New Delhi: Finance ministry on Monday said that disability pension will be tax-free for only those personnel who had to leave service due to disability suffered while on duty.

The pension will be not be tax-free for those defence forces personnel who retired from their services or attained superannuation.

“Such tax exemption will be available only to armed forces personnel who have been invalided from service on account of bodily disability attributable to or aggravated by such service and not to personnel who have been retired on superannuation or otherwise,” said a circular issued by finance ministry.

The government circular is applicable to personnel of all ranks from Army, Air force and Navy.

There are three types of disability pensions — war injury, normal disability (attributable to the military service) and the one aggravated by the military service.

Earlier this year, the  defence ministry had decided that disability or war injury pension for armed forces personnel shall be minimum Rs 18,000 per month.