July 1: Aadhaar, ITR and several important rules change from tomorrow
July 1: Effective July 1, 2025, several important rules are changing in India that will impact various aspects of daily life, particularly in finance, banking, and travel. Here’s a summary of the key changes:
1. Financial and Tax-Related Changes:
Aadhaar Mandatory for New PAN Cards: From July 1, Aadhaar verification will be compulsory for applying for a new Permanent Account Number (PAN) card. This aims to enhance tax compliance and digital integration.
Income Tax Return (ITR) Filing Deadline Extended: The deadline for filing income tax returns for Assessment Year 2025-26 has been extended from July 31, 2025, to September 15, 2025. This provides taxpayers with an additional 46 days.
Revised Credit Card and Banking Charges:
HDFC Bank: Will impose a 1% fee on rent payments, wallet reloads over Rs 10,000 per month, utility bills above Rs 50,000 per month, online gaming spends above Rs 10,000 per month, and fuel payments over Rs 15,000 per month. A cap of Rs 4,999 applies per transaction. Reward points for online skill-based gaming transactions will be discontinued, and insurance payment reward points will have monthly caps.
SBI Card: Will discontinue complimentary air accident insurance on select premium cards (ELITE, PRIME, etc.) from July 15, 2025. It will also revise how the Minimum Amount Due (MAD) is calculated on credit cards to include GST, EMIs, fees, and more.
ICICI Bank: Introducing changes in ATM charges (for non-ICICI ATMs), IMPS fees, and cash transaction limits. After a set number of free transactions, additional ATM use and branch cash handling will incur fees. International ATM withdrawals will also become costlier.
Axis Bank: Revising ATM transaction fees. The fee for financial transactions beyond the free limit will increase from Rs 21 to Rs 23 per transaction at both Axis and non-Axis ATMs.
UPI Chargeback Rules Simplified: The National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has announced changes to UPI chargeback rules to simplify the process, allowing financial institutions to directly classify authentic declined chargebacks as eligible for reprocessing without NPCI’s prior approval.
GST Return Filing Rules Tightened: From July 2025, the monthly GST payment form GSTR-3B will become non-editable. The data will be auto-populated from GSTR-1/GSTR-1A/IFF. Also, taxpayers will not be allowed to file monthly or annual GST returns if three years have passed since the original due date.
2. Railway Travel Changes:
Aadhaar Mandatory for Tatkal Ticket Booking: From July 1, Aadhaar verification will be mandatory for booking Tatkal train tickets through the IRCTC website or mobile app. Users must link their Aadhaar number with their IRCTC profile and verify it.
OTP Authentication for Tatkal Tickets: From July 15, Aadhaar-based OTP (One-Time Password) authentication will be mandatory for all online Tatkal bookings. This will also apply to Tatkal tickets booked at computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and through authorized agents.
Restrictions on Authorized Agents: From July 15, authorized ticketing agents will not be allowed to book Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes after the booking window opens (10:00 am to 10:30 am for AC class and 11:00 am to 11:30 am for non-AC class).
Potential Train Fare Hike: The Ministry of Railways is reportedly considering a marginal increase in train fares: 1 paisa per km for non-AC classes in Mail/Express trains and 2 paise per km for all AC classes. This would be the first fare revision since January 2020.
3. Vehicle-Related Changes (Specific to Delhi NCR):
Fuel Ban on Old Vehicles: From July 1, diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years will not be allowed to get fuel in Delhi NCR, as per an order by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to control pollution.
It’s advisable to check with official sources like government websites, bank notifications, and IRCTC for the most precise and updated information.
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