As we take a step into the new year, one needs to understand that the government has taken some steps towards making regulations easier for the citizens. As a result, the government has introduced certain changes to some of the basic regulations which were effective January 1, 2020, onwards:
1) An increased penalty will be levied on late tax returns. Earlier, a defaulter had to pay a penalty of ₹5,000 if they were late in filing tax returns for Financial Year 2018-19 and would pay the amount by December 31, 2019. However, since January 1, 2020, the penalty has been doubled to ₹10,000.
2) Businessmen can now conduct Goods and Sales Tax (GST) registration through Aadhar card. Further, a new system to GST will also be introduced in the next few months.
3) SBI has lowered the Repo Rate by 0.25 per cent, which has made home loan cheaper for people. Accordingly, the applicant for a home loan of up to ₹30 lakh will receive the benefit of ₹468.
4) If an SBI account holder withdraws more than ₹10,000 between 8:00 pm to 8:00 am, they will have to provide an OTP to verify account on the ATM screen.
5) The last date to link Aadhar card with PAN card was December 31, 2019. However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline until March 31, 2020.
6) The funds invested in Senior Citizens Saving Scheme cannot be withdrawn before the tenure of five years. However, the regulation will only be applicable for new customers and old accounts will not come under the regulation.
7) No fees will be levied on the transactions conducted through National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT). Alongside, no Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) will be levied on payments made through RuPay and UPI.
8) Prices of automobile products increase for companies such as Maruti, Mahindra, Ford India, Toyota, Mercedes Benz, Audi. This increase in prices has been initiated due to the BS-VI emission standards along with inflation.
9) All debit cards must be converted to cards with electronic chips, failing which, the account holder will not be able to withdraw cash via the old card which consists of the magnetic strip.
10) The regulations for Provident Fund have also been eased for applicants. Under the new regulations, the companies with 10 employees also will be beneficial under Provident Fund schemes. Moreover, the employee can decide the installment for the provident fund and a one-time withdrawal of the fund will also be allowed.
11) Hallmarking of gold-silver jewellery has been made mandatory from January 1, 2020. But people in rural areas have been given an extension of up to one year to hallmark their jewellery.
12) Insurance regulator, IRDAI announced changes for linked as well as non-linked life insurance policies and the step is expected to cause a surge in the amount of the premium.
13) LIC announces that no extra charges will be levied for payment via LIC credit card
14) Every vehicle passing via a National Highway (NH) will need to have a FASTag attached before January 15. As per current records, one crore FASTags have been issued. Meanwhile, if a FASTag is not installed, then the driver will have to pay 2x price at the toll booth.
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