Major Financial Rule Changes From July 1, ITR Filing, Aadhaar, Credit Cards & Passport Costs To Be Impacted

Mumbai: Several important financial changes are set to take effect from July 1, 2026. These new rules could affect millions of people across India.

Taxpayers, bank customers, credit card users, passport applicants and Aadhaar card holders may all feel the impact. Here are the key changes you should know.

ITR Filing Deadline

Taxpayers filing Income Tax Return through ITR-1 and ITR-2 forms must submit returns for FY 2025–26 (AY 2026–27) by July 31, 2026.

Missing the deadline may lead to penalties. It can also restrict tax regime choices and limit the ability to carry forward eligible losses.

Free Aadhaar Email Update

From July 1, UIDAI has made Aadhaar email address updates free for six months.

Usually, updating the registered email costs ₹75. This fee has been waived until December 31, 2026, for updates done through the Aadhaar mobile application.

SBI Credit Card Revision

SBI Card has revised reward point rules for select PhonePe SBI credit cards.

The changes affect PhonePe SBI Credit Card PURPLE and SELECT BLACK users. New limits on reward earnings and more non-reward transactions will apply from July 1.

HDFC Lounge Access Rules

HDFC Bank has changed airport lounge access rules for credit card users.

From July 1, cardholders will get three free domestic lounge visits per quarter only if they spent at least Rs 60,000 in the previous quarter.

This makes lounge access spend-based instead of automatic.

Higher Passport Charges

Passport services will become costlier from July 1.

The Ministry of External Affairs has increased fees for both normal and Tatkaal passport services in India and overseas.

Applicants should be prepared for higher costs while applying or renewing passports.

New RBI Protection Rules

The Reserve Bank of India has introduced stricter rules to prevent mis-selling of financial products by banks.

Under the new rules, customers mis-sold financial products will be eligible for a full refund and compensation for losses.

This aims to improve transparency and strengthen customer protection.