The Central government has decided to revise the cash transaction limit to Rs 2 Lakh from Rs 3 Lakh proposed in the Union Budget 2017-18.
In addition to this, Aadhaar number is made mandatory for filling income tax returns and applying for a PAN card, reported The Hindu.
The revision of the cap on cash transactions was one of 40 amendments to the Finance Bill proposed by the Centre.
“In the official amendments to the Finance Bill, the government has proposed that the limit of Rs 3 lakh for cash transactions, beyond which it is illegal, be reduced to Rs 2 lakh. The penalty for violating this is a fine equivalent to the amount of transaction,” said Hasmukh Adhia, revenue secretary.
The amendment on cash transaction was proposed as a part of measures to promote cashless transactions mentioned in the Budget that was presented within three months of the demonetisation of high-value currency notes that accounted for 86 per cent of the money in circulation last November.
“The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money had suggested that no transaction above Rs 3 lakh should be permitted in cash. “The government has decided to accept this proposal. Suitable amendment to the Income-tax Act is proposed in the Finance Bill for enforcing this decision,” Arun Jaitley, union finance minister had said in his Budget speech.
