Now Aadhaar mandatory for opening bank A/c, financial transactions above Rs 50,000

New Delhi: The central government has made it a must to quote the Aadhaar for opening bank account and financial transactions of Rs 50,000 and above in a bid to curb black money.

All existing account holders have also been asked to submit Aadhaar to banks by December 31, 2017, failing which accounts will become invalid.

Income Tax department has also warned people against indulging in cash transaction of Rs 2 lakh or more saying that the receiver of the amount will have to cough up an equal amount as penalty.

The government had banned cash transactions of Rs 2 lakh or more from April 1, 2017, through the Finance Act 2017.

The newly inserted section 269ST in the Income Tax Act bans such cash dealings on a single day, in respect of a single transaction or transactions relating to one event or occasion from an individual.

"Contravention of Section 269ST would entail levy of 100 percent penalty on receiver of the amount," the tax department had said in a public advertisement in leading dailies.

In the 2017-18 Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had proposed to ban cash transaction of over Rs 3 lakh. This limit was lowered to Rs 2 lakh as an amendment to the Finance Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in March.