Complete these three tasks by December 31 or face problems!

The year 2023 is coming to an end. Preparations for celebrating the new year have also begun. But don’t lose momentum in the enthusiasm of new year celebrations to the extent that you forget essential tasks that you need to perform in the last month of this year.

Because, these tasks are directly related to your money.

If you haven’t performed  these tasks yet, do it now before any problems arise.

Let’s find out what these tasks are? Why these are crucial?

The first task is to update nominations.

The markets regulator SEBI has set December 31, 2023 as the last date for updating, adding, or removing nomination details in mutual funds and demat accounts.

If you don’t update your nomination details by the deadline, your account could be frozen.

This means you won’t be able to sell your mutual funds. You also will not be able to transfer funds between different mutual funds.

Similarly, updating nomination details in the demat account is now mandatory.

If you don’t want to keep a nominee in the demat account, you also need to provide this information.

“If you don’t update your nominee by December 31. You won’t be able to use the funds in your demat account for trading, i.e., buying and selling of shares. But how do you update the nominee in the demat account? Let’s find out

To update it, visit the official website of the National Securities Depository Limited,  www.nsdl.co.in,  click on Demat Nominate Online. Enter DP ID, Client ID, and PAN. You’ll receive an OTP on the registered mobile number linked to the demat account. After that, you can input the nominee details and e-sign through Aadhaar. Once you enter the Aadhaar OTP, you’ll be able to update details.

Similarly, to add a nominee in mutual funds, visit the CAMS website It is  www.camsonline.com. Select MF Investors, then click on Nominate Now, and then enter the PAN. After that, you’ll see the details of your mutual funds account. You can register, change, or remove the nominee by clicking on the account.

These are the steps for mutual funds or demat accounts. Apart from these, there are many other investments where you should provide nomination details.

Whether it’s the last date for updating the nominee or not, in financial products like bank accounts, fixed deposits, small savings schemes, insurance policies, employee provident fund, and bank lockers, you should add a nominee to all types of financial products.

Many times, people leave the nominee column blank. This is a wrong practice. Nominee is essential in any investment scheme. So that if the investor passes away, his funds can easily be transferred to the right people.

The nominee can be your legal heir or a close person.

If the nominee is not a legal heir, they work as an agent or trustee, obtaining funds on behalf of the legal heir.

Without a nominee, legal heirs have to deal with lengthy legal procedures.

Apart from nominee updates, there are two more tasks you need to do this month. If you haven’t filed the Income Tax Return or (ITR) for FY23 yet.

If you haven’t filed your Income Tax Return  so far, you still have a chance.

If a person was not able to file his Income Tax Return before the deadline, which was July 31, he can file a belated return by December 31 under Section 139(4). When you fill the online return for this, you’ll need to select “Belated Return filed after the due date” option.

In the remaining process, earnings, deductions, and exemptions are shown similar to when you file normal returns.

For belated returns, a fee is charged under section 234F of the Income Tax Act.

For income exceeding Rs 5 lakh, the fee is Rs 5,000. For small taxpayers, i.e. those earning less than Rs 5 lakh, the fee will not exceed Rs 1,000 .

Filling the return on time is wise; failing to do so may force you to forfeit tax refunds. You may be unable to claim business losses or house property losses incurred during the year.

Taking loans, using credit cards, or applying for high-premium insurance policies may pose challenges as you may have to show your ITR filings here.

The third task is related to bank lockers. If you use a bank locker for essential documents or valuables…

You need to sign the new bank locker agreement by December 31. Failure to do so may force banks to freeze your locker.

According to the new rules as implemented by the RBI, weapons, cash, or lethal items cannot be kept in the bank locker. Similarly, incidents such as fire, theft, violence, or robbery in the locker room due to the bank’s negligence will be the bank’s responsibility.

If there’s any task that you haven’t addressed yet, it’s better to handle it before December 31, or else, you and your loved ones might face difficulties.