In a move aimed at pushing cashless transactions and expanding its ambit of bringing more transactions into the formal economy, the government is learnt to be considering a cut in the current limit of quoting PAN number for cash transactions.
According to an Economic Times report, the government may reduce the threshold for quoting PAN for cash transactions from Rs 50,000 to Rs 30,000.
The report cited sources as saying that the threshold for quoting PAN details for merchant transactions can also be reduced.
Furthermore, the Centre may also announce cash-handling charges for cash payments above a certain limit.
It is believed that these measures will help the government maintain its momentum towards a cashless economy as there are concerns that easing of cash-withdrawal limits at banks and ATMs might take the economy back to prevalence of cash.
On Monday, the RBI raised the ATM withdrawal limit from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000 per day. However, no changes were made in the current weekly withdrawal limit which is of Rs 24,000 per week.
Also, for current account holders, the weekly limit on withdrawals has been increased to Rs 1 lakh per week from the current Rs 50,000.
The last enhancement in the daily cash withdrawal limit from the ATMs was made on the New Year’s day when RBI increased it from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500 per day.
