Two fund houses - Birla Sun Life and Sundaram Mutual Fund - have filed offer documents with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch tax saving scheme - RGESS, while others may soon follow suit.

Filing draft papers is mandatory before launching new schemes and the regulator usually takes about three-four weeks to clear these schemes.

Currently, there are more than 20 RGESS funds.According to market analysts, fund houses are gearing up to launch RGESS, ahead of tax season, to cash in on the good equity market conditions. Usually, the period ending March 31 sees tax-saving funds garnering chunky inflows.

"The current equity market conditions are conducive for investors to take long-term exposure," Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund Managing Director, Vivek Kudva, said.

In order to encourage flow of savings in financial instruments and improve the depth of the domestic capital market, SEBI had last year announced the framework for Rajiv Gandhi Equity Savings Scheme.

Under the scheme, new investors can avail themselves of tax benefits, who invest up to Rs 50,000 in the stock market and whose gross total annual income is less than or equal to Rs 10 lakh.

PTI