Several rules related to your personal finance matters have changed from the first day of the new year, January 1, 2023. The updated or new guidelines are for credit cards, NPS, bank lockers as well as insurance policies. Take a look:
National Pension System (NPS) partial withdrawal
Starting January 1, the online partial withdrawal from NPS through self-declaration will not be allowed for government subscribers – central/state govt & central/state autonomous bodies. They will have to submit their request applications for NPS partial withdrawal to their associate nodal offices along with the supporting documents that substantiate the reason.
“With the abating of the pandemic-related difficulties & relaxation of lockdown restrictions, the issue examined after taking into consideration of the prevalent practices, circumstances and law, it has been decided to make it mandatory for all the Government sector subscribers (central/state govt & central/state autonomous bodies) to submit their requests through their associated nodal offices,” said the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
Bank lockers
The Reserve Bank of India, under the new bank locker rules, has mandated the lenders to provide customers with updated locker agreement. The central bank’s notification also stated that the lenders should ensure there are no unfair terms or conditions in the agreements.
“Banks shall ensure that any unfair terms or conditions are not incorporated in their locker agreements. Further, the terms of the contract shall not be more onerous than required in ordinary course of business to safeguard the interests of the bank. Banks shall renew their locker agreements with existing locker customers by January 1, 2023,” the RBI said in a notification in August 2021.
KYC mandatory for insurance policies
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has made KYC (know your customer) submission mandatory for buying policies from January 1. This means if you are buying health, motor or travel insurance policy, you must complete the KYC process.
According to the previous rule, PAN and Aadhaar were needed only in case of the claim being higher than ₹1 lakh.
Credit card rules
Several lenders have likely changed their reward point schemes, therefore, customers were required to redeem their points by December 31.
“Accrual of 10X Reward Points on online spends at Amazon. in with SimplyCLICK/SimplyCLICK Advantage SBI Card will be revised to 5X Reward Points w.e.f 01 Jan’23. Your card will continue to accrue 10X Reward Points on online spending at Apollo 24X7, BookMyShow, Cleartrip, EazyDiner, Lenskart & Netmeds. T&C,” SBI had said earlier, as reported by ET.
High-security registration plates
Installing higher-security registration plates (HSRP) and colour-coded stickers was made mandatory for vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, by December 31. Fines ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 will be levied in the case of failure to do so.
Car prices
Several auto makers have announced hikes in prices of vehicles, coming into effect from January. The auto companies increasing prices include Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki among domestic giants while Audi and Mercedes-Benz are among luxury brands raising rates.
Mutual funds
As per the SEBI MF rules, the applications to buy MF units will be rejected if a passbook copy or bank statement is submitted as proof of address for completing KYC. Investors may submit a passport, voter ID, driving licence, NREGA job card, among others. However, for Hindu-undivided family (HUF) entities, bank statements will be accepted for KYC.
