April 1 Financial Changes
A round‑up flags 10 finance, tax and banking rule changes taking effect April 1 that will directly affect consumer finances—worth auditing client‑facing materials before those rules land. Firms should update client communications to reflect any new tax or banking thresholds. (livemint.com)
The Income‑tax Act, 2025 formally replaces the Income‑tax Act, 1961 on April 1, 2026 and consolidates the previous “Assessment Year/Previous Year” terminology into a single “Tax Year.” (livemint.com) The revised Section 87A rebate under the new Act raises the threshold so individuals with taxable income up to ₹12 lakh will pay zero tax under the reworked regime from Tax Year 2026‑27. (cleartax.in) Form 16 and Form 16A are being renumbered as Form 130 and Form 131 respectively from April 1, 2026 as part of a broader overhaul that reduces nearly 399 old tax forms to roughly 190 new forms under the Income‑tax Rules, 2026. (taxguru.in) The Union Budget 2026 raises Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives with futures STT moving to 0.05% from 0.02% and options STT moving to 0.15% from 0.10% (increases of about 150% and 50% respectively), effective for trades executed on or after April 1, 2026. (economictimes.indiatimes.com 1) (economictimes.indiatimes.com 2) Budget 2026 limits the capital‑gains exemption on Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) at redemption to only those investors who subscribed in the original issue and held the bonds continuously until maturity, with secondary‑market buyers now subject to capital‑gains tax rules from April 1, 2026. (cleartax.in) Major banks will change ATM and UPI rules from April 1, 2026: HDFC Bank will count UPI‑based ATM cash withdrawals toward monthly free transaction limits and charge ₹23 per transaction beyond the cap, Bandhan Bank will allow five free financial transactions at its own ATMs and three at other banks’ ATMs in metros, and Punjab National Bank has cut select card daily withdrawal caps to between ₹50,000 and ₹75,000. (businesstoday.in) (businesstoday.in) Indian Railways will extend the no‑refund window to eight hours before scheduled departure under revised ticket cancellation and refund rules, with the policy rolling out in phases between April 1 and April 15, 2026. (indiatoday.in) Budget‑linked fuel updates flagged potential revisions to domestic LPG, CNG, PNG and ATF prices from April 1, 2026, with Mint noting those changes were being considered against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. (livemint.com)
