Big money rule changes from April 1:
Tax relief, UPI deactivation, PAN-Aadhaar impact and more
March 31, 2025
Among the major financial and tax changes are no income tax on annual income up to Rs 12 lakh, deactivation of UPI for mobile numbers not used for a long time and no dividend if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked.
Come April 1, you will see some major changes in financial and tax rules. Most of these changes have been announced in the last couple of months. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of income tax-related changes in the recent budget, and these will be implemented from April 1, 2025.
Among the major financial and tax changes are income tax exemption on annual income up to Rs 12 lakh, deactivation of UPI for mobile numbers not used for a long time, and no dividend if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked.
Let us know about these changes in detail.
1. New income tax rule
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new tax rates and slabs in Budget 2025, effective from April 1. Under this, there will be no income tax on annual income up to Rs 12 lakh. There will be a standard deduction of Rs 75,000 for salaried persons, making salaries up to Rs 12.75 lakh tax-free in the new tax regime.
2. Changes in UPI rules
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has issued new guidelines to make UPI more secure. From April 1, UPI IDs linked to numbers that have been reassigned will be deactivated. If your mobile number is linked to UPI and you have not been using it for a long time, update it before April 1, otherwise, your UPI account linked with the number will not be accessible.
3. Changes in credit card reward points
The rules for reward points are going to change for some credit card users. SBI SimplyCLICK and Air India SBI Platinum credit card holders will see changes under the new reward structure. Apart from this, Axis Bank will also revise the benefits of Vistara credit card due to the merger of Air India and Vistara.
4. Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)
The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), launched by the government in August 2024, will come into effect from April 1. It will come as an option for the central government employees already covered under the NPS (National Pension System). Under this, government employees with a service period of 25 years or more will get 50% of the average basic salary of the last 12 months as pension.
5. Changes in GST rules
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) will be made mandatory on the GST portal from April 1, which will further strengthen the security. Apart from this, now e-way bills can be generated only on those documents that are not more than 180 days old.
6. Hotel room tariff and GST
Now, hotels that have a room tariff of more than Rs 7,500 per day in any financial year will be considered as ‘Specified Premises’. Restaurant services provided in such hotels will attract 18% GST, but will get the benefit of input tax credit.
7. Bank account minimum balance rules
SBI, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank and other big banks have updated the minimum balance requirements. If your bank account does not maintain the minimum balance, you may face a penalty from April 1.
8. Dividend will not be received if PAN-Aadhaar is not linked
If you do not link your PAN and Aadhaar by March 31, you will not get dividend income from April 1. Apart from this, TDS will also increase and no credit will be given in Form 26AS.
9. Mutual fund and demat KYC mandatory
KYC will be mandatory for mutual fund and demat accounts from April 1, 2025. Under this, all nominee details will be re-verified.
10. Positive pay system for check clearance
Positive pay system will be implemented to prevent bank fraud. Now, for check payments of more than Rs 50,000, the account holder will have to electronically give the details of the check to the bank, which the bank will verify before payment.
11. Changes in Priority Sector Lending
From April 1, home loan borrowers will be able to take loans up to Rs 50 lakh in metro cities, Rs 45 lakh in Tier-2 cities and Rs 35 lakh in small cities under Priority Sector Loan.
12. Increase in TDS limit
The limit of TDS on interest income for senior citizens has been increased to Rs 1 lakh.
13. Changes in TCS rules
New rates of TCS (Tax Collection at Source) will come into effect from April 1, 2025. Now, the limit of TCS on foreign travel, investment and other large transactions has been increased from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.
Summing up…
All these changes will directly affect your pocket and financial transactions. Therefore, complete the necessary financial tasks before April 1, 2025.
[The Financial Express]
