No new change in income tax regime from April 1: FinMin
New Delhi, Apr 1: The finance ministry on Monday said there is no change in the new income tax regime for individuals for the current fiscal year and individual taxpayers can opt out of the regime at the time of filing their ITR.
Clarifying on social media posts claiming certain changes in the new tax regime effective April 1, the ministry said, "There is no new change which is coming in from 01.04.2024."
A modified new income tax regime was rolled out from the financial year beginning April 1, 2023, for individuals under which the tax rates are "significantly lower".
However, the benefit of various exemptions and deductions (other than standard deduction of Rs 50,000 from salary and Rs 15,000 from family pension) is not available, as in the old regime.
"New tax regime is the default tax regime. However, tax payers can choose the tax regime (old or new) that they think is beneficial to them... Option for opting out from the new tax regime is available till filing of return for the AY 2024-25," the ministry said.
Under the new I-T regime, income of up to Rs 3 lakh is exempt from tax. A 5 per cent tax is levied on income between Rs 3-6 lakh, 10 per cent for income between Rs 6-9 lakh.
Income between Rs 9-12 lakh and Rs 12-15 lakh is subject to 15 per cent and 20 per cent tax, respectively. A 30 per cent I-T would be applicable on income above Rs 15 lakh.
The new tax regime was set as "a default regime" from 2023-24 and the Assessment Year corresponding to this is AY 2024-25. This can be changed by the taxpayer at the time of filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) by an individual.
Eligible persons without any business income will have the option to choose the regime for each financial year.
So, they can choose new tax regime in one financial year and old tax regime in another year and vice-versa, the ministry said in a statement.
The old tax regime which is still in force and offers a host of deductions and exemptions, exempts income up to Rs 2.5 lakh from taxes.
Income from Rs 2.5-5 lakh attracts 5 per cent tax, and 20 per cent for income between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. A 30 per cent tax is levied on income above Rs 10 lakh.
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Mumbai family deaths: FDA finds no watermelon vendor in area to check for affected stock
Mumbai (PTI): The Food and Drug Administration team probing the cause of death of four members of a family in south Mumbai's JJ Marg area have not been able to zero in on any watermelon vendor in the vicinity to check if the fruit had a role to play in the ill-fated incident, an official said on Thursday.
The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am, hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.
They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.
"The FDA team visited the house of Dokadia and collected samples of chicken pulao and watermelon pieces. After two days, the leftover chicken pulao had developed fungus growth. The team also tried to locate watermelon vendors to check for any affected lots," he said.
But no vendors were found in the area for the past two days, preventing the FDA team from getting samples, the official added.
The FDA has requested the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) to share the report on the food samples collected by them, he added.
A senior Mumbai police official said the force is waiting for FSL reports in the case, adding that questions on presence of sedatives etc in the fruit could be answered only then.
The statements of the kin of the deceased are being recorded to ascertain if it is a case of mass suicide, and it is being checked if the Dokadia family were in debt or distressed over some issue, the police official said.
