NEW DELHI: Even though Budget 2017-18 had proposed capping of cash transactions at Rs 3 lakh, the government on Tuesday moved a fresh proposal to lower the limit to Rs 2 lakh. This was among the 40-odd amendments suggested to the Finance Bill.
Amendments to laws such as the Companies Act, Employees Provident Fund, Smuggling and Foreign Exchange Act, TRAI Act and Information Technology Act have been moved with the aim of making the functioning of tribunals more efficient by merging the smaller ones and reducing their numbers from 40 to 12.
While presenting the Budget on February 1, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to cap cash transactions at Rs 3 lakh with effect from April 1.
“In the official amendments to the Finance Bill, the government has proposed that the limit of Rs 3 lakh for cash transactions, beyond which it is illegal, be reduced to Rs 2 lakh. The penalty for violating this is a fine equivalent to the amount of transaction,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said in a tweet.