India is entering a new financial year from today, which will see implementation of a new income tax structure and other changes. The government has already clarified that the financial year is not going to change. Here is a list of the new rules what are going to take effect from today: New income tax slabs: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed new income tax structure for individuals willing to forego certain exemptions and deductions. Under the new structure, income of Rs 5-7.5 lakh will attract 10 per cent tax, Rs 7.5-Rs 10 lakh 15 per cent, Rs 10-12.5 lakh 20 per cent, Rs 12.5-15 lakh 25 per cent, above Rs 15 lakh 30 per cent. This will come into effect from today. Dividend Distribution Tax at the hands of companies abolished: From April 1, the dividend received by individuals will be taxed at the hands of recipients as per applicable slab. Changes for NRIs: The government has amended the Finance Act 2020 which seeks to change the definition of a non-resident Indian for income tax purposes. As per the new rules, an NRI, having income in the previous year exceeding Rs 15 lakh excluding the income from foreign source, who visits India for a period of 120 days or above will be a resident as per the Income Tax Act. Earlier, any Indian citizen or Indian-origin individual who left India and visited India would have been a resident if the period of stay was 182 days or more. Other changes: To rationalise and harmonise the system of levying stamp duty and help curb tax evasion, the government has also amended the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. As part of the amendments, it was decided that the stamp duty rates levied by Maharashtra will be taken as a benchmark as it accounts for 70 per cent of the total collection. It was amended to state that the stamp duty will have to be paid by either the buyer or the seller of a financial security, as against the current practice of levying the duty on both. The change was notified to be implemented from April 1, but will be implemented from July 1 due to coronavirus outbreak.
