YDNews| 10:25 pm| Two-minutes read
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced few measures for the general public amid Coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. From the extension of dates to file income tax returns to minimum balance requirements, there were some important decisions taken.
These measures were announced at a press conference while the country remained under lockdown as the number of Coronavirus patients are rising rapidly. Also, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a nation-wide lockdown for 21 days from March 25 to stop further spread of COVID-19.
Following are the major announcements made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman:
- The last date for filing the income tax return for FY2018-19 has been extended to June 30.
- Also, the deadline for linking PAN with Aadhar has been extended to June 30 from March 31.
- The minimum account balance criteria for the bank account holders have also been waived off for the next three months. The customers won’t be penalized for not maintaining the minimum account balance in their savings accounts.
- No cost will be levied on the transaction from any other bank’s ATM for the next three months.
- The last dates for filing GST (Goods and Services Tax) returns for March, April and May 2020 are also extended till June 30.
- For companies with turnover of more than 5 crore, no late fee and penalty would be charged for late GST return filing. The interest rate was also reduced from 9% from 12%.
- Proper attention is being given to the economy and PM Narendra Modi is monitoring the situation.
- An economic package is being worked out and an announcement will be made very soon.
- The government is monitoring the situation and if it remains the same after April 30, then it may consider suspending Section 7, Section 9, and Section 10 of IBC for the next six months.
- RBI and the ministry of finance are jointly working to monitor the developments and the volatility of the stock market.