Desh badal raha hai: Here is all that changes from today

Come April 1 and there will be a host of changes that the nation would witness. A new IT return form, no more depositing of demonetised currency, minimum balance in SBI, interest rates of PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra to be lowered and no sale of BS-III vehicles.

April 1 is known as fool's day. However in India come April 1, the nation would witness a plethora of changes. One of the most significant changes would be the change in tax reforms and also the end of depositing demonetised currency in the RBI. The deadline for NRIs is however June.

Interest rate on PPF to be lowered

The government has lowered interest rates on small saving schemes like PPF, Kisan Vikas Patra and Sukanya Samriddhi scheme by 0.1 per cent for the April-June quarter. However, interest on savings deposits has been retained at 4 per cent annually. Since April last year, interest rates of all small saving schemes have been recalibrated on a quarterly basis.

Minimum balance in SBI

The SBI would levy a penalty on non-maintenance of minimum balance in accounts from April 1 onwards. The bank justified the move saying it needs to impose some charges to balance the burden of managing a large number of no-frills Jan Dhan accounts. As per the list of revised charges of SBI, failure to maintain Monthly Average Balance (MAB) in accounts will attract penalty of up to Rs100 plus service tax.

No depositing demonetised currency

The government had said that the deadline to deposit demonetised currency is March 31 in the RBI. From April 1 onwards that window would be closed. Moreover as per the new law, holding demonetised currency from April 1 onwards would be a punishable offence. The window for NRIs to deposit demonetised currency is June.

New ITR form

From April 1 onwards a new income tax returns form for the salaried individuals will be introduced. Individuals with salary and interest income will have to fill fewer columns as some of these for claiming income deductions have been clubbed in ITR-1 form called ‘Sahaj'. In the form for assessment year 2017-18, deductions claimed under different sections of chapter VIA have been removed and only mostly used ones have been included.

No sale of BS-III vehicles

Raising concern over rising pollution, the Supreme Court banned the sale of BS-III vehicles from April 1 onwards. This has led to several major companies to offer huge discounts to sell off the existing vehicles. The SC had said that vehicles purchased before April 1 can be registered provided the customer gives proof of the same.

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