Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday assured that the Reserve Bank of India has more than adequate cash for circulation to last not just December 30 but even beyond it.
“We were prepared. There has been no day when RBI did not dispense adequate cash to banks. Even today, RBI has more than adequate cash to last not just till December 30 but even beyond it,” Jaitley said at a press conference.
The finance minister yet again pitched for a shift to digital transactions, announcing small traders and businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 2 crore will pay less tax if they accept payments through banking and digital platforms.
The presumptive tax on digital and cheque payments will be 6% instead of 8%.
Jaitley said the government will continue to incentivise the shift from cash transactions as there has been a 300-400% increase in digital and e-payments.
After tightening rules for depositing old 500 and 1000-rupee notes, the finance minister said that no questions will be asked if any amount of scrapped currency is deposited in one go but repeated deposits may raise queries.
With nearly Rs 13 lakh crore out of the Rs 15.4 lakh crore worth of 500 and 1000-rupee old notes already deposited in banks, the government has changed rules to mandate that individuals can deposit over Rs 5,000 in old currency bills only once until December 30 and that too after explaining why it had not been done so far.
All windows for exemptions have been closed except for depositing demonetised money in bank accounts. Jaitley added that disproportionate deposits will raise red flags.
