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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

REC Infrastructure Bonds: Section 80CCF - Subscribe / Invest

About the Issue
Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has come up with the infrastructure bond issue for the financial year 2011-2012. The Issue Opened on  December 19, 2011  and it is expected to  Close on  February 10, 2012.
This infrastructure bond issue is very attractive to the investors. The  interest rate is 9.15% for the 15 year bonds and 8.95% for the 10 years bonds.
15 year bonds have buyback option after 7 years whereas the buyback option is only 5 years for the 10 year bonds.

Bond Options available
A detailed comparison of the options available is given in the table below.


Options
I
II
III
IV
Interest  Payment Frequency
Cumulative
Annual
Cumulative
Annual
Coupon (% p.a.)
8.95% p.a. (Annual Compounding)
8.95% p.a. (payable annually)
9.15% p.a. (Annual Compounding)
9.15% p.a. (payable annually)
Tenor
10 (Ten) years
10 (Ten) years
15 (Fifteen) years
15 (Fifteen) years
Buyback option
At the end of 5 yrs+ 1day
At the end of 5 yrs +1 day
At the end of 7 yrs + 1 day
At the end of 7 yrs + 1 day
Interest Payment date
At   the   time   of maturity
15th February every year
At   the   time   of maturity
15th February every year
Maturity amount in case of buy back option
Buyback Date
16 February 2017
16 February 2017
16 February 2019
16 February 2019
Maturity Amt. after 5 yrs + 1 day
Rs.7677/-*
Rs.5000/-
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Maturity Amt. after 7 yrs + 1 day
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Rs.9231/-*
Rs.5000/-
Maturity Date / Maturity amount in case of without buy back option
Maturity Date
15 February 2022
15 February 2022
15 February 2027
15 February 2027
Maturity Amt after 10 yrs
Rs.11783/-*
Rs.5000/-
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Maturity Amt after 15 yrs
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Rs.18592/-*
Rs.5000/-
Lock-in period
5 years from the deemed Date of Allotment
Source: REC Website

Recommendation
Our recommendation is to subscribe to the 15 year, Annual paying bond and also apply for the buyback option in the bond. 9.15% is high interest and this bond gives you the opportunity to lock in high rate of interest. The bond will get listed in both NSE (National Stock Exchange) and BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) after the mandatory lock in of 5 years. If the interest rate decreases after the lock-in phase investors would be able to sell these premium bonds at higher than the face value.

Minimum Application
The minimum application is 1 bond or Rs 5,000. We would recommend investor to exhaust the entire 20,000 of the 80 CCF limit in this bond.

Interest on Application Money
Our recommendation is to apply for this bond as early as possible, as the REC is giving investors Interest on Application Money at the rate of interest applicable to the bond, this is better than IDFC which did not have this benefit to the investors. The Interest on Application Money will be paid on the 1st interest payment date which will be 15th February 2013.

Safety
REC is a government company and has been awarded the highest rating by the rating firms. However these particular bond issue is unsecured, but the investors can take assurance by the fact that the government will not let the company fail. Also the company is well managed and has been profitable for a long time.



Tax Benefits
Under section 80CCF, Rs 20,000 per year invested in long term infrastructure bonds shall be deducted in computing the taxable income. This is over and above Rs 1,00,000 tax benefit available under section 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD. 
So investors should take the opportunity to invest in the bond.

Taxability of Interest
The interest received in these bonds will be taxable at the personal rate.
TDS would be done for the physical format, however no TDS is applicable for demat form.
Please note as per the current tax laws, TDS would be done only if  the amount of interest is more than Rs 2,500/- per year, so for an investor who is investing only Rs 20,000 in the bond, TDS should not be a concern.

Disclaimer: Bonds and equities are not risk free investment, there is risk of loss to the capital when you invest in such securities. This article should not be taken as recommendation, please consult your financial advisor/financial planner before doing any investment. Any loss suffered by an individual (non client) owing to the investment in such securities is because of their own decision and Moneyplant Financials doesn't take responsibility for it.

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