Reetu | May 4, 2023 |
Some Changes in Financial Landscape to be aware of this May; Let’s take Insight of it!
April 2023 was a busy month because it marked the start of the financial year, when several financial rules and regulations went into effect.
May, its successor, should be a more peaceful month. However, it will bring about a number of changes that will have an impact on your finances.
Continue reading to learn about the major money changes to be aware of this month and how they will influence your wallet. A lot is happening, from selecting for higher pension to tightening the behaviour of investment advisers and research analysts, and e-wallets to comply with KYC standards for participating in mutual funds to SBI card decreasing incentives to credit cardholders.
The deadline for selecting the highest pension option is May 3. You must decide whether you want a greater pension based on your actual pay.
The Supreme Court ruled in November 2022 that those who were Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) members on September 1, 2014 will now be eligible to opt for a higher pension by contributing on their actual basic wages rather than limiting the statutory wage ceiling (which is currently Rs 15,000 per month; a lower limit for many salaried employees).
This assumes that your actual wages exceed the statutory pay ceiling and that you have been contributing to the provident fund (PF) on your entire basic wage.
Employees who are eligible and want to opt for increased pension contributions must submit an application in the required form on the EPFO portal, together with the appropriate paperwork. The link is available on the UAN Member e-SEWA site.
The employer will validate the application after it is submitted. The EPFO officers would then evaluate the application form and contact the member-employee and employer if there was a data mismatch. The employee and the employer will each have a month to respond to such inquiries.
Since May 1, SEBI has required that information such as the name of the IA/RA as registered with SEBI, its logo, registration number, and complete address with telephone numbers be prominently displayed on the website, if any, notice board, display boards, advertisements, publications, Know Your Client (KYC) forms, and client agreements.
“Registration granted by SEBI, membership of BSE Administration & Supervision Ltd (BASL) in the case of IAs, and certification from National Institute of Securities Market (NISM) in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors,” SEBI has also mandated.
SEBI allowed the use of e-wallets for mutual fund investments in 2017 within the umbrella limit of Rs 50,000 for investments by an investor using both e-wallet and/or cash, per mutual fund per financial year.
Now, the capital markets regulator has mandated that, as of May 1, all e-wallets must be fully compliant with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) KYC norms.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has modified its advertisement rules to improve the behaviour of investment advisors (IA) and research analysts (RA) when releasing advertisements.
According to the code, these entities are not permitted to use superlative phrases such as ‘Best,’ ‘No. 1’, ‘Top Adviser/Research Analyst,’ ‘Leading,’ ‘One of the best amongst market leaders,’ and so on to convey any endorsement of the IA/RA’s quality or position.
Furthermore, in their communications, IAs and RAs are prohibited from using extensive technical/legal terminology or promising guaranteed returns to investors.
Furthermore, IAs and RAs will not be permitted to make any promise or guarantee of an assured or risk-free return to investors or to refer to their past performance.
The circular’s provisions will take effect on May 1.
The benefits on your credit card have been revised for Cashback SBI Card customers as of May 1. You will not receive cashback if you use this credit card to pay for jewellery, school fees, utility bills, insurance premiums, train tickets, gift cards, and other similar purchases. Apart from existing exclusions, the bank adds these categories. Furthermore, the maximum cashback that can be earned on online and offline purchases in a statement cycle will be Rs 5,000. In addition, the complementary domestic airport lounge advantage would be eliminated, discouraging frequent flyers.
The bank has lowered the reward points for online rent payment with the SimplyCLICK SBI Card and SimplyCLICK Advantage SBI Card. Until now, the cardholder earned 5X reward points for online rent payment transactions; beginning May 1, the cardholder will earn 1X reward points.
Are you planning to study in the United States this year? Then consider the slight increase in student visa fees. The US Department of State has announced a $25 (Rs 2,045) increase in student visa fees, beginning May 30. The student visa fee will rise from $160 (Rs 13,090) to $185 (Rs 15,135). According to the current USD/INR exchange rate, Indian students will have to spend more than Rs 15,000 in student visa fees after being accepted into a US university.
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