuses, deposit interest, dividends from share and stock markets, property rent, profits on asset sales, and gifts and inheritances are the primary sources of other income.

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What is an Income Certificate?

It is a document that certifies a person’s or a family’s annual income from all sources, including salary, daily earnings, pensions, businesses, property income, rent, and remittances from foreign. It’s a government-issued official document that serves as verification of a person’s or family’s income. The official authority will issue an income certificate after reviewing the applicant’s application, affidavit, and any supporting papers. It is required to get financial help from the government or a seat reservation in educational programs.

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Purpose and Usage of the Income Certificate

It is an official document that serves as verification of a person’s or family’s income, it is a mandatory document. Some educational institutions require certificates as proof of finance. It is also necessary for tax reduction, government services, and even purchase a property. Students can also use their income certificate to apply for scholarships or fee concessions for their higher education or while applying for school/college entrance. The following are some of the potential uses for an income certificate:

1. Financial assistance of ex-servicemen
2. SC/ST get a loan through a variety of government programs with the help of an income certificate
3. Tsunami, earthquakes, landslides, floods, cyclones, drought, and other natural disaster victims also receive compensation based on their income
4. Physically disabled people’s help – prosthetic limbs, bicycles, hearing aids, and so on
5. To take advantage of the various social welfare programs announced by the government from time to time
6. To obtain benefits such as an old-age pension, widow pension and agricultural labour pension.

Mandatory Documents for Income Certificate

To obtain an income certificate, here are the mandatory documents that you will be required to submit along with the application form:

1. Income Proof: Salary Certificate/Statement (for government employees) OR IT Return/Form 16 (for non-government employees) or IT Return/Affidavit (for self-employed / business people)

2. ID Proof: Election Photo ID card / Aadhaar Card / Driving License / Passport / Ration card with Photograph / Photo identity card issued by the Central Government, a State Government, or a Public Sector Undertaking / Pensioner Card with Photograph / any authorised document that the Central Government or concerned state government

3. Address Proof: A self-attested copy of an Aadhaar letter, a voter’s ID card, a passport, a ration card, an LPG card, a driver’s licence, or any other permitted document that the Central Government or the concerned state government

Important Note: When applying at a Citizen Service Centre (CSC), the beneficiary must produce a self-attested copy of the original document, and if applying online, the document must be uploaded into the e-District application software. Even in the case of online applications, physical verification of some papers may be required at the counter.

Optional Documents Required for Income Certificate

1. Date of Birth
2. Land Tax receipt
3. Photo
4. Documentary evidence for purpose

Important Note: Scanned copy of Self-declaration has to be uploaded while applying online and original declaration has to be submitted to the concerned SDM/Tehsildar/CSC by hand or speed post/registered post along with Application Acknowledgement number.

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Who Issues Income Certificate?

It is issued by the official of different state governments. Check out the following government officials who issue certificates of income depending upon the location of the applicant:

1. District Collector
2. Deputy Collector
3. Asst. Collector
4. District Magistrate
5. Sub-Divisional Magistrate
6. Tahsildar
7. Naib Tahsildar
8. Prant Officer
9. Block Development Officers
10. Zonal Deputy Tahsildar
11. Mamlatdar
12. Revenue Circle Officer
13. Village Officer

Application Procedure for Income Certificate

An application for a certificate should be submitted to a government-appointed authority which varies by state. Many Indian states select the Tehsildar as the authority to issue Income Certificates while in some states the District Magistrate, District Collector, Village Officer, or other government-appointed official issues the certificate. The eligible applicant can apply using the following steps given below for Delhi residents:

• Step 1: Visit the home page of District Delhi.
• Step 2: Click on the “Download Application Forms” option which can be found on the menu bar of the homepage.
• Step 3: Click on “Issuance of Income Certificate” and download the application form in a PDF format. Fill up all the required details in the application form.
• Step 4: Submit the duly filled application to the office of Sub-Divisional Magistrate. After submitting the documents concerned authority will conduct a local inquiry to verify the details mentioned in the application.

The following is a full list of the authorities that issue income certificates in various states and union territories:

Income Certificate Issuing Authorities for Indian States 

1. Andhra Pradesh: Tahsildar
2. Arunachal Pradesh: District Magistrate & Collector
3. Assam: Revenue Circle Officers
4. Bihar: Circle Officer of Circle Office
5. Chattisgarh: Naib Tahsildar
6. Goa: Mamlatdar of all Talukas
7. Gujarat: District Collector / Deputy Collector / Asst. Collector / Prant Officer / Mamlatdar
8. Haryana: CRO (Tehsildar / Naib Tehsildar concerned)
9. Himachal Pradesh: Tahsildar of Revenue Department
10. Jammu & Kashmir: Sub-Divisional Magistrate (not below the rank of Tehsildar)
11. Jharkhand: Sub-Divisional Officer in each District
12. Karnataka: Tahsildar
13. Kerala: Village Officer (if produced before the State Govt. Departments or authorities) / Tahsildar (if produced before the Central Govt. Departments or authorities)
14. Madhya Pradesh: Tahsildars / Naib Tahsildars
15. Maharashtra: Tahsildar
16. Manipur: District Authorities i/c DC / ADC / SDO (not below the rank of SDO / SDM)
17. Meghalaya: Employer in case of Govt. employee and by the MP / MLA / DC / SDO Civil in case of others.
18. Mizoram: District Magistrate or any other Officer authorized by District Magistrate
19. Nagaland: Dy. Commissioners, Addl. Dy. Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Officers (C)
20. Odisha: Revenue Officers
21. Punjab: CRO (Tehsildar / Naib Tehsildar concerned)
22. Rajasthan: Tahsildar / Notary
23. Sikkim: Special Executive Magistrate (Block Development Officers, Rural Management & Development Deptt.)
24. Tamil Nadu: Zonal Deputy Tahsildar
25. Tripura: Deputy Commissioner of respective Districts
26. Telengana: Tahsildar
27. Uttar Pradesh: Tahsildar
28. Uttaranchal: Tahsildar / SDM / City Magistrate
29. West Bengal District Level: Dist. Magistrate or Addl. Dist. Magistrate
30. West Bengal Sub-Divisional Level: Sub-Divisional Officer of the concerned
31. West Bengal Block Level: Block Development Officer of the concerned Blocks
32. West Bengal Kolkata Municipal Corp.: The Collector, Kolkata

Income Certificate Issuing Authorities for Union Territories

33. Andaman & Nicobar: Tahsildar
34. Daman, Diu, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli: Mamlatdar
35. Chandigarh: Sub Divisional Magistrates
36. Delhi: Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Govt. of NCT of Delhi
37. Lakshadweep: Deputy Collectors in Agatti and Minicoy and SDO in the remaining Islands
38. Pondicherry: Tahsildar, Deputy Tahsildar

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Application Form

If you wish to get a Certificate of income for a specific reason, first check to see if the required purpose information/prospectus has a format for it. For example, most educational programme entrance prospectuses will include a common structure for applying for an Income Certificate. If there are no particular instructions, you can use a printed form that is accessible at the above-mentioned Authority office or download it from the websites. Furthermore, several states have implemented eDistrict online services, which allow for the hassle-free submission of a variety of services, including requests for these Certificates.

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Application Form Structure and Important Sections

The structure and information in a standard certificate of Income application should be as follows:

1. Basic data section – This section contains basic personal information, the purpose of the certificate, asset information, various income sources, and total yearly income.
2. Section for self-declaration
3. Affidavit
4. Income proof, ID proof, Address proof, Date of birth, Land Tax Receipt, Photo, Documentary evidence for purpose are all necessary documents (as mentioned in the application form).

The Declaration and Affidavit for Income Certificate to be attached along the Income Certificate are shown in the images below.

FAQs

This was all about the Income Certificate. Be extremely careful while filling the income certificate application form and re-check before submitting it. Stay tuned with Leverage Edu for more informational content around the world.