Income tax, GST, UPI, banking: 5 financial rules changing from April 1

Several financial rule changes are going to come into effect from April 1, 2025 onwards, impacting UPI users, credit card holders, and pensioners across the country.

1) New income tax slabs

A prominent rule change that will take place is related to the new income tax slabs which were introduced in the Union Budget 2025 , wherein individuals earning up to ₹12 lakh per annum are exempt from paying income taxes.

On top of this, the standard deduction of ₹75,000 makes annual incomes up to ₹12.75 lakh tax-free.

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2) New UPI rule for inactive numbers

Apart from this, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has now mandated that Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions from inactive numbers will not happen anymore.

This is to reduce the possibility of transactions taking place wrongly from numbers the telecom providers reallocated due to inactivity.

3) New credit card rules

Credit card holders will also experience new changes to reward points and benefits.

For instance, SBI SimplyCLICK and Air India SBI Platinum Credit Card users will see adjustments in reward structures while Axis Bank will revise the benefits of its Vistara Credit Card after the merger with Air India.

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4) Unified Pension Scheme (UPS)

The Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), originally introduced in August 2024 will also be implemented, replacing the old pension system and impacting roughly 23 lakh central government employees, with those having at least 25 years of service receiving a pension equivalent to 50 percent of their last 12 months’ average basic salary.

5) New GST security feature

Meanwhile, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework will also see new modifications, with a new security feature called Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) becoming mandatory for taxpayers accessing the GST portal.

On top of this, E-Way Bills (EWB) can only be generated for base documents which are not older than 180 days.

Also Read: Review GST framework: PAC suggestion to finance ministry

6) Minimum balance changes

Also major lenders such as SBI, Punjab National Bank, and Canara Bank will update their minimum balance requirements with customers who fail to maintain the revised balance facing penalties.