Budget 2019: Govt gives incentives to push the country ahead on digital road

Budget 2019 made it clear that the Narendra Modi-led government is serious about encouraging the digital economy. It announced a penalty for use of cash beyond a limit, while introducing multiple incentives for cashless transactions.

To discourage the practice of making payments in cash, the government has proposed to levy tax deducted at source (TDS) of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ₹1 crore in a year from a bank or post office account. This will not be applicable to payments made by banks or post offices to the government, banks, banking correspondents or post offices, according to the Finance Bill.

Also, business establishments with annual turnover of more than ₹50 crore will need to offer low-cost digital modes of payment such as BHIM UPI, UPI, Aadhaar Pay, debit cards, NEFT and RTGS to customers.