New Delhi: There will be some changes in the rules for products and transactions impacting the daily lives of the people from October 1.
These changes range from norms for payment of income tax, driving licence, health insurance, credit cards and food products, which affect all the consumers.
Vehicle documents
A major change that will have an impact on the lives of those with vehicles is that no physical verification of documents such as driving licence or registration certificate (RC) will be required. Only a valid soft copy of these documents on DigiLocker, M-Parivahan portal or the state vehicle portal will do.
These digital copies can be shown during any inspection. Also, now fine too must be paid online. Its information will be stored in a centralised online database for 10 years.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification of various such amendments made to the Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which will come into effect from October 1.
LPG connection
From October 1, LPG connection will not be free. Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the process of getting a gas connection for free is ending on September 30, 2020.
Tax on foreign transfer of money
Banks and others can levy 5% tax on transactions above Rs 7 lakh. Sending money for children's studies abroad and treatment of relatives abroad will become costlier. Overseas tour package providers are required to pay an income tax of 5% of the package amount.
IT returns
I-T returns can be filed till Nov 30. Also, the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) regime kicks in from October 1 under which an e-commerce operator has to deduct 1 per cent tax on the sale of goods and services. Accordingly, an e-commerce operator will deduct income tax at 1 per cent of the gross amount of sale of goods or services.
Credit/debit card safety
The changes announced by the Reserve Bank to secure credit-debit card transactions are also effective from Thursday. Online transactions will no longer be possible with cards that have not been used for an online transaction previously.
The cardholder can select the required services. For those who do not need the ATM service, they can inform the bank about it. They can also select the daily transaction limit.
Health insurance
With the introduction of coverage for 17 more diseases, the health insurance premium will increase. Covid is also now covered by insurance. As the standardisation of new health insurance rules takes place, the prices for premiums will rise by 2-5 per cent.
Eatables
Sweet sellers will need to display 'best before date'. Sweet shops will now have to declare the 'best before date' of non-packaged or loose sweets available in their shops. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed the sweet shop owners to adhere to the protocol from 1 October.
There are changes on the cooking front too, as the FSSAI has banned blending of mustard oil with any other cooking oil.
TV and other electronics
TV sets may become expensive as some components will attract 5 per cent import duty from October 1. The government is also keen to expand the domestic production capacity for open cell panels so that imports can be curbed.
(With inputs from IANS)
