The month of December, which marked the end of CY 2023 and the third quarter of FY2024, had many financial deadlines ranging from submission of belated income tax returns to signing bank locker agreements to discontinuation of inactive UPI accounts. Though many crucial financial deadlines ended on December 31, a few were extended to 2024 for the ease of the consumers.
Here’s a look at some of the crucial deadlines to take a note of:
1. Mutual funds and demat account deadline: June 30, 2024
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) extended the deadline once again for mutual fund and demat account holders to add beneficiaries or opt out of it until June 30, 2024. Initially, the deadline was set for December 31, 2023.
Earlier, Sebi had already extended the deadline from September 30 to December 31 in order to give MF holders enough time to complete the nomination process.
According to a notification issued by Sebi, investors are required to choose a nominee/s or explicitly opt out of nomination by submitting a declaration before the specified deadline. This extension comes as a result of feedback received from market participants who emphasized the need for ease of compliance and investor convenience. The decision to extend the last date for submission of ‘choice of nomination’ for demat accounts and mutual fund folios was made with these considerations in mind.
Sebi previously stated that failing to meet the nomination deadline can result in freezes on debits from MG unitholders’ holdings. As a result, investors will be unable to access or withdraw funds from their mutual fund accounts and will not be able to utilise their demat accounts for stock trading.
By completing the nomination process, investments can be seamlessly transferred to designated beneficiaries in the event of any unfortunate incidents. Without such nominations, family members of the deceased may encounter protracted and expensive legal processes when attempting to gain control over these investments.
2. SBI’s Amrit Kalash: March 31, 2024.
Public sector lender State Bank of India (SBI) announced the extension of its ‘Amrit Kalash’ special fixed deposit scheme for retail customers. This scheme, which offers a lucrative interest rate, gained popularity among customers looking to maximise their savings. According to information provided on the SBI website, the ‘Amrit Kalash’ scheme has a tenure of 400 days and currently offers a rate of interest of 7.1% for regular customers, while senior citizens enjoy a higher rate of 7.6%.
It is worth noting that the ‘Amrit Kalash’ scheme was initially scheduled to expire on December 31, 2023. However, due to its popularity and customer demand, SBI has decided to extend the scheme until March 31, 2024.
This extension of the scheme comes as good news for individuals seeking secure investment options with attractive returns in the current economic climate. The ‘Amrit Kalash’ scheme is one of the prominent offerings by SBI. While the higher interest rate for senior citizens aims to support and provide additional benefits to this segment, regular customers also stand to benefit from the competitive interest rate on this fixed deposit scheme.
3. SBI home loan concession: January 31, 2024
Ahead of the festive season in 2023, SBI launched a special campaign for home loans that offers discounts up to 65 basis points (bps). The campaign is offering home loan (HL) and top-up loan customers with lower credit score (151-200) and those new to credit or with no credit score concession of 65 basis points (bps) and 45 bps, respectively, over the card rate. The special campaign discount is valid up to January 31, 2024. The discount is valid for all home loans, including those with flexipay, NRI, non-salaried, privilege, and Apon Ghar.
For customers with credit scores of 700-749, 151-200 and NTC/ no credit score, the bank is giving higher concession of 65 basis points over the card rate of 9.35 per cent, with the effective HL interest rate working out to 8.70 per cent.
Besides the concession over the card rate, SBI will also offer 20 bps additional concession over the above proposed rates for HL takeovers, resale and ready to move properties for customers with credit score of 700 and above.
So, customers with credit score of 750 and above will get HL at 8.40 per cent. Those with credit score of 700 -749 will get HL at 8.50 per cent.
SBI’s home loan portfolio grew 13.47 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at Rs 6,52,548 crore as on June-end 2023. These loans accounted for 23.13 per cent of the bank’s domestic advances of Rs 28,20,433 crore.
4. Deadline to update Aadhaar details extended: March 14, 2024
To empower citizens to effectively manage their Aadhaar information, the government of India has extended the deadline for updating details until March 14, 2024. The previous deadline of December 15, 2023 has been pushed back in response to positive feedback from residents who utilized the Aadhaar portal for document updates during the initial period. This three-month extension provides individuals with additional time to ensure that their Aadhaar information is accurate and up-to-date.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has released a memorandum announcing this extension, highlighting its basis on positive resident response. It is important to note that updates through the myAadhaar portal will continue to be free of charge.
This initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to streamlining administrative processes and empowering citizens in managing their Aadhaar information efficiently.
5. IDBI Amrit Mahotsav FD scheme: March 31, 2024
IDBI Banks has extended the validity date for Amrit Mahotsav FD” till March 31, 2024. On a special maturity bucket of 375 days, IDBI Bank offers an interest rate of 7.10% for the general public and 7.60% for senior citizens. IDBI’s Amrit Mahotsav FD for 375 Days and 444 Days was earlier valid up to December 31, 2023.
Some of the deadlines that were not extended are the last date to file belated ITR, the deadline to sign the bank locker agreement, the renewal of inactive UPI, and no paper-based KYC for SIM cards.
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