Petrol pumps to stop accepting card payments from tomorrow

With 4 major banks deciding to charge for these from today, dealers say they have no other choice

Latest News - Following a decision by four banks to levy a charge for every sale on a credit or debit card, two petroleum dealer associations have decided not to accept any card transactions at fuel retail outlets from Monday.

The decision covers a majority of the 56,000 outlets in the country. The four banks are HDFC, Axis, ICICI and Punjab National Bank.

"We have been informed by these four banks that we will be charged one% on all credit card transactions and between 0.25% and one% on all debit card transactions from January 9. Reports suggest even State Bank of India is planning to charge the same. We feel banks are using this as an excuse to improve their bottom line through transactions at fuel stations.

Hence, we have decided not to accept any card transactions from Monday," A D Sathyanarayan, president of the Consortium of India Petroleum Dealers, told this newspaper.

Dealers say a 1% charge would mean 30% of the gross dealer margin on petrol and 40% on diesel. "Our margins will be wiped out if we accept this. We have specific mechanisms to compute the margin and these do not have any scope for credit card merchant discount rates," Sathyanarayan added.

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From empathy to sops: 10 key takeaways from Modi's New Year's Eve speech

The PM announced several measures for senior citizens, farmers, pregnant women and home buyers

Latest News  -  Business Standard brings you its selection of 10 important takeaways from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the New Year's Eve:

Here are 10 important takeaways from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on the New Year's Eve:

1. The government will bear 60 days' interest on select farm loans.

2. In 2017, the government is bringing new housing schemes. a) On home loans of up to

Rs  9 lakh, for poor and middle class people will get 4% exemption on interest; b) on loans  of up to Rs 12 lakh, the exemption will be 3%
3. PM announced schemes for women: Rs 6,000 assistance for pregnant women.
4. "I am overwhelmed by the public support after demonetisation," said Modi.
5. Modi says honest taxpayers will get benefit.
6. Thirty million kisaan credit cards will be converted into RuPay cards, said the PM.
7. 33% more homes would be build in rural areas under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. 
8. The credit guarantee of MSME will be increased to Rs 2 crore from Rs 1 crore.
9. The government will guarantee loans up to Rs 2 crore for small traders.

10. For senior citizens, 8% interest on deposits of up to Rs 7.5 lakh for 10 years. 

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11 curbs on deposits above Rs 5,000: All you should know

The RBI said these restrictive conditions would apply on cumulative deposit of notes in a single account if it exceeded Rs 5,000

The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday imposed strict deposits curbs 11 days before the deadline to deposit scrapped Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in bank accounts.

In separate notifications, the finance ministry and RBI said over Rs 5,000 worth of scrapped notes could be deposited in bank accounts only once, after the depositor had been questioned in the presence of at least two bank executives on why he or she could not deposit the amount earlier. The finance ministry’s notification came on Saturday but was released on Monday. RBI’s statement was also released on Monday.

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Demonetisation Saga

Nov 8:  Demonetisation announced. Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes become null with immediate effect. Deposits of old notes for over-the-counter exchange capped at Rs 4,000. Deposits in accounts with incomplete KYC norms capped at Rs 50,000.

Nov 14:  Exchange limit increased to Rs 4,500 from Rs 4,000

Nov 15:  Indelible ink to be used on people exchanging notes to weed out proxies

Nov 18:  Exchange limit reduced to Rs 2,000

Nov 24:  Exchange of old notes banned, foreigners exempted

Dec 19:  Deposit of old notes exceeding Rs 5,000 limited to only once per account till Dec 30, that too after scrutiny

 

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Save Rs 900 on petrol bill: After cash pain, some cashless gain

With the govt providing discounts in some areas to push digitisation, consumers should try and maximise benefits

The government, a month after implementation of demonetisation, has decided to give a push to digitisation. On Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced a slew of incentives for people willing to transact digitally.

Making digital payment on fuel purchases from petrol pumps will be cheaper by 0.75 per cent. New policies bought from customer service portals of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and public sector general insurance companies will attract a discount of eight per cent and 10 per cent, respectively.

There are a number of other transactions as well on which the government has decided to give discounts, provided one is willing to take the cashless route. Says Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, CARE: “The government is almost following a placatory approach with these incentives, after almost forcing people to go digital in the first month. This is a good approach, as it makes people more comfortable.”

Some petrol pumps charge two per cent on credit cards, a deterrent for many people. Now, with the government giving a discount, many will be encouraged to use cards. “However, to encourage the use of digital payment more aggressively, I believe, the government should give such incentives in many other areas,” added Sabnavis.

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All you should know about New Benami Act

A new law to prohibit illegal benami transactions, under which up to seven years of imprisonment and penalty for those indulging in such activities could be handed out, would come into effect from November 1, the finance ministry had said on Friday.

In August, Parliament had passed the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, with the assurance from Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that genuine religious trusts would be kept out of the purview of this new legislation.

Related Article:   Staff crunch: Taxman may not be able to scan more than 700,000 bank deposits

“The rules and all the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act shall come into force on November 1, 2016. After coming into effect, the existing Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988, shall be renamed as the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a release.

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Here is a look at what the act is all about and how it is going to affect the people:

What is benami Act?

What isn’t a benami transaction?

What falls under benami transaction?

How it affects the people?

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Staff crunch: Taxmen may not be able to scan more than 7 lakh bank deposits

Hobbling with a paucity of staff, the income tax (I-T) department might find it difficult to assess more than 600,000-700,000 cases a year, though the government has suggested that people depositing a minimum of Rs 2.5 lakh cash in their bank accounts during the ongoing demonetisation drive will come under scrutiny.

On Sunday, however, the department warned people against depositing their unaccounted old currency in someone else’s bank account. The tax department said it had decided to slap charges under the newly enforced Benami Transactions Act against violators that carries a penalty, prosecution and rigorous jail term of a maximum seven years.

The demonetisation drive started on November 8, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing that the old series Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes would be illegal from the next day. Those who possess money in these denominations can get it changed for legal tender from their banks till December 31. However, those depositing Rs 2.5 lakh or more in the old currency would come under the scanner of the I-T department, the government has claimed.

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Demonetisation: Can India go cashless?

Days after the Narendra Modi-led government decided to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, the queues outside banks and ATM centres only seem to get longer. With people scrambling to exchange their old banknotes, the use of plastic money in the form of debit and credit cards is being touted as the way forward. Even the government is promoting cashless transactions to enable people to get by.

1. But how feasible is the idea of a cashless India?
2. Is the total number of cards enough for India to go cashless and still transact freely?
3. What is the current status of POS terminal penetration in India?
4. What do people use debit cards for?
5. What are the challenges in increasing the spread of plastic money in India?
6. Should India go cashless?
   

Economic costs of a money supply crunch and the difficulties in using plastic money on a larger scale across a wider geography in India make it difficult for India to go cashless. Given India’s economic reality, telling people to go cashless might be like telling the poor to eat cake if they can’t find any bread.

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