From Banking To SIM Card Purchase, Know Important Changes That New Year 2024 Brings

With the arrival of New Year 2024, people pledge to make changes in their daily life routine, diet, hygiene, and many other desired habits. It is not just the start of another year, but instead, the right time to begin a new life journey. Similarly, the first day of the month will bring you a new set of rules that may impact your financial life. In this article, we have mentioned five major and significant changes that will impact Indians in various aspects and will be implemented from January 1, today, on orders of the Government of India.

Here is a list of five important changes implemented from January 1, 2024:

1. Inactive UPI IDs:

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has directed both payment applications and banks to deactivate UPI IDs and associated numbers that have remained inactive for over a year. All banks and third-party apps must comply with this directive by December 31st, a circular issued on November 7 by the Ministry of Finance on recommendations of the Reserve Bank of India said.

2) Bank locker agreement

People who have kept their precious things in a bank locker must go through this major change done by the Reserve Bank of India. As per the RBI's latest guidelines and rules for safe deposit in lockers, customers need to enter into a fresh agreement with their respective banks. Usage of the locker facility is contingent upon continuous rental payments. The deadline to formalize this agreement was December 31, 2023.

3) Last Date to file ITR with penalty:

For the taxpayers who missed filing the Income Tax Returns for financial year 2022-2023 even with penalties, the deadline ended on December 31. The Income Tax department was accepting the requests earlier under section 234F which outlines individuals failing to submit their returns before the due date.

4) Paperless KYC for SIM cards

According to a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) notification, the paperless know-your-customer (KYC) process will be done from January 1 onwards, instead of hectic documentation. "Considering various amendments/changes made in the existing KYC framework from time to time, it has been decided by the competent authority that the use of Paper-based KYC process, as envisaged in instructions dated 09.08.2012, shall be discontinued effect from 01.01.2024," the notification read.

5) Increased vehicle prices

Automobile prices in India will be hiked from January 1, as announced by several big bulls of the industry namely Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Audi India.