From Student Visa Fees To Car Prices - 5 Big Financial Changes Effective From This Month

The new financial year 2023-24 began last month from April 2023. From the changes in new tax regime to removal of LTCG tax benefits on debt mutual funds, lots of financial rules and regulations came into effect from last month. But the newly begun month of May is no exception.

From student visa fees to higher pension deadline, there are many important financial changes that come into effect from this month.

Read on to understand what are the important changes that the month of May will bring and how it would impact your pocket.

5 Big Changes Effective From May 2023

1.Student Visa Fees To Be Hiked By US

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Are you planning to go to the US for higher studies this year? Then take into consideration the hike in student visa fees which will be effective later this month.

The US Department of State announced a hike in the processing fee by $25 for non-immigrant visas (NIVs), according to which the fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition-based non-immigration visas such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 (around Rs 13,000) to $185 (around Rs 15,000), beginning May 30th 2023.

2.Deadline To Opt For Higher Pension

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The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) issued a new set of guidelines mentioning the procedure for eligible employees to submit an application for a higher pension under the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS). Even employees who had not earlier applied for a higher pension under EPS but were entitled to do so can now do so.

And the deadline to apply for a higher pension under EPS was shifted from March 3 to May 3 2023. The deadline is however, further shifted to June 26th 2023.

As per the circular, in compliance with the Supreme Court's judgment, the following employees and their employers may submit a joint option under para 11(3) and 11(4) to the concerned regional office:

-The employees and employers who had contributed under paragraph 26(6) of the EPF scheme on salaries exceeding the prevalent wage ceiling of Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,500; and

-Did not exercise the joint option under the proviso to Para 11(3) of the pre-amended scheme (since deleted) while being members of EPS in 1995; and

-Were members prior to 01.09.2014 and continued to be a member on or after 01.09.2014

Thus, any employee who was a member of the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) as of August 31, 2014, and did not opt for a higher pension under the EPS, has the option to opt for the same on or before June 26th, 2023.

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3.KYC Mandatory For E-Wallets In Mutual Funds

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SEBI has urged mutual fund companies to make sure that investors should complete mutual fund transactions using KYC-compliant e-wallets. This will be compulsory from May 1, 2023.

¡°It should be ensured that all e-wallets are fully compliant with KYC norms as prescribed by Reserve Bank of India," SEBI had said in a circular. After making KYC mandatory for maintaining e-wallets in mutual funds from 1st May, industry experts reportedly believe that this step taken by SEBI will boost security and decrease the risk of fraud in mutual fund transactions.

Also, SEBI has brought in an updated advertisement code to further strengthen the conduct of investment advisors (IA) and research analysts (RA) while issuing any advertisement.

As per the code, these entities would not be able to use superlative terms such as ¡®Best¡¯, ¡®No. 1¡¯, ¡®Top Adviser/Research Analyst¡¯, ¡®Leading¡¯, ¡®One of the best amongst market leaders¡¯, etc., so as to provide any endorsement of quality or standing of the IA/RA.

Further, IAs and RAs have been barred from using extensive technical/legal terminology or promising a guarantee of assured return to the investors in their communications. They won¡¯t be allowed to also make any promise or guarantee of assured or risk-free return to the investors and refer to their past performance.

Also Read: SEBI Investigating Adani Group For Possible Violation Of Rules

4.New GST Rules For Businesses With Over ?100 Crore Turnover

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Businesses whose turnover is ?100 crore and above will now have to upload their electronic invoices on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) within 7 days of the issue of such invoice with effect from May 1, GST Network (GSTN) has said. It is a non-profit, non-government organization that manages the entire IT system of the GST portal.

Currently, businesses upload such invoices on Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) on the current date, irrespective of the date of issue of such invoice.

While issuing an advisory to the taxpayers, GSTN said the government has decided to impose a time limit on reporting old invoices on the e-invoice IRP portals for taxpayers with an aggregate annual turnover greater than or equal to ?100 crore, as per Mint report.

As per GSTN, ¡°To ensure timely compliance, taxpayers in this category will not be allowed to report invoices older than 7 days on the date of reporting." In order to provide sufficient time for taxpayers to comply with this requirement, this new format would be implemented from May 1, 2023.

This restriction will apply to invoices, and there will be no time restriction on reporting debit/credit notes, it added.

Further giving an example, the GSTN reportedly said if an invoice has a date of April 1, 2023, it cannot be reported after April 8, 2023. The validation system built into the invoice registration portal will disallow the user from reporting the invoice after the 7-day window. Hence, it is essential for taxpayers to ensure that they report the invoice within the 7-day window provided by the new time limit, the GSTN said.

Also Read: 'Pizza Topping Is Not Pizza, So It Will Attract A Higher GST', Says Haryana Appellate Authority

5.Tata Motors Cars To Get Expensive

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Tata Motors had announced last month that it will increase the prices of its passenger vehicles from May 1st 2023. The Quantum of price hike will reportedly be 0.6% on average but will depend on the variant and the model. Maruti Suzuki, Mercedes Benz and MG are among the other automakers that have already hiked car prices this year.

Tata Motors had mentioned that it has been absorbing a significant portion of the increased costs due to regulatory changes and an overall rise in input costs. As a result, it has been compelled to pass on some proportion of the higher costs to the end customer.

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