Hyderabad: The new financial year is going to start on April 1. Along with the financial year, money-related changes are also going to take place in the new year. Changes are coming in terms of NPS login and credit card rewards.
NPS Login Rule
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has taken a key decision regarding NPS account login in the context of increasing online fraud. A 2-factor Aadhaar based authentication system has been introduced further enhancing the security. All password-based users will have to follow this policy from April 1. A circular was issued to this effect on March 15.
SBI Debit Card charges
The SBI has revised the handling charges on debit cards. The new charges will come into effect from April 1. It has increased the annual maintenance fees on classic debit cards, silver, global and contactless debit cards from Rs 125 to Rs 200. The handling charges for Yuva, Gold, Combo Debit Card and My Card have been increased from Rs 175 to Rs 250.
In the Platinum Debit Cards category, SBI has increased the charge for Platinum Debit Card from Rs 250 to Rs 325. Platinum business card charges increased from Rs 350 to Rs 425. GST is extra on these charges.
Credit Card rules
The SBI has changed the Credit Card reward points policy. The bank, which has been offering reward points on rent payments until now, will stop such rewards from April 1. This effect will be on the users of AURUM, SBI Card Elite and Simply Click cards offered by SBI.
ICICI Bank has revised the rules regarding complimentary airport lounge access. The new rules will come into force from April 1. A minimum spend of Rs 35,000 through the card in the previous quarter is required to avail of this facility in the upcoming quarter. These terms are applicable to various types of cards, including Coral Credit Card, Make My Trip and ICICI Bank Platinum Credit Card.
Yes Bank has also revised the rules on lounge access. A minimum spend of Rs 10,000 through the card in the previous quarter is required to avail of the lounge facility in any quarter.
Magnus Credit Card offered by Axis Bank has brought key changes in rewards points, lounge access and annual fees. It has been clarified that no reward points will be given on Credit Card payments for insurance, gold/jewellery and fuel. Airport lounge access requires a minimum spend of Rs 50,000 in three months. The number of complimentary guest visits to domestic and international lounges in a calendar year will also be reduced from 8 to 4 per year. The new changes will come into effect from April 20.
New income Tax Regime: As announced in the Union Budget 2023, the new ‘Simplified Tax regime’ will be the default tax regime. However, a taxpayer can opt for the old tax regime. The basic exemption limit is up to Rs 3 lakhs, an increase of Rs 50,000 from the previous one. Also, for an individual having taxable income exceeding Rs 5 crore and opting for a new tax regime, the surcharge levied will be 25% instead of 37%.
Insurance
IRDAI has made the digitisation of insurance policies mandatory. This means that from now on all insurance companies will have to provide policies electronically. These provisions apply to all insurance policies, including life, health and general insurance. These rules will come into effect from April 1.
New income Tax Regime: As announced in the Union Budget 2023, the new ‘Simplified Tax regime’ will be the default tax regime. However, a taxpayer can opt for the old tax regime. The basic exemption limit is up to Rs 3 lakhs, an increase of Rs 50,000 from the previous one. Also, for an individual having taxable income exceeding Rs 5 crore and opting for a new tax regime, the surcharge levied will be 25% instead of 37%.
PAN-Aadhaar Must Be Linked: The last date to link a PAN (Permanent Account Number) with an Aadhaar Card is March 31, 2024. Missing this deadline means your PAN could be cancelled. From April 1, there’s a Rs 1,000 fine for late PAN-Aadhaar connections.
EPFO’s New Automatic PF Transfer Feature: Come April 1, the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is introducing an automatic system for transferring PF accounts when you switch jobs, removing the need for manual requests and making life a bit easier. This move is designed to improve job flexibility and ensure access to retirement funds sans any hiccups.
Life Insurance policies: Proceeds from life insurance over the annual premium of Rs 5 lakhs would be taxable from the new financial year. However, the new income tax rule won't cover the Unit Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP). For life insurance policies purchased till March 31, 2023, the life insurance proceeds will continue to be tax-free irrespective of the premium amount paid. This could be seen as an attempt to stop high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) from claiming tax-free returns from high-value insurance policies.
Benefits to senior citizens: The maximum deposit limit for the senior citizen savings scheme will be increased to Rs 30 lakhs from Rs 15 lakhs. Under the new rules, the monthly income scheme’s largest deposit limit for single accounts has also been raised to Rs 9 lakhs from Rs 4.5 lakhs. For combined accounts, the limit has been increased from Rs 7.5 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs. The increase in investment limit means senior citizens can now put a larger amount in this scheme and earn better returns. For the last quarter of FY23, the interest rate on this scheme was fixed at 8%.
No tax on physical gold conversion to e-gold receipt: In the Budget 2023, the Finance Minister mentioned there will not be any capital gain tax if physical gold is converted to an Electronic Gold Receipt (EGR) and vice versa. This will be effective from April 1, 2023. Under this form, investors buy the gold in a dematerialised form and are given gold receipts instead of physical gold.
OLA Money wallet restriction: OLA Money users should be aware that the service is transitioning entirely to small PPI (prepaid payment instrument) wallet services. Starting April 1, 2024, there will be a limit of adding Rs 10,000 to the Ola Money wallet per month. Customers were informed about this change via SMS on March 22, 2024.
Mandatory KYC for Fastag users: Starting April 1, 2024, Fastag users must update their KYC (Know Your Customer) details by the end of March 2024 to keep their transactions smooth. Not keeping up with this requirement could lead to Fastag accounts being deactivated, complicating toll payments. This initiative by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is aimed at boosting security and making Fastag use more efficient.
LPG prices get a refresh: The prices of LPG cylinders will see a new update across the country on April 1, 2024. Though we’re expecting minor changes during the Lok Sabha elections, the aim is to keep LPG costs stable for consumers. These adjustments are all about fair pricing and the government’s pledge to make energy affordable.
A big change was recently announced for debt funds: Beginning April 1, debt mutual funds will not get any capital gains tax benefit and no indexation benefit. Essentially it means that whatever returns you make from debt funds will be taxed as per your income tax slabs just like for fixed deposits. But this is only applicable to new investments from April 1.
Essential medicines to get 12% costlier: Essential medicines, including painkillers, antibiotics and anti-infectives are set to become costlier by more than 12%. India’s drug pricing authority allowed a price hike of 12.1218% from April 1 for scheduled drugs that are under price control. This will cover more than 800 drugs on the National List of Essential Medicines.
The leave encashment tax exemption limit for non-government employees was Rs 3 lakhs, but it has now been increased to Rs 25 lakhs.
