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Finance Minister's Top 10 Announcements On Relief Steps Over Coronavirus
Deadline for filing income tax, GST returns extended to June 30 Free-of-charge withdrawals from ATMs of any bank for three months India has reported 482 coronavirus cases, experts say a jump imminent
24 Mar 2020, 06:49 PM IST 
Nirmala Sitharaman announced many reliefs for taxpayers as the country entered a second day of lockdown
- Briefing the media through video conferencing, the Finance Minister announced an increase in the threshold for default under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) to Rs 1 crore. Currently, the threshold of triggering insolvency cases stands at Rs 1 lakh.
- In a major relief for the public, as only essential services remain open in many parts of the country to contain the spread of coronavirus, the Finance Minister announced free-of-charge withdrawals from ATMs of any bank for next three months.
- The government also waived the requirement of maintaining certain minimum balance in bank accounts. Currently, customers have to maintain certain minimum balance in their accounts or pay a penalty charge to the banks concerned.
- For taxpayers, the government extended the due date for filing tax returns towards income earned in financial year 2018-19 (assessment year 2019-20) to June 30.
- The Finance Minister also announced a relaxation in the interest rate applicable on delayed income tax returns (ITRs) to 9 per cent from the existing 12 per cent.
- Extending tax dispute resolution scheme "Vivad Se Vishwas" by three months, to June 30, Ms Sitharaman said those availing the scheme will not be required to pay 10 per cent interest on principal as mandated under existing rules.
- Ms Sitharaman also announced an extension in the due date for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with PAN to June 30. Currently, the compulsory seeding of the Aadhaar number into the PAN has to be carried out by March 31.
- The government also announced a range of relief measures for companies, including an extension in the deadline for filing returns towards the months of March, April and May to June 30.
- Also, companies with a turnover of less than Rs 5 crore will not have to pay interest, penalty or late fee for filing delayed returns, the Finance Minister said.
- Announcing a relaxation for companies to hold board meetings for next two quarters, Ms Sitharaman said: "If no board meeting is held for 2019-20, it will not be considered a violation."
