India’s October 1 changes: What took effect and what did not
October 1, 2026, brought several changes in India, but they do not apply to every household or every bank account. The practical question is which rule applies to you—and whether you need to act now. Here is what took effect, alongside two widely discussed October developments that should not be mistaken for new October 1 charges.
Subsidised LPG: Check your Aadhaar authentication
Domestic LPG customers must have completed biometric Aadhaar authentication to book refills at the regulated retail selling price with any applicable subsidy from October 1. Customers who have already completed it need not repeat the process. The petroleum ministry said nearly nine in ten active domestic consumers had done so by September 19.
If you have not authenticated, ask your distributor to check your status. Authentication can be completed at the distributor’s showroom, during a delivery or through the relevant oil company’s app. Completing it enables subsidised refill booking again. The ministry says customers unwilling or unable to authenticate may instead register that choice through their oil company’s service channels and obtain available 5 kg or 10 kg cylinders at market price, without subsidy. That is different from saying an unauthenticated household automatically loses its gas connection.
SBI: Two changes, for different customers
State Bank of India salary-package account holders now receive five free transactions a month at other banks’ ATMs, down from ten. Cash withdrawals and non-financial transactions, such as balance enquiries, both count. Beyond the allowance, the listed charges remain ₹23 plus GST for a cash withdrawal and ₹11 plus GST for a non-financial transaction. SBI says this reduction does not change the allowance for its other account categories or transactions at its own ATMs.
A separate notice concerns SBI Basic Savings Bank Deposit accounts. Four cash withdrawals a month remain free; subsequent withdrawals cost ₹15 plus GST each. The count includes withdrawals across channels, including branches and ATMs—not four free withdrawals at each. Customer-initiated digital transfers remain free under that notice. Check your account type before assuming either change applies to you, and use your transaction history to track the monthly count.
Large deposits: Better rate disclosure, not an automatic raise
Reserve Bank of India directions effective October 1 require commercial banks to publish their bulk-deposit interest-rate schedules on their websites each business day at 10 a.m., with a ten-minute grace period. Rates for comparable deposits accepted on the same date are generally to be applied consistently across branches, subject to specified differences linked to banks’ liquidity treatment.
This chiefly matters to people or organisations placing large fixed deposits. It does not itself increase the rate on an existing deposit or reset ordinary retail FD rates. Before placing a qualifying large deposit, compare the bank’s published rate for the amount and tenure you want, and confirm the rate that will apply when the deposit is booked.
NPS fees: Review the service charge
A pension regulator schedule for point-of-presence providers takes effect on October 1 across National Pension System and NPS Lite schemes. It provides for a ₹200 one-time onboarding charge per new retirement account number and an annual charge generally set at 0.20% of assets for applicable non-dormant accounts, with taxes extra. A lower onboarding charge may apply to certain fully digital enrolments.
The ₹200 figure should not be described as a fee invented on October 1: it appeared in an earlier, narrower schedule. The new schedule changes its scope and charging arrangements. If you are opening an account or reviewing deductions from an existing one, ask your NPS provider for the charges applicable to your scheme and enrolment method.
Property bought from a non-resident: Less paperwork, not less TDS
From October 1, a resident individual or Hindu undivided family buying immovable property from a non-resident seller need not obtain a separate Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number solely for that transaction. The buyer can use a PAN-based process to deposit and report tax deducted at source. The obligation to assess, deduct and pay the correct TDS has not disappeared. Buyers should establish the seller’s tax-residence status and check the applicable deduction and filing requirements before making a payment, particularly if a deal spans September and October.
Delayed birth and death registrations: A new dividing line
An amendment effective October 1 changes the authority needed when a birth or death is reported more than a year late. For a delay of more than one year but no more than two years, registration requires an order from a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or authorised executive magistrate. After two years, an order from a first-class judicial magistrate is required. Families dealing with an old, unregistered event should contact the local registrar to establish which procedure applies; this is not a new requirement for every birth or death certificate.
What is not an October 1 charge
The announced merchant discount rate on specified UPI payments above ₹2,000 is due to start on October 15, 2026, not October 1. It is a merchant-side payment charge, not a fee imposed on customers for sending money. Person-to-person transfers, merchant payments up to ₹2,000 and qualifying small-merchant transactions remain outside it. Consumers do not need to change how they pay today.
Taxpayers subject to audit should also distinguish a deadline extension from a new tax rule: for the affected assessment-year 2026–27 cases, the tax-audit report deadline moved to October 21 and the income-tax return deadline to November 21. Check with your tax professional whether your filing falls in that group rather than assuming those dates apply to every return.
