The government is expected to impose charges on handling cash in the upcoming Budget, ETNOW said in a series of tweets quoting unnamed government sources.
The move will be made to dissuade people from using cash to make payments and to promote cashless, digital transactions. Incentivising digital payments and disincentivising cash transactions has been on the radar of the government mainly to ensure that records of all the payments are maintained.
According to ET NOW, “The government may announce cash handling charges for cash payments above a certain threshold.”
Govt Sources: Govt could announce big disincentives for usage of cash in upcoming Budget. #BudgetExclusive
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive)
The government is also expected to bring down the threshold of cash transactions which would require quoting PAN card details.
The unnamed government sources said that the threshold may be brought down to Rs 30,000 from Rs 50,000 currently.
Govt Sources: Govt may reduce threshold for quoting PAN card for cash transactions. #BudgetExclusive
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive)
Govt Sources: Threshold may be brought down to Rs 30,000 from the current Rs 50,000. #BudgetExclusive
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive)
People are liable to quote their PAN card number while buying jewellery for purchases beyond Rs 2 lakh to ensure that black money isn’t used in these transactions.
While the sources did not reveal the extent of the charges, the sources said they would be used to fund development of new digital infrastructure in the country.
Govt Sources: Cash handling charges to be used to fund development of new digital infra. #BudgetExclusive
— ET NOW (@ETNOWlive)
This comes at a time when the government is pushing for digital and cashless modes of payment in the aftermath of demonetization which took out nearly 86% currency (in value terms) from the system. The move, according to the government, was to remove black money and counterfeit currency from the system and also promote digital payments.
Source: dnaindia.com