Revision in income tax return, PMAY subsidy, auto-payment of credit, debit card to dual air bags — FULL LIST of top 10 changes from April 1, 2021

Revision in PMAY subsidy

From 1st April 2021, Middle Income Group (MIG) won't be given subsidy under PMAY. So, those earning individuals who have an annual income of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 18 lakh, they will be no more eligible for subsidy of up to Rs 2.35 lakh under PMAY scheme. However, PMAY subsidy of up to Rs 2.67 lakh for LIG (Lower Income Group) and EWS (Economically Weaker Section) would continue till 31st March 2022. Photo: Pixabay

Auto-payment facility on Debit card, Credit card

Your auto-payment facility may fail over an OTP issue. Yes, you read that right. If RBI note is followed, this is actually set to happen, unless a new date is announced very soon. So, if you have subscribed to any auto-debit facility for utility bills from your Debit card and Credit card, you need to keep this in mind as it may become a big headache. So, this news is very important for you! According to a report, from April 1, auto-debit payments for utility bills and over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions may fail, owing to a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines.

Aadhaar PAN Linking deadline

Aadhaar PAN Linking Last Date is 31st March 2021 and like previous occasions, some people have presumed that there will be extension in Aadhaar PAN linking deadline. However, for such people, the Narendra Modi Government has a different kind of news today. The Modi Government has ordered imposition of late fine in case a person fails to link Aadhaar Card with PAN Card by the given deadline. As per the new section inserted in the Finance Bill recently presented in the Lok Sabha, failing to do Aadhaar PAN linking by the given deadline will incur late fee of up to Rs 1,000. This late fee will be exclusive from other penalties (up to Rs 10,000) for holding an inoperative PAN Card. Photo: PTI

New Wage Code bill deferred

The Modi Government was in full swing to implement New Wage Code Bill that will be the good news for private sector employees. However, as per the media buzz, the New Wage Code has been deferred and hence there will be no change in one's salary, PF and Gratuity contribution.

The New Wage Code had provisions to contain allowances like Dearness Allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), Travel Allowance (TA), medical re-imbursement, etc to not more than 50 per cent of the earning individuals net CTC. In other words, one's basic salary will be at least 50 per cent of the net CTC of an employee once the New Wage Code is implemented. In that case one's monthly Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution will go up as one's basic salary will go higher. Photo: Reuters

Dual Air Bags in new cars

From 1st April 2021, the Narendra Modi Government has made it mandatory for all automakers to manufacture new cars with dual air bang. In this provision, now car makers will have to give two air bags in the front row — one for the driver and one for the person sitting beside the driver. This new provision may lead to rise in new car prices across companies. Photo: Reuters

Provident Fund (PF) to become taxable

From 1st April 2021, one's provident fund (PF) contribution will become taxable if the net PF contribution is more than Rs 2.5 lakh in a particular financial year. In case the recruiter doesn't contribute, in that case the non-taxable PF limit will go up to Rs 5 lakh per annum. So, for private sector employees, non-taxable EPF limit is Rs 2.5 lakh while for the government employees the non-taxable PF limit will be Rs 5 lakh. Photo: Reuters

Bank credentials of seven banks

If you have bank account in any of these seven public sector banks — Dena Bank, Vijaya Bank, Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, United Bank of India and Allahabad Bank — then your passbook and cheque book will become non-functional from 1st April 2021. This will happen because of the merger of these banks in various other banks. Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank have been merged with Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India have been merged with Punjab National Bank (PNB), Corporation Bank and Andhra Bank have been merged with Union Bank of India. Photo: Reuters

Heavy penalty for income tax return non-filers

Income tax rule for TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) will get changed from 1st April 2021, which is just a few days away. In her budget speech, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that if a person doesn't file income tax return (ITR), then in that case, the TDS rate on bank deposits would double. That means, even if an earning individual doesn't fall in the income tax slab, the TDS rate levied on them will be doubled (in case the earning individual does not file ITR). Photo: Reuters

NPS fund managers to charge more

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has allowed pension fund managers (PFMs) to charge their customers higher fees from 1 April. With the hike in fees, most PFMs will turn profitable. The old cap of 0.01 per cent of assets under management (AUM) on fees forced PFMs to operate with extremely low costs. The new cap will allow most to turn profitable. Photo: PTI

Simplification of pre-filled ITR forms

From 1st April 2021, Income Tax Return (ITR) filing will become simpler. Individual taxpayers who want to file their ITR will be given pre-filled ITR form to make their ITR filing simpler and smoother. Photo: Pixabay