PAN-Aadhar linking deadline ends this month:Commercial cylinder prices reduced by ₹10, loans may become cheaper

Six key policy deadlines will come into effect this month, including Aadhaar–PAN linking, income-tax return filing with penalty, and the discontinuation of SBI’s mCASH service. Additionally, starting this month, the oil marketing companies cut the commercial LPG prices by up to ₹10.50. Moreover, in the upcoming monetary policy committee meeting in December, RBI may opt for another rate cut, possibly by 0.25% to 5.25%. Here are 6 major changes happening in December 1. PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline is on Dec 31 The Income Tax Department has set December 31, 2025, as the last date for linking PAN with Aadhaar. This rule applies to those who were issued PAN with Aadhaar enrollment ID before October 1, 2024. If you miss the deadline, your PAN will be deactivated. This will affect your ITR filing, bank KYC completion, loan application, and eligibility for government subsidies. What to do? Complete the linking today by visiting the Income Tax e-filing portal. The process is simple, provided you have valid PAN and Aadhaar numbers and are verified through OTP. You will also need to pay a penalty for missing the original deadline. 2. RBI meeting from December 3-5, interest rate may decrease by 0.25% The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will run from December 3 to 5. It is expected that in this meeting RBI may reduce interest rate by 0.25% to 5.25%. If this happens, loans will become cheaper and your EMI may also decrease. Earlier, RBI had not changed the repo rate for the second consecutive time in its last MPC meeting (September 29 to October 1) and kept it unchanged at 5.5%. In the meeting held in August also, there was no change in it. Repo rate cut 3 times this year, 1% reduction made In February’s meeting, RBI reduced interest rates from 6.5% to 6.25%. This cut by the Monetary Policy Committee was made after nearly 5 years. In the second meeting in April, interest rates were again reduced by 0.25%. In June, rates were cut for the third time by 0.50%. Thus, the Monetary Policy Committee reduced interest rates by 1% over three meetings. 3. December 31 is the last date to file ITR with late fees The last chance to file Income Tax Return (ITR) after the due date for Assessment Year 2025-26 (Financial Year 2024-25) is December 31, 2025. If you don’t file ITR, you may receive an income tax notice. What to do? Login to the Income Tax e-filing portal. Collect Form-16, bank statements, capital gains, foreign income documents. Choose the belated option for whichever is applicable from ITR-1 to ITR-4 and submit before 12 midnight on December 31. Inform your accountant now, as the server may hang in the last week. 4. Tax Audit ITR Filing Deadline December 10 The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) for tax audit cases to December 10, 2025. This is for the assessment year 2025-26. This is mandatory for small business owners, professionals, and those with turnover exceeding 1 crore. What to do? Contact your accountant and gather all documents. File ITR-3 or ITR-5 with Form 3CD on the online portal. If filed after December 10, interest will be charged under Section 234A. This change provides relief to taxpayers, but timeline compliance is necessary. 5. SBI’s mCASH service discontinued, this facility will no longer be available State Bank of India (SBI)’s popular mCASH service has been discontinued from today. This facility was for sending and claiming money through OnlineSBI and YONO Lite app. The bank had set November 30, 2025 as the last date for using this service, which will now be completely discontinued. This means if you use this service, you will now have to adopt methods like UPI, NEFT or IMPS. What to do? Immediately check your bank app and learn new transfer options. This will ensure no interruption in sending small amounts of money. Experts say that this change is a step towards strengthening digital payments, but users may face some inconvenience. 6. Commercial cylinder prices reduced by up to ₹10.50 From today, the 19 kg commercial gas cylinder has become cheaper by ₹10.50. In Delhi, its price has decreased by ₹10 to ₹1,580.50. Earlier it was available at ₹1,590.50. In Mumbai, it will now be available at ₹1,531.50, cheaper by ₹10.50. No changes have been made to domestic cylinder prices… No change in petrol-diesel prices ​