Income Declaration

What this document contains

6 clauses every income declaration carries, plus 3 you can add.

1. 01

   Deponent

   The opening recital naming who is making the statement — name, age, parentage and address. The only clause carrying the deponent's personal particulars, and the one that sets whether the document reads as declared, affirmed or sworn.

2. 02

   Annual income

   The total figure for a stated financial year. Renders as digits and words from one value, so the two cannot disagree — the commonest defect in a hand-typed income affidavit.

3. 03

   Sources of income

   Itemises where the income comes from, as bullets under a numbered assertion. A bare total is routinely sent back — the officer is checking the parts add up.

4. 04

   No other income

   Closes the list. Takes no input. The sentence that turns an itemised statement into a declaration a scheme can rely on.

5. 05

   No fraudulent intent

   Disclaims any intent to evade a debt, tax, obligation or proceeding. Takes no input. Banks and passport authorities routinely refuse a document that omits it, which is why it is mandatory rather than optional.

6. 06

   Verification

   Affirms the numbered assertions above are true and nothing material is concealed, and carries the deponent's signature block. This is the paragraph that makes a false statement actionable — sworn or not.

Optional clauses

• Family income

  States the household's combined income and how many people it supports — what EWS and fee-concession applications actually test, rather than the deponent's own figure.

  Worth adding when: the application is for a fee concession, a scholarship, an EWS certificate or anything assessed on household rather than personal income

• Not an income-tax assessee

  Declares that the deponent files no return. Consequential and often untrue — include it only where the deponent has confirmed it, and never by default.

  Worth adding when: the user has said they do not file an income-tax return, and the authority has asked them to state it

• Purpose

  Names the scheme or authority the affidavit is made for, and confines it to that.

  Worth adding when: the user named the scholarship, concession, court or office asking for it

What the law requires

Attestation

An affidavit takes effect only when sworn or affirmed before a person authorised to administer an oath — a notary, oath commissioner, or magistrate. Drafting and signing it alone achieves nothing.

Notaries Act 1952, s. 8; Oaths Act 1969, s. 4

Oath or affirmation

The deponent chooses. Affirmation carries no religious observance and is the usual choice; an oath is equally valid. Neither is stronger evidence than the other, and no officer may require one over the other.

Oaths Act 1969, ss. 5–6

False statements

A statement the deponent knows to be false is punishable. The verification is not a formality — it is what makes the declaration actionable.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, ss. 227–229 (formerly IPC ss. 191–193)

First-hand knowledge only

An affidavit states facts within the deponent's own knowledge. It must not be used to assert facts about a third party's rights or affairs — those are for that person to swear to, or for a document to prove.

Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Order XIX rule 3

Stamp paper is not optional here

Unlike an agreement, which binds the parties whether stamped or not and is merely inadmissible until duty is paid, an affidavit on plain paper is simply refused by the authority it is addressed to. Buy the stamp paper before the notary visit, not after.

Indian Stamp Act 1899, Sch. I Art. 4

An affidavit is not an income certificate

Many schemes require an income *certificate* issued by a Tehsildar or SDM, which is a different document assessed by a revenue officer. This affidavit is a self-declaration and is often the first step towards that certificate rather than a substitute for it.

Court-fee waiver

Where the affidavit supports an application to sue as an indigent person, the schedule of property and income it must contain is prescribed and stricter than this form.

Code of Civil Procedure 1908, Order XXXIII rule 2