ESOP perquisite

This one is not written up yet

The definition above is the short version. A full explanation — how it works, a worked example and the exam traps — is still being written. In the meantime the chapter below covers it in context.

Written up from the same chapter

• Alternative Investment FundA privately pooled investment vehicle registered with SEBI that raises money from select Indian or foreign investors under a defined investment policy — never from the public at large.
• Employee Stock Option PlanA right, not an obligation, for an employee to buy employer shares at a pre-fixed price — taxed twice: as a salary perquisite on exercise, and as capital gains on eventual sale.
• Endowment policyA life insurance policy that pays the sum assured plus accrued bonus on survival to the end of the term as well as on death — an investment-cum-insurance contract with a level premium.
• National Pension SystemA PFRDA-regulated, defined-contribution retirement scheme in which the subscriber builds a market-linked corpus and must convert part of it into an annuity at exit; there is no guaranteed return.
• NPS VatsalyaA saving-cum-pension scheme introduced in Budget 2024 under which a parent opens and operates an NPS Tier 1 account in a minor child's name until the child turns 18.
• Permanent Retirement Account NumberThe unique account number issued when an NPS account is opened; it stays with the subscriber for life and across employers, which is what makes NPS portable in a way EPF historically was not.