Coronavirus Fake News: Govt Clarifies That Financial Year 2020 Not Being Extended Till June 30

Refuting to the fake news being circulated in some sections of media, Finance Ministry said that the financial year has not been extended till June this year in view of the Covid-19 crisis.

Financial year has not been extended till June this year in view of the Covid-19 crisis. (File Photo/ AFP)

New Delhi: Busting the fake claims that Union Government has extended the current Financial Year till June 2020 in the view of ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in the country, Ministry of Finance on Monday stated that no such decision has been take by the government. Refuting to the fake news being circulated in some sections of media, Nirmala Sitharaman-led Finance Ministry, through a gazetted notification, stated that the financial year has not been extended till June this year in view of the Covid-19 crisis. "There is a fake news circulating in some section of media that the financial year has been extended. A notification issued by the Government of India on 30th March 2020 with respect to some other amendments done in the Indian Stamp Act is being misquoted. There is no extension of the financial year," the Finance Ministry said in a statement. Finance Ministry's clarification comes days after several reports and updates on social media platforms claimed that the Modi government had extended the current fiscal by three months to make it a 15-month financial year in order to help industry cope with the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis. These reports claimed that an official notification said the 2020-21 fiscal will start from July 1, 2020 instead of April 2020. However, Finance Ministry officials said a gazette notification issued late on Monday evening pertained to date of applicability of stamp duty which has been changed from April 1 to July 1. Industry has been demanding extension of fiscal year by three months in view of the economic impact caused by outbreak of Covid1-19. The finance ministry in a statement said amendments have been made to the Indian Stamp Act (ISA) by deferring the effective date of applicability from April 1 to July 1, 2020. To rationalise and harmonise the system of levying stamp duty and help curb tax evasion, the government had through the Finance Act, 2019, amended the Indian Stamp Act, 1899. Certain changes were to be effective from April 1, 2020. Through a notification, the revenue department said these amended provisions will come into effect from July 1, 2020. As part of the amendments, it was decided that the stamp duty rates levied by Maharashtra will be taken as a benchmark as it accounts for 70 per cent of the total collection. It was amended to state that the stamp duty will have to be paid by either the buyer or the seller of a financial security, as against the current practice of levying the duty on both. The government in January this year had deferred the effective date of applicability from January 9 to April 1, 2020. (With inputs from PTI)