Government proposes to reduce AMT for cooperative societies to 15%, surcharge to 7%

With the aim to provide a level-playing field between cooperative societies and companies, the government proposes to reduce the Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) for cooperative societies from 8.5 per cent to 15 per cent at par with private companies, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Presenting the Budget, the finance minister said the government has also proposed to reduce the surcharge on cooperative societies to 7 per cent from the current 12 per cent for those having total income of over Rs 1 crore up to Rs 10 crore.

"To provide a level-playing field between cooperative societies and companies, I propose to reduce this rate (AMT) for the cooperative societies also to 15 per cent," Sitharaman said.


At present, the cooperative societies are liable to pay AMT at the rate of 18.5 per cent, while the companies pay at the rate of 15 per cent, she added.

On the surcharge on cooperative societies, Sitharaman said the reduction in surcharge is for those having a total income of more than Rs 1 crore to up to 10 crore.

"This will help in enhancing income of cooperative societies and its members who are mostly from the rural and from farming communities," she added.