Capital gain bonds or 54EC bonds are the fixed income instruments that provide capital gains tax exemption under section 54EC to the investors. The tax liability on long-term capital gains from sale of immovable property can be reduced by purchasing 54EC bonds.
The owner of the bonds are the debtholders or creditors of the issuer. These bonds are issued by infrastructure companies that are backed by the government. Hence, the risk factor gets mitigated by buying such bonds. The capital gain bonds are redeemable before maturity. One cannot sell these bonds as they are not listed in the stock exchange. The interest is reduced to 5% p.a. from 6% p.a. and is fully taxable in your hands.