In light of a recent advisory issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), insurance companies have announced plans to extend their office hours on Sunday, March 31. The move aims to alleviate any potential inconvenience to policyholders as the financial year 2023-24 draws to a close.
Recognizing the significance of March 31, which falls on a Sunday this year and serves as the end of the financial year, the regulatory body has urged insurers to ensure their branches remain operational on both March 30 and 31, 2024.
According to a communication from the IRDAI, the advisory emphasizes the importance of maintaining normal working hours on these critical dates to mitigate any difficulties faced by policyholders.
The insurance regulatory body has stressed the significance of insurers acknowledging the advisory, emphasizing the special arrangement initiated by the IRDAI to extend branch operations over the upcoming weekend. Furthermore, the IRDAI has appealed to insurers to ensure sufficient publicity for this initiative.
LIC has announced that its offices will operate as usual on March 30 and March 31, adhering to regular working hours. The corporation has assured that offices across its zones and divisions will be open to facilitate normal business operations during this time.
As per a recent notification from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), banks are urged to maintain operational status and ensure functionality of their branches on Sunday, March 31. The RBI’s directive specifies that banks dealing with government-related transactions must remain open during regular working hours on this day.
Quoting the notification, the RBI emphasized, “The government of India has made a request to keep all branches of the banks dealing with Government receipts and payments open for transactions on March 31, 2024 (Sunday) so as to account for all the government transactions relating to receipts and payments in the FY2023-24 itself.”
Additionally, the advisory from the RBI instructed, “Accordingly, agency banks are advised to keep all their branches dealing with government business open on March 31, 2024 (Sunday).”
Despite the long weekend at the end of March, the Income-Tax department has opted to keep its offices operational on March 31. This decision aims to assist individuals in meeting their tax obligations and addressing any pending tax-related tasks.
In a notice issued on March 18, the Income-Tax department emphasized, “To facilitate the completion of pending departmental work, all Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on 29th, 30th, and 31st March 2024.” Therefore, taxpayers are encouraged to utilize this opportunity to fulfill their tax responsibilities.