Costly delay

Hesitation in announcing a financial package is inexplicable

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced a series of measures that essentially provide or extend a grace period for several payments and regulations. The idea is to ensure that there is no additional pressure on taxpayers and companies over and above the lockdown associated with the fight against coronavirus. By and large, Ms Sitharaman announced procedural moves such as extending the income-tax returns filing date, linking the permanent account number, or PAN, to Aadhaar, etc. There was a reduction in the rate of interest to be charged for delays in the deposit of the tax. Similar measures were