Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Income Certificate

Income certificate is a legal document that certifies the income of an individual or family from all legal sources. Income certificate is an important application requirement to avail various welfare schemes and to benefit tax returns. However, certain incomes do not add to the taxable income and are not computed while issuing an income certificate. One such income is agricultural income for which an agricultural income certificate is required. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining the Andhra Pradesh Agricultural Income Certificate in detail. 

Agricultural Income

Agricultural income refers to the revenue earned from sources that include farmland, buildings on or associated with agricultural land and produce from the agricultural land. Some examples of agricultural revenue are below.

• Rent received for agricultural land.
• Income derived from the sale of seeds replanted trees.
• Agricultural operations, which mainly include processing and selling of farm produce.
• Income earned from a farmhouse that may be used as a storehouse or a dwelling unit, which is near to the horticultural land.

However, other incomes do not come under agricultural income. Some examples of non-agricultural income are as follows.

• Income from dairy farming
• Income from poultry farming.
• Income from bee hiving.
• Receipts from the sale of spontaneously grown trees.
• Any dividend paid by an organisation from its agriculture income.
• Income from TV serial shooting in the farmhouse.
• Royalty income from mines.

Purposes of Agricultural Income Certificate

Section 10(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 exempts agricultural income from income tax. Hence, to avail this benefit of tax exemption, it is necessary to possess an agricultural income certificate. Moreover, obtaining an agricultural income certificate is useful to acquire a bank loan. Further, any losses from agricultural operations could be set off with agricultural income of next eight assessment years.

Eligibility Criteria

The following conditions of eligibility must be satisfied to obtain an agricultural income certificate.

1. The citizen who needs the agricultural income certificate should be a permanent resident of Andhra Pradesh while applying.
2. The income for which the agricultural income certificate is claimed should fall under the prescribed agricultural income.
3. The revenue generated from the agricultural land is computed for the issuance of agricultural income certificate only when the land is situated in India. The land must be on the applicant’s name on the record of rights.

Documents Required

While applying for agricultural income certificate in Andhra Pradesh, furnish the following documents:

1. Application Form
2. Proof of Identity – Ration card / EPIC Card/Aadhaar Card

Competent Authority

The Revenue Department is the concerned department for the issuance of agricultural income certificate, and Tehsildar is the competent authority for the same. The certificate will be signed by an official, not below the rank of a Tehsildar.

Attributes of Agricultural Income Certificate

The agricultural income certificate issued by the Government includes the holder of agricultural lands and the estimated annual income derived from his or her property for the last three Revenue years.

Processing Fee

The Government of Andhra Pradesh does not charge any service fee while requesting online for agricultural income certificate through the MeeSeva portal. However, the applicant has to pay Rs. 35 as a user charge.
Based on the customer’s request for the delivery option (Manual or Local Speed Post or Non- Local Speed Post at the Franchisee), the charges differ. The courier charges for Local Postal is Rs. 33 and for Postal Non-Local is Rs. 46.

Processing Time:

In Andhra Pradesh, the issuance of agricultural income certificate would take 7 days for fresh application, excluding the government holidays. In case of applying for the second time and after that, the certificate will be issued within 15 minutes.

Application Procedure

The applicant can request for the Andhra Pradesh agricultural income certificate in either offline or online mode.

Offline Application Process

To apply offline, the applicant has to visit the concerned Tehsildar office in his / her respective district. The application form to be filled can be collected from the office or can download from the copy below.

Agricultural income certificate form

Once completing the form, the applicant should submit it along with the documents mentioned. On making necessary payment, the applicant will receive an acknowledgement receipt which the applicant has to produce while collecting the certificate.

The concerned Tehsildar, who is the competent authority for the processing of the application, will assign the subordinates for Field level enquiry. The Village Revenue Officer (VRO) will collect the documents from the Tehsildar for enquiry and will submit the Field Verification Report. Based on the Report, the Tehsildar will either approve or reject the request.

Online Process

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has facilitated its citizens, providing doorstep online services through the MeeSeva online portal. The applicant can apply online either from their respective places or by visiting the nearby MeeSeva centres where trained MeeSeva operators will assist in applying for the service.

Requesting online through Kiosks requires the applicant to fill the application form offered by the authorised operator who scans it to be uploaded.

Step 1: To request online for agricultural income certificate, visit the official website of MeesSeva.

Step 2: Click Meeseva online portal, which redirects to another page.

New User Registration

Step 3: Click the New User Registration link, which displays the New User Registration window containing the registration form.

Step 4: Create a profile by entering the desired login credentials. Enter the personal information and contact information. Then click Submit.

Step 5: After submission, a one-time password panel will be generated. The citizen receives the one time password to his/her registered mobile number.

Step 6: Enter the one time password and click the confirm button.

Step 7: After Confirmation, a confirmation email will be sent to the registered mail ID. Click on the activation link to activate your account.  

Already Registered User

Step 8: In case of an already registered user, enter the login credentials and click “Sign in” button to enter into the portal.

Step 9: Click on the Revenue Department to go to Revenue Department services.

Step 10: Select the agricultural income certificate link under the list of services.

Step 11: After selection of the request, where the applicant has to furnish the following details.

• Applicant details
• Address details (Permanent address)
• Postal details
• Income Certificate details – Purpose of Income Certificate, Pattadar Name, Survey No, Extent, PPB TD/ Dacono and Income

Note: Postal Details include the delivery option where the applicant has to select through either Manual or Speed Post – Local or Speed Post – Non-Local at the Franchisee option based on which the courier charges differ. Additionally, the applicant can add Pattadar details by clicking on the “Add New Row” button.

Step 12: Upload the scanned copies of the documents mentioned in the prescribed format.

Step 13: Make the required payment by clicking ‘Show Payment’. Make the necessary payment and click confirm payment that will be calculated based on the delivery option selected by the citizen.

Step 14: On Confirmation, the acknowledgement receipt will be generated along with the Certificate Delivery Date.

Step 15: On processing application, then the applicant will receive the status of the application in the form of SMS.

Step 16: On rejecting the request, the applicant will be informed of all corrections supported by the full signature of issuing authority.

Step 17: If applied through Kiosks, Agriculture Income Certificate will be dispatched through courier from franchisee to the citizen’s address if the delivery type is speed post local/ non-local. If the delivery type is manual, then the citizen should collect the Agriculture Income Certificate from franchisee where he/she requested.

If applying through online, the citizen can download the digitally signed certificate and print it to be used for the essential purpose.

Track Application Status

The applicant can track the status of the application by entering the transaction id or the application number and then by clicking Go. On approving the application, the applicant can download the digitally signed certificate and print it for further use.

Check Certificate

The applicant can verify the certificate for its authenticity by entering the application number and clicking Go.