india

Updated: Mar 24, 2020 17:23 IST

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a slew of measures to shore up the economy including an extension of dates to file income tax returns to GST and minimum balance requirement in accounts to charge cash withdrawal from ATMs.

The measures were announced by the Union finance minister at a press conference as the country remained under lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus disease with the number of Covid-19 patients ballooning.

Here are the major announcements made by Nirmala Sitharaman:

1. She extended the last date for filing of income tax return (ITR) for FY2018-19 to June 30

2. The deadline for linking Aadhaar with PAN card was also extended to June 30 from March 31

3. The Union finance minister announced that debit cardholders who withdraw cash from any other bank’s ATM can do it free of charge for the next three months

4. She also announced that minimum account balance criteria for bank account holders have also been waived off for the next three months. Customers required to maintain a minimum balance in their savings accounts will not be penalised for not doing so during this period.

5. The last date for filing Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns for March, April, May 2020 will also be extended to June 30, she said

6. For companies with a turnover of more than Rs 5 crore, no late fee and penalty will be charged on late GST return filing and the interest rate was reduced to 9% from 12%, she said

7. An economic package is being worked out and an announcement will come soon, she said

8. Every attention is being given to the economy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is monitoring the situation himself, she added.

8. Nirmala Sitharaman said the threshold for default by companies under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which currently stands at Rs 1 lakh, is being raised to Rs 1 crore

9. She said the government will watch the situation and if it continues to remain the same beyond April 30 then it may consider suspending Section 7, Section 9 and Section 10 of IBC for six months.

10. All the regulators, RBI and ministry of finance, are working together to monitor the developments and the volatility in the stock market. SEBI has come up with some set of guidelines and has stated its position due to volatility so that there is no greater instability in the market.

“We are in contact in the morning, afternoon and evening regarding the market.”