UPI to banking: 5 financial rules changing from today

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced several changes in the budget session related to finance and tax rules. Some of these were announced earlier as well. However, these changes will come in effect from April 1, 2025. The changes in finance and tax rules cover UPI, government pensions, credit cards and more.  

Among the major changes announced by the government include exemption of tax in income upto Rs 12 lakh per year, UPI linked to phone numbers which do not use them for a long time will be deactivated. Users would not receive dividends if PAN were not linked with Aadhar.  

New Income tax rules

The new income tax slabs will be reformed from April 1, according to the Union Budget 2025, which will exempt taxes of individuals earning Rs 12 lakh per year. Not only this, income upto Rs 12.75 lakh will be exempted from tax with the standard deduction of Rs 75,000. 

Government has brought changes in credit card payments as well. These include rewards and points benefits linked with these cards. Axis Bank will bring new changes to its Vistara Credit Card due to merger with Air India. Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card and SimplyCLICK will also change their reward structures. 

Changes in GST framework 

Changes will also be made to the GST framework which will now include a new security feature called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This will be compulsory for those using GST portal. For traders who transport goods, an E-Way bill must be generated within 180 days of issuing the invoice or delivery challan. 

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) will also come into effect and will outdate the earlier pension system which will impact around 23 lakh central government employees. Those employees with a minimum of 25 years of job service will receive a pension equal to half of their last year’s basic salary.  

These changes will affect the minimum balance requirements with big lenders like Punjab National Bank, SBI and Canara Bank. Those customers who do not abide by the new requirement will face punishment.