Tax on accrued (but not received) interest on ifci bonds

syam kumar (md) (58 Points)

13 January 2019  

Dear All;

My question is related to when tax to be paid on accrued interest (but not received) on IFCI bonds. Details are as follows:

1. I have purchased IFCI Bonds with an option of cumulative interest (which gets compounded annually).

2. I have not received any interest this FY. Also, I have not sold these bonds.

3. However, I have received a letter from IFCI, which says that "XX" amount of interest has been accrued.

Therefore my questions are:

1. Do I need to consider this as an Income for FY 2018-19 and pay tax this year? or

2. Can I defer payment of tax until the bonds are sold and pay long term capital gain (which gives me indexation benefit, and lower tax burden)?

Please guide. Thanks.

S. Kumar