Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the last date for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2018-19 has been extended till June 30, 2020, in a bid to provide relief amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Addressing the media through video conferencing on Tuesday, Sitharaman also said that the government has reduced the interest rate on delayed TDS deposit to 9 per cent from the previous 18 per cent.
Aadhaar-PAN linkage
The government has also extended the deadline for linking of Aadhaar and PAN till June 30 from the original deadline of March 31. Also, the last date for filing GST returns for March, April and May 2020 has been extended to June 30, 2020.
In view of the current situation, Sitharaman also announced that for companies with turnover of over Rs 5 crore, no late fee and penalty will be charged on late GST return filing. The mandatory holding of board meetings for companies has been extended by 60 days, Sitharaman added.
For bank customers, Sitharaman said that the debit cardholders who withdraw cash from any bank ATM can do it free of charge for the next 3 months. Also, customers will not have to maintain a minimum balance for now.
"No companies will go into bankruptcy for a period of 6 months if the situation continues to remain the same till April 30, 2020," announced Sitharaman.
Meanwhile, Sitharaman stated that an economic package will be announced very soon.
The development comes amidst the whole of the country coming to a standstill amid the rising number of coronavirus cases in India to over 500 and lockdown across states.
