The new financial year 2025-26 will start tomorrow i.e. from April 1. With the beginning of the new year, many rules related to mutual funds, credit cards, UPI transactions, income tax, and GST will change. These will affect investors, taxpayers, and common people. Therefore, if you are associated with mutual funds, credit cards, UPI transactions, or income tax, then you need to know about these changes in the rules.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India i.e. SEBI has changed some rules related to investment in mutual funds, which will come into effect from April 1, 2025. Funds raised under New Fund Offers (NFOs) will now be mandatory to be invested within 30 business days. If an asset management company (AMC) is unable to invest within this period, it can get an extension of 30 days with the approval of the investment committee. If the investment is not made even within 60 days, the AMC will be barred from taking new investments and investors will be allowed to exit without any penalty.

SEBI has launched a new category called Specialized Investment Funds (SIFs), which will be a category between mutual funds and portfolio management services (PMS). A minimum of ₹ 10 lakh will be required for investment in it. Only those AMCs can launch it, whose average asset under management (AUM) has been more than ₹ 10,000 crore in the last three years.

DigiLocker facility
From April 1, investors will be able to store and access their demat and mutual fund holding statements digitally in DigiLocker. This will reduce the problem of unclaimed assets and make it easier for the nominee to access the assets.

New tax slabs
The new tax slab will come into effect from April 1. Under the new tax structure, the government has increased the limit of tax free income from ₹ 7 lakh to ₹ 12 lakh, which will give a big benefit to middle-class taxpayers. The new tax slabs in the new tax regime will be as follows:

Income up to ₹4 lakh – No tax

₹4 lakh to ₹8 lakh – 5% tax

₹8 lakh to ₹12 lakh – 10% tax

₹12 lakh to ₹16 lakh – 15% tax

₹16 lakh to ₹20 lakh – 20% tax

₹20 lakh to ₹24 lakh – 25% tax

Income above ₹24 lakh – 30% tax

New rules for GST and e-invoicing

From April 1, 2025, businesses with an annual turnover of ₹10 crore or more will be required to upload e-invoices on the invoice registration portal within 30 days. Earlier this rule applied only to businesses with a turnover of more than ₹100 crore.

A Unified Pension Scheme will be implemented.

Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) will be implemented under the National Pension System (NPS) from April 1, 2025. This scheme will guarantee a fixed pension to central employees. Employees who have at least 25 years of service will get 50% of the average basic salary of the last 12 months as pension.

Changes related to UPI transactions

The National Payments Corporation (NPCI) has directed banks and payment service providers (PSPs) to update their database by March 31, 2025. Instructions have been given to remove mobile numbers that have been recycled or closed. If your mobile number has been closed under the rules of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), your bank and UPI app may remove it from their records, which may affect UPI services. Therefore, make sure that your bank account is linked to an active mobile number.

TDS exemption

From April 1, 2025, TDS will not be levied on sending up to Rs 10 lakh for the fees or other expenses of children studying abroad under the Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS). Earlier, 5% TDS had to be paid on amounts above Rs 7 lakh.

Credit card rules will change.

Many banks are also changing the rules related to credit cards from April 1. Reward points on Swiggy with SBI SimplyCLICK Credit Card will now be 5X instead of 10X, but 10X reward points will continue to be available on Myntra, BookMyShow, and Apollo 24|7. Reward points on Air India ticket booking with Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card will be reduced from 15 to 5 per ₹ 100 spent. No new milestone benefit will be available for IDBI First Bank's Club Vistara Credit Card.

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