Last 5 days to link Aadhaar-PAN, buy cheaper cars:File ITR with lower penalty more; get these things done by Dec 31

This month-end, meaning until December 31, is a good opportunity to buy a car. This is because companies are going to increase prices from January 1, 2026. Also, interest rates on small savings schemes may decrease. So, if you are planning to invest now, you can take advantage of higher interest rates. Besides this, deadlines for some other tasks are also ending. Complete these 4 tasks by December 31: 1. Opportunity to buy a cheap car until December 31: Past years’ trends show that companies like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, MG Motor, and Hyundai increase car prices from January 1 of every year. MG has already announced a price hike, while the remaining companies have not yet provided this information. Due to increasing input costs, MG Motor has increased the price of cars by up to 2%. Because of this, the MG Hector will be more expensive by ₹38,000. Apart from MG Motor, in the luxury segment, Mercedes and BMW have announced a price increase of 2-3%. 2. Interest rates on Small Savings Schemes may decrease An announcement of a cut in interest rates on small savings schemes may happen by December 31. On December 5, the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%. In such a situation, the rates of government savings schemes may also be reduced. Interest rates on Post Office Savings Schemes like Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, NSC (National Savings Certificate), Monthly Income Scheme, Senior Citizen Savings Scheme, KVP (Kisan Vikas Patra), and Time Deposits may decrease. The interest rate of PPF (Public Provident Fund) will also be reviewed.
Reasons for Rate Decreases? 1. When the repo rate decreases, banks get money cheaper.
2. This causes the rates of fixed deposits (FD) and small savings schemes to decrease. The government reviews the rates every quarter (January, April, July, October).
3. Link Aadhaar to PAN: People who obtained their Aadhaar card on or before October 1, 2024, must link it with their PAN by December 31. Failure to do so may result in the PAN becoming inactive (i.e., closed).
Process to Link Aadhaar to PAN What Problems Will Occur If You Don’t Link? If your PAN becomes inoperative, you will not be able to file Income Tax Returns (ITR), nor will you be able to receive pending refunds. You will also face difficulties in transactions related to bank accounts or mutual funds. 4. Refund May Be Stuck If Income Tax Return Is Not Filed If you have not yet filed the Income Tax Return (ITR) for the financial year 2024-25, you can file it with a late fee by December 31, 2025. Failure to do so may result in a notice and a penalty from the Income Tax Department. According to tax expert Chartered Accountant (CA) Anand Jain (Indore), if you file the ITR after December 31, your refund (tax to be returned) will not be claimed. The refund money will go to the government. If you file a belated income tax return for income less than 5 lakhs, you will have to pay a late fee of ₹1,000. If the income is ₹5 lakh or more, you will have to pay a late fee of ₹5,000.
Extra Penalty Will Be Levied on Filing ITR-U If you file income tax after December 31, you will have to pay more tax: Within 12 months: 25% more of the total tax.
Within 24 months: 50% more of the total tax.
Within 36 to 48 months: You may have to pay 60% to 70% more tax. ​