New tax, Interest Rates changes coming into effect on August 1

New Delhi, July 31: From August 1 there will be changes pertaining to tax thresholds and interest rates that you must know.

GST Council rate cut on electric vehicles

The GST council has reduced the tax rate on electric vehicles (EVs) to 5 per cent from the existing 12 per cent, a move aimed at accelerating the adoption of eco-friendly mobility solutions. The new Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on EVs will be effective from August 1. The GST rate on all EVs has been reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent. Additionally, the tax rate on chargers or charging stations for EVs has been slashed from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.

The council also approved GST exemption for hiring of electric buses (of carrying capacity of more than 12 passengers) by local authorities from August 1.

Reduction in State Bank of India IMPS charges

Country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will not impose IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) charges from August 1, 2019. The SBI IMPS charges will also be zero for the users who want to transfer funds via its app Yono, internet banking and mobile banking.

IMPS is an instant payment service that enables round-the-clock money transfer through the use of mobile app, mobile banking or internet banking. For bank branches, SBI has announced a waiver on IMPS charges for fund transfer up to Rs. 1,000.

State Bank of India fixed deposit (FD) interest rates

The State Bank of India (SBI) has also slashed deposit rates various tenors citing surplus liquidity and falling interest rate scenario.

Interest rates have been reduced by 50­75 basis points (bps) for time deposits
with shorter tenors of up to 179 days.

For time deposits with longer tenors, there is a reduction of up to 20 bps in the retail segment and 35 bps in the bulk segment, it said.

The country's largest lender has also cut deposit rates on bulk deposits of Rs 2 crore and above.

The new rates will be effective from August 1, 2019.