From LPG prices to GST: New rules that will impact you in 2021

Many rules from cheque payment, LPG Cylinder prices to GST filing have been changed since January 1. As these rules are linked to everyone's day to day life, therefore you need to know about these rules that will impact you in 2021.

To keep a check on banking frauds, the Reserve Bank of India decided to introduce the ''positive pay system'' for cheque payments. In this system, there may be a requirement of re-confirmation of the key details for the payments above Rs 50,000. The positive pay system facility can be availed by the account holders of their choice. Banks may think about making it necessary for cheques with amounts of Rs 5 lakh and higher.

The RBI has increased the limits from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 for contactless card transactions and e-mandates for regularly occurring transactions through cards and UPI. The move by RBI is to enhance digital payment. This will ensure a safe and secure manner, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that this will depend on the mandate and discretion of customers.

'Maruti Suzuki' India and 'Mahindra and Mahindra' have increased vehicle prices from January 1 to cope up with the impact of increasing input costs.

Famous messaging service WhatsApp has withdrawn support from some platforms from January 1. WhatsApp page has mentioned the operating systems that it provides support for and recommends using these devices: Android running OS 4.0.3 and newer; iPhone running iOS 9 and newer; and select phones running KaiOS 2.5.1 newer, including JioPhone and JioPhone 2.

You will be required to prefix '0' for making calls from landlines to mobile phones in the country. The telecom department has asked telcos to work on the required infrastructure in order to implement the new system effectively. This move will create enough numbering space for telecom services.

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made FASTag mandatory for all four-wheel vehicles from January 1, 2021, through a notification. FASTag will be mandatory for M and N class four-wheelers sold before December 1, 2017. The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 were also amended for the same. The notification regarding this was issued on November 6, 2020.

Google Pay is all set to kill the user to user payments facility on its web app and add a fee for instant money transfers in January. Till now, the customers were able to manage payments and send money over the mobile app or from pay.google.com. According to the recent notification of Google, the web app site will no longer work from January 2021.

"These charges and fees are specific to the US and do not apply to the Google Pay or Google Pay for Business apps in India," Google said in an official statement.

On the first day of every month, the oil marketing companies revise the prices of LPG on the basis of crude rates in the global markets.

The businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 5 crores will require to file only 4 GST sales returns, or GSTR-3B, instead of 12 ( now) from January, as per PTI. This change would impact about 94 lakh taxpayers, i.e. about 92 per cent of the entire GST tax base. Now, small taxpayers would be filing only eight returns (four GSTR-3B and four GSTR-1 returns) yearly.