RBI to bring interoperability for e-wallets within the promised time frame

RBI to bring interoperability for e-wallets within the promised time frame

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to stick to its target of making digital wallets interoperable by April despite allowing payment companies two additional months to comply with its customer verification requirement, said two bankers aware of the matter

RBI extended its deadline to February for digital wallet providers to meet its full know-your-customer (KYC) norms, which it deems as necessary to eliminate any potential for misuse before allowing people holding different wallets to transact.“Though there are a few details that need to be worked out, the initial timeline promised by RBI should remain the same,” one of the bankers said on condition of anonymity as the matter is still under the purview of RBI. “We could see the regulator clearing wallet interoperability in the coming weeks

”As per RBI’s master direction released in October, digital wallets were to become interoperable within six months. This would allow users of mobile wallet ‘A’ to make payments to users of mobile wallet ‘B’ and subsequently to bank accounts as well. This will not only improve user convenience but also increase wallet payments to offline merchants as digital wallets would then operate almost like a payments bank account.

Prepaid cards are also expected to be made interoperable as part of this process.“There will be no distinction made on the basis of the form factor of payments. A prepaid card is just a form of making a payment and… (interoperability) includes both mobile wallets as well as cards,” said the second banker mentioned above. “The priority for RBI is to ensure that consumers are not affected.”

Both the bankers said full KYC and proper identification of users is non-negotiable for the wallet interoperability proposition.“An interoperable system can grow sustainably only when there is trust between the multiple stakeholders of the process,” said the first banker quoted above. “A few (prepaid payment instrument, or digital wallet) players will be ahead of the others since it is a free competitive market, but overall every player will be on a strong platform.” Until that happens, though, India’s Rs 12,000-crore mobile wallet industry stares at an 80-90% erosion of its user base as most users didn’t submit their details for verification by the February 28 deadline.

While there has been tremendous industry backlash against RBI for this, bankers say the increasing incidents of cyber frauds and the rapid growth of the payments industry compelled the regulator to ensure fraudsters are prevented from gaming the system. To minimise stress, RBI has allowed users 12 months to get their full KYC done and multiple ways to get their identification verified. This is expected to allow users time to decide for what purpose they intend to use a digital wallet and how many such accounts they need.

The domestic remittance business of the electronic wallet industry comprising companies such as Oxigen and EbixCash is also expected to be hurt. This industry caters to migrant workers, who have not shown much enthusiasm about getting their full KYC done, say industry executives.

Bankers say this segment of the population can use the business correspondent (BC) channel of banks to continue remittances, using the same agents who were doing this through digital wallets.“The BC channel brings with it higher reporting requirements and gives greater visibility to RBI and the overall banking sector,” said the second banker quoted above.

The Economic Times , New Delhi, 05th March 2018

New income tax slab and rates for new tax regime FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) announced in Budget 2023

Basic exemption limit has been hiked to Rs.3 lakh from Rs 2.5 currently under the new income tax regime in Budget 2023. Further, the income tax slabs in the new tax regime has been changed. According to the announcement, 5 income tax slabs will be there in FY 2023-24, from 6 income tax slabs currently. A rebate under Section 87A has been enhanced under the new tax regime; from the current income level of Rs.5 lakh to Rs.7 lakh. Thus, individuals opting for the new income tax regime and having an income up to Rs.7 lakh will not pay any taxes The income tax slabs under the new income tax regime will now be as follows: Rs 0 to Rs 3 lakh - 0% tax rate Rs 3 lakh to 6 lakh - 5% Rs 6 lakh to 9 lakh - 10% Rs 9 lakh to Rs 12 lakh - 15% Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh - 20% Above Rs 15 lakh - 30% The revised Income tax slabs under new tax regime for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) Income tax slabs under new tax regime Income tax rates under new tax regime O to Rs 3 lakh 0 Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh 5% Rs 6

Jaitley plans to cut MSME tax rate to 25%

Income tax for companies with annual turnover up to ?50 crore has been reduced to 25% from 30% in order to make Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) companies more viable and also to encourage firms to migrate to a company format. This move will benefit 96% or 6.67 lakh of the 6.94 lakh companies filing returns of lower taxation and make MSME sector more competitive as compared with large companies. However, bigger firms have shown their disappointment since the proposal for reducing tax rates was to make Indian firms competitive globally and it is the large firms that are competing globally. The Finance Minister foregone revenue estimate of Rs 7,200 crore per annum for this for this measure. Besides, the Finance Minister refrained from removing or reducing Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), a popular demand from India Inc., but provided a higher period of 15 years for carry forward of future credit claims, instead of the existing 10-year period. “It is not practical to rem

Don't forget to verify your income tax return in August: Here's the process

An ITR return needs to be verified within 120 days of filing of tax return. Now that you have filed your income tax return, remember to verify it because your return filing process is not complete unless you do so. The CBDT has reduced the time limit of ITR verification to 30 days (from 120 days) from the date of return submission. The new rule is applicable for the returns filed online on or after 1st August 2022. E-verification is the most convenient and instant method for verifying your ITR. However, if you prefer not to e-verify, you have the option to verify it by sending a physical copy of the ITR-V. Taxpayers who filed returns by July 31, 2023 but forget to verify their tax returns, will get the following email from the tax department, as per ClearTax. If your ITR is not verified within 30 days of e-filing, it will be considered invalid, and may be liable to pay a Late Fee. Aadhaar OTP | EVC through bank account | EVC through Demat account | Sending duly signed ITR-V through s

CA Online

Search This Blog