• Motor vehicle rules, health insurance, income tax, credit, and debit card rules are changing from today
• Let us understand what all rules are changing from October 1
• From 1 October 2020 the government has decided to change operational rules related to motor vehicle license, health insurance, Ujjwala scheme, credit, and debit card. These rules will be effective from today.
1) Physical verification of documents like driving license and RC are not required
Benefits of Digi-locker and M-parivahan will be seen in this rule.
The stress of having a hard copy of documents such as RC and driving license together while driving is going to end. Now you can drive a vehicle with a valid soft copy of these documents attached to the vehicle. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued notification of various amendments made in the Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, which will be effective from 1 October. In one step to make commuter convenience easier, the central government is ready to digitize documents including maintenance of vehicles, driving license and e-challan which will now be prepared through the information technology portal from 1 October 2020. Drivers can place their vehicle documents on a central government online portal like Digi-Locker or m-parivahan.
2) Mobile phone for route navigation only
As per the amendment made in the Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, you can now use mobile for route navigation in such a way that it will not disturb the concentration of the driver while driving. It will make travelling easy for you and will ensure that the journey is safe.
3) LPG connections are not going to be free
Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the process of obtaining gas connections for free ends on 30 September 2020. The Union Cabinet had approved the extension till the end of September to avail free LPG cylinders which is under the scheme PMUY.
4) 5% tax is going to be levied on foreign fund transfers
Any amount sent abroad to purchase foreign tour packages, and every other foreign remittance made above Rs 7 lakh, will attract a tax-collected-at source (TCS) starting from 1 October unless earlier on that amount tax is deducted at source (TDS). While the tax on foreign tour packages will be 5% for any amount, the tax for other foreign remittances will be only for the amount spent above ₹ 7 lakh.
5) Sweet shops and sellers will need to display ‘best before date’
Sweet (Mithai) shops will now have to declare ‘best before date’ of non-packaged or loose sweets available in their shop. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has directed the sweet shop owners to follow the protocol from 1 October. This is to ensure that the customers are getting fresh sweets all the time.
6) New health insurance rules will be implemented
Changes in health insurance cover are definitely being introduced in the pandemic because of coronavirus (Covid-19). Prices for premium health services will eventually increase. As per the new health insurance rules, introduced after Covid-19, will make 17 permanent disease out of cover.
7) Buying television sets are going to be expensive
Open cell panels will attract a 5% import duty from October 1, with the government stating that the duty exemption ending later this month will not be extended. As part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the government is keen to expand domestic production capacity for open cell panels to curb imports. The one-year exemption given on this item ends today i.e. September 30. It will scrutinize the process of importing parts or finished goods from outside India, majorly from China and will give a little nudge to manufacturing sector in India.
8) RBI’s new debit card and credit card rules
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new guidelines for securing debit and credit cards. These changes will be effective from 1 October 2020. As per the new guidelines, card users will now be able to register for opt-in or opt-out services, expense limits, etc. for transactions done online over web or APIs, overseas transactions, as well as contactless card transactions.
9) FSSAI banned blending of mustard oil with any other cooking oil
Food regulator FSSAI has banned blending of mustard oil with any other cooking oil from 1 October. In a letter to the Commissioner of food safety of all states and Union Territories, FSSAI stated that the blending of mustard oil with any other edible oil in India will be banned from October 1, 2020.
10) New tax collected at Source (TCS) regime
The Income Tax Department issued guidelines to implement the provision of TCS requiring an e-commerce operator to deduct 1 percent tax on the sale of goods and services. The new Tax Collected at Source (TCS) regime will be effective from 1 October. The Finance Act, 2020 inserted a new section 194-O in the Income Tax Act 1961, which states that from October 1, 2020, an e-commerce operator will deduct income tax at the rate of 1 percent of the gross amount. Facility for sale of goods or provision of service or both, through its digital or electronic facility or platform.
