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  THE FINANCE BILL, 2026 FAQ KEY FEATURES OF BUDGET 2026 MEMORANDUM EXPLAINING THE PROVISIONS IN THE FINANCE BILL,2026

  The Budget has proposed to reduce the tax collected at source (TCS) for self-funded education and medical purposes abroad under the liberalised remittance scheme from 5% to 2%. However, the TCS rate for other purposes will continue at 20%. Govt had last year exempted remittances for education from TCS where such remittance is from a loan taken from a specified financial institution. The finance minister has also proposed to reduce TCS on overseas tour packages to 2%. Currently, TCS for such expenditure is levied at a rate of 5% (for remittances up to Rs 10 lakh) and 20% (for remittances beyond Rs 10 lakh). The move will boost foreign travel. Under the liberalised remittance scheme, all resident individuals, including minors, are allowed to freely remit up to $250,000 in a financial year without seeking prior approval from RBI. This enables an individual to send money to a child studying overseas for education, make an investment or take a vacation. Govt’s decision to slash TCS on...

  Tightened tax rules for sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) will arrow the scope of who canclaim capital gains exemption. The budget decisionsignals discomfort with SGBs eing used as a tax arbitrageinstrument rather than as along-term savings product.The Finance Bill 2026, presented on February 1, proposed amending the Incometax Act to clarify that theexemption will be availableonly to investors who subscribed to SGBs at thetime oforiginal issuance and holdthem continuously untilredemption on maturity(usually eight years). Premature redemption, even afterthe completion of the prescribed lock-in period, shallnot be eligible for exemption.The change, effective April 1,applies from tax year 2026-27and removes ambiguityaround secondary markettransactions.So far, gains from SGB saleswere exempt if they were held till maturity, irrespective ofhow long the bond was held orwhether it was bought in theprimary issue or from thesecondary market. “Only theprimary investor who continues to hold until...

  The budget has proposed a major reset in the taxation of share buybacks, shifting them from being treated as ‘deemed dividends’ back to capital gains. Under the proposal, buyback proceeds for individual shareholders will be taxed at 12.5%, significantly lower than the current slab-based rate of up to 30%. Tax treatment for promoters has also been rationalised: foreign promoters will face a 30% levy, while Indian promoters will continue to be taxed at 22%. Tax experts said the change corrects a distortion in equity taxation and restores buybacks as a more efficient capital-return mechanism. “With effect from October 2024, buyback proceeds were treated as dividends, taxed at regular rates, while the cost of acquisition was recognised separately as a capital loss. Less than 18 months later, the old system has been restored, but with added complexity—distinguishing between promoters, who do not get concessional rates, and non-promoter shareholders, who benefit from the lower capital ...

  Individuals who missed reporting small funds in foreign bank accounts, and other overseas assets like stock options or an apartment in their tax returns can now breathe easy. Under a one-time, six-month mini amnesty window announced in the budget, they can get the taxman off their backs for a fee of `1 lakh for assets up to `5 crore, as long as these were acquired with disclosed earnings. And where the source of funds is not revealed, a person can come clean by forking out 60% of the value of assets up to `1 crore. Over the years, tax officials have knocked on the doors of hundreds of residentswho remitted tax-paid moneythrough banking channels underthe Reserve Bank’s liberalised remittance scheme for failing to report overseas assets. Some werepulled up for offshore securitiesand properties bought when theywere working abroad as NRIs. Besides a hefty fine of `10 lakh,the black money law allows the income tax department to initiate prosecution gainst errant NRIs. While the big fi...

  Buying property from an NRI? Worried about obtaining TAN? Not anymore.To relax the compliance burden, the Budget has proposed that resident individuals and HUFs need not have a Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) if they are purchasing a property from a non-resident Indian (NRI). The amendment will take effect from Oct 1, 2026. Under the proposed framework, resident individuals or HUFs can report the tax deducted at source (TDS) by quoting PAN, as is done when the transactions are between two residents. Presently, if a person buys an immovable property from a resident seller, the person is not required to obtain TAN to deduct tax at source. However, where the seller of the immovable property is a non-resident, the buyer is required to obtain TAN to deduct tax at source. Ameet Patel, partner at Manohar Chowdhry & Associates, said this used to be a detailed process. “At present, if a resident were to purchase an immovable property from an NRI, there is no separate...

  FOR TAXPAYERS FOR TAXPAYERS GAINS | Time limit to revise I-T returns can be extended by3 months to March 31 with a small fee TCS on overseas package tours, foreign education and medical treatment cut to 2% 6 ‑ month window to reveal undisclosed foreign assets/income subject to limits and additional tax payment Minimum alternate tax snipped to 14% Decriminalisation, rationalisation of penalty framework under I-T Act Some small taxpayers can apply for online issuance of lower/nil taxdeduction certificate on their income PAINS | No accumulation of MAT credit from April 1. Accumulated credit to be set off only under new tax regime Tax exemption for disability pension only to those services retirees who had to prematurely quit due to the disability FOR INVESTORS GAINS | Persons resident outside India can invest in listed Indian equity through portfolio investment scheme, individual limitraised from 5% to 10%, overall cap from 10% to 24% No need to obtain TAN for TDS if buyingproperty ...

  Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Wednesday asked the Reserve Bank staff to persist with regulatory calibrations and sharpen supervision in the new year.In his annual message to staffers, Malhotra said customer centricity and financial inclusion "must remain at the heart” of the central bank's work. “We must persist with strengthening the monetary policy framework, sharpening supervision, calibrating regulation, deepening financial markets, and improving payments and currency management,” Malhotra said in the message.The RBI staff must sharpen their knowledge, enhance their analytical capabilities, embrace technology, and continuously make improvements in processes, he added.Malhotra, a career bureaucrat who recently completed a year at the helm of the RBI, told the staff that their responsibilities will continue to expand in the new year, which will be marked by a rapidly evolving economic and financial landscape shaped by technological change, geoeconomic shifts, and rising publ...

  India's robust growth numbers for the September quarter are raising questions about the need for lower rates even as record-low inflation gives the central bank ample room to resume reductions later this week, analysts said.India's economy expanded at a sharper-than-expected clip of 8.2 per cent in the July-September quarter, prompting analysts to raise their full-year growth estimates to above 7 per cent.That means the world's fifth-largest economy is expanding at a pace close to its estimated potential growth of 6.5 per cent-7 per cent. Potential growth is the rate an economy can expand without sparking inflation.India's retail inflation, however, which slowed to a record-low 0.25 per cent in October, is expected to remain benign for months."The December RBI policy will be set against a backdrop of resilient growth and ultra-low inflation. The stellar growth numbers reaffirm our view of a pause," said Gaura Sen Gupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank....

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expects microfinance lenders ’ boards to review their spreads against the cost of funds and operating efficiency, said Swaminathan J , Deputy Governor, RBI. He also urged them to question outliers to ensure pricing remains reasonable and reflects actual costs, risk, and efficiency improvements so that no lender takes undue advantage of a borrower’s circumstances.Speaking at a MFIN event in Mumbai on November 14, Swaminathan said, “The Reserve Bank expects lenders to use the room provided by the 2022 framework in a way that strengthens borrower welfare and long-term portfolio quality.”The 2022 reset of the microfinance framework removed pricing caps and aligned rules across all regulated lenders. Swaminathan noted that lighter regulation is possible only if industry standards remain high. “Flexibility and accountability travel together,” he said.  He stressed that lenders must properly assess borrowers’ incomes, seasonal variations, and exist...

The government’s move to make retail health insurance GST-free has done more than just cut costs, it has changed the way Indians buy health cover. New data from Policybazaar shows a sharp rise in demand for bigger covers and comprehensive protection. What’s changed after the 0 per cent GST exemption The average sum insured has jumped 38 per cent, from Rs 13 lakh to Rs 18 lakh. Nearly half of all new buyers (45 per cent) now opt for policies in the Rs 15–25 lakh range. Only 18 per cent are sticking with smaller covers below Rs 10 lakh. Millennials and mid-aged consumers are driving this shift, showing growing awareness of health and financial risks. Seniors and smaller cities step up The surge isn’t just among younger policyholders or metro buyers: Older customers (61-75 years and above) have shown an 11.5 per cent rise in buying high-value covers Tier-II cities are catching up, those choosing Rs 15-25 lakh plans rose from 44.1 per cent to 48.6 per cent Meanwhile, small-cover plans drop...

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is set to announce the decision of its October meeting today. While a rate cut remains unlikely, the committee may revise the inflation forecast in today's meeting. Here are five key things you should know before the RBI's October MPC meet begins: 1. August 2025 MPC: A snapshot During its August meeting, the MPC retained the repo rate at 5.5 per cent after slashing it by 100 basis points (bps) in three consecutive cuts since February. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point. The rate cuts brought down the repo rate from 6.5 per cent in February. The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks.The central bank also revised its Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation projections downward due to softer food prices and easing global commodity costs. In its August MPC meeting, RBI maintained its stance as 'neutral.' The stance was shifted from '...

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lowered its inflation forecast for 2025-26 to 2.6 per cent, down from the previous estimate of 3.1 per cent. Quarterly projections are as follows: Q2FY26 and Q3FY26 at 1.8 per cent, and Q4FY26 at 4 per cent. Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for Q1 of 2026-27 is projected at 4.5 per cent.“The risks are evenly balanced,” RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said. The MPC noted that the inflation outlook has become more favourable in recent months, mainly due to a sharp drop in food prices and the rationalisation of GST rates. The decline in overall inflation is largely driven by lower food inflation, supported by better supply conditions and government measures to manage the supply chain efficiently. The recent GST rate adjustments are expected to bring down the prices of several items in the CPI basket. As a result, overall inflation is likely to be softer than the August projection, mainly because of the GST cuts and lower food prices.Malhotra said...

  It’s not just humans who suffer from cognitive biases; markets do too. Interestingly, different financial markets exhibit distinct biases, each interpreting events through its own prism of prejudice. Take the recent announcements on GST reforms: equity markets have chosen to view them through the lens of growth, while bond and currency markets are focusing on potential macroeconomic risks—fiscal pressures and current account challenges. So, which lens captures the true pulse?Equity markets may be right in expecting GST reforms to revive consumption, which has remained lacklustre for a while. But the key question remains—will this revival come at the cost of broader macro stability?It is well known that consumption stocks have rallied since the GST rationalisation announcement. But what about bond markets? What signals are they sending since this rejig was announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort?The signs aren't encouraging. Bond prices have slumped and yields have surged sinc...

  Lower investment announcements amid uncertain demand conditions, along with higher cash buffer, points to a cautiously optimistic outlook for private investment activity in the country, a study authored by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) staff in the August bulletin of the central bank said.“Looking ahead, the investment outlook remains cautiously optimistic,” the study highlighted.Having said that, the study also highlighted that India Inc has entered the current financial year (FY26) with healthier balance sheets, higher cash buffer, improved profitability, and greater access to diversified funding sources, despite global uncertainties.And a host of factors, including policy support for infrastructure, sustained disinflation, lower interest rates following 100 basis points policy rate reduction by the central bank, easy liquidity conditions, and rising capacity utilisation, are creating a conducive environment for private investment.As a result, the phasing profile of pipeline proj...