Rule 24 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 24 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 sets three conditions for a public facility to be notified as an infrastructure facility under section 32(e) — ownership, an agreement, and a start date of 1 April 1995 or later.
The three conditions in rule 24
| # | Condition |
|---|---|
| (a) | It is owned by a company registered in India, or by a consortium of such companies, or by an authority or a board or a corporation or any other body established or constituted under any Central Act or State Act |
| (b) | It has entered into an agreement with the Central Government, a State Government, a local authority or any other statutory body for (i) developing; or (ii) operating and maintaining; or (iii) developing, operating and maintaining a new infrastructure facility similar in nature to one referred to in the Explanation to section 80-IA(4)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as it existed prior to its repeal |
| (c) | It has started or starts operating and maintaining such infrastructure facility on or after 1 April 1995 |
The 1962 parallel is rule 6ABAA.
Condition (a) of rule 24 — who may own it
The ownership list is closed and specific:
- a company registered in India;
- a consortium of such companies; or
- an authority, board, corporation or any other body established or constituted under any Central Act or State Act.
Rule 24 names companies registered in India, consortia of them, and statutory bodies. A partnership firm, an LLP, a trust or an individual does not appear, and neither does a foreign company. The vehicle chosen at the bid stage therefore decides eligibility before any question of the facility itself arises — a point that matters where a project is structured through an unincorporated joint venture rather than a consortium of companies.
Condition (b) — the agreement and the counterparty
Two elements have to line up. The counterparty must be the Central Government, a State Government, a local authority or any other statutory body. And the subject matter must be one of three combinations:
- developing;
- operating and maintaining; or
- developing, operating and maintaining.
The facility must be new, and similar in nature to an infrastructure facility referred to in the Explanation to section 80-IA(4)(i) of the 1961 Act as it existed prior to its repeal.
Rule 24 does not define an infrastructure facility itself. It borrows the description from the Explanation to section 80-IA(4)(i) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as it existed prior to its repeal — the same drafting device the 2026 Rules use in rule 66, where two rows of the Form No. 32 documents table call for papers created under the old law. The reference is deliberate and is not an oversight to be updated: the class of qualifying facilities is being carried forward unchanged, and it has to be read out of the repealed provision.
Note the word "similar in nature to" rather than "specified in". The Explanation supplies the character of a qualifying facility rather than an exhaustive list to be matched item for item.
Condition (c) of rule 24 — the start date
The facility must have started or start operating and maintaining on or after 1 April 1995. The condition is expressed in both tenses — "has started or starts" — so it covers facilities already in operation when the notification is sought as well as those about to begin.
What it fixes is the operating date, not the date of the agreement or of construction. A facility contracted for in 1993 but first operated in 1996 satisfies condition (c); one operating since 1992 does not, whenever the agreement was made.
Worked example
| Facts | Position under rule 24 |
|---|---|
| Indian company under a State Government concession to build and operate a new facility, operating from 2019 | All three conditions met |
| Consortium of two Indian companies in the same role | Condition (a) met — a consortium of such companies |
| LLP holding the concession | Condition (a) fails |
| State statutory corporation owning the facility | Condition (a) met — a body constituted under a State Act |
| Agreement with a private developer rather than a government or statutory body | Condition (b) fails |
| Agreement only to develop, with operation by another entity | Within limb (i) of condition (b) |
| Facility in operation since 1993 | Condition (c) fails |
| Agreement signed 1994, operations commenced 1997 | Condition (c) met — the operating date governs |
Compliance checklist
- Confirm the owner is an Indian company, a consortium of such companies, or a statutory authority, board, corporation or body.
- Confirm the counterparty is the Central Government, a State Government, a local authority or another statutory body.
- Confirm the agreement covers developing, or operating and maintaining, or all three.
- Test the facility against the Explanation to section 80-IA(4)(i) of the repealed 1961 Act, on a "similar in nature" basis.
- Confirm the facility is new.
- Establish the date operations started or will start, and check it is on or after 1 April 1995.
- Keep the concession agreement, the constitution documents and the commissioning evidence together.
Common mistakes
- Holding the concession through an LLP or firm.
- Contracting with a private counterparty rather than a government or statutory body.
- Testing the agreement date instead of the operating date.
- Looking for the definition in the 2026 Rules rather than in the repealed section 80-IA.
- Treating an existing facility taken over as a new infrastructure facility.