வருமான வரி விதிகளில் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள 10 மாற்றங்கள் அடுத்த மாதம் முதல் நடைமுறைக்கு வரவுள்ளதாக மத்திய அரசு அறிவித்துள்ளது.

கடந்த ஃபிப்ரவரி ஒன்றாம் தேதி நாடாளுமன்றத்தில் தாக்கல் செய்யப்பட்ட மத்திய பட்ஜெட்டில் , ஆண்டிற்கு இரண்டரை லட்சம் முதல் 5 லட்சம் வரை வருமானம் ஈட்டுவோருக்கான வருமான வரி 10 சதவீதத்திலிருந்து 5 சதவீதமாக குறைக்கப்பட்டு அறிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

இதனுடன் சேர்த்து, ஆண்டிற்கு 50 லட்சம் முதல் ஒரு கோடி ரூபாய் வரை வருமானம் ஈட்டுவோருக்கான கூடுதல் வரி 10 சதவீதமும், ஒரு கோடிக்கும் மேல் வருமானம் ஈட்டுவோருக்கான கூடுதல் வரி 15 சதவீதமும் உயர்த்தப்பட்டது.

மேலும், மாற்றியமைக்கப்பட்ட வர்த்தக வரி, டிடிஎஸ் பிடிப்பில் மாற்றம், வருமான வரி தாக்கல் செய்வதற்கு ஆதார் எண் அவசியம் உட்பட 10 விதிகள் மாற்றம் செய்யப்பட்டிருந்தன. இந்த 10 விதி மாற்றங்களும் அடுத்த மாதம் ஏப்ரல் ஒன்றாம் தேதி முதல் அமலுக்கு வரும் என மத்திய நிதி அமைச்சர் அருண் ஜெட்லி தற்போது தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

ஜூலை ஒன்றாம் தேதி முதல் ஜிஎஸ்டி வரி விதிப்பு முறை நடைமுறைக்கு வரவுள்ளது. ஜிஎஸ்டி-யால் மறைமுக வரிகள் மட்டுமே தளர்த்தப்படும் என்பதால், வருமான வரியில் இந்த மாற்றங்கள் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளதாக நிதித்துறை அமைச்சகம் தெரிவித்துள்ளது.

The tax rate on income between Rs. 2.5 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh will get halved to 5 per cent from 10 per cent.

Highlights

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill

Starting from April 1, 2017, some income tax laws will change

Tax rate on income between Rs. 2.5-Rs. 5 lakh will get halved to 5%

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill, completing the budgetary exercise for 2017-18. Since the Finance Bill is a Money Bill, it needs only to be cleared by the Lok Sabha. Starting from April 1, 2017, some income tax laws will change. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a number of income tax changes in Budget 2017. In addition, some amendments were also introduced in the Finance Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha. Here are some of the changes that income tax payers should note:

1) The tax rate on income between Rs. 2.5 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh will get halved to 5 per cent from 10 per cent. However, rebate under Section 87A gets reduced from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 2,500. And no rebate will be applicable for taxpayers having income above Rs. 3.5 lakh. This means tax savings of up to Rs. 7,700 for those with a taxable income between Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 5 lakh. And for persons with taxable income between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh, tax savings of Rs. 12,900.

2) A 10 per cent surcharge will be applicable for individuals having income ranging from Rs. 50 lakh to Rs. 1 crore (existing surcharge of 15 per cent will remain the same for individuals having income above Rs. 1 crore.)

3) A simple one-page form will be introduced for filing tax return for individuals having a taxable income up to Rs. 5 lakh other than business income.

4) No deduction will be allowed for investment in Rajiv Gandhi Equity Saving Scheme from Assessment Year 2018-19. This tax-saving scheme, announced in the Union Budget for financial year 2012-13, was designed exclusively for the first-time individual investors in the securities market with gross total income below a certain limit.

5) Income tax officials can reopen tax cases for up to 10 years if search operations reveal undisclosed income and assets of over Rs. 50 lakh. Currently, tax officers can go back up to six years to scrutinise the books of accounts of assessees. Taxpayers who do not file their returns on time will have to shell out a penalty of up to Rs. 10,000 from Assessment Year 2018-19. However, if the total income of the person does not exceed Rs. 5 lakh, the fee payable under this section shall not exceed Rs. 1,000.

6) The holding period of a property for qualifying as long-term gains will be reduced to two years, from three years. This will help save tax if a property is sold within two years of buying. The profit from the transaction will be treated as short-term capital gains and will be taxed according to the slab rate applicable to him/her.

7) The government has cut down tax benefits borrowers enjoyed on properties let out on rent. As per current tax laws, for properties rented out, a borrower could deduct the entire interest paid on home loan after adjusting for the rental income. On the other hand, borrowers of self-occupied properties get a deduction of Rs. 2 lakh on interest repayment on home loan. But on rented properties, the borrower can only claim a deduction of up to Rs. 2 lakh per year after adjusting for the rental income. And the amount above Rs. 2 lakh can be carried forward for eight assessment years. Since the interest component of home loan repaid in initial years is higher, experts say that the borrower may not be able to fully adjust the interest paid as deduction even in subsequent years.

8) Individuals will be required to deduct a 5 per cent TDS (tax deducted at source) for rental payments above Rs. 50,000 per month. Tax experts say that the move will ensure that persons who get a large rental income come into the tax net. It will be effective from June 1, 2017.

9) Partial withdrawals from National Pension System (NPS) will not attract tax. According to the proposed changes, NPS subscribers can withdraw 25 per cent of their contribution to the corpus for emergencies before retirement. Remember that withdrawal of 40 per cent of the corpus is tax-free on retirement.

10) Aadhaar number will be a must while applying for PAN as well as filing of income tax returns from July 1. To curb black money, the limit on cash transactions has been set at Rs. 2 lakh. The Finance Bill had originally proposed the cap at Rs. 3 lakh. If a person receives any sum in contravention of the tax law, he/she will be liable to pay, by way of penalty, a sum equal to the amount.