Express Money: Ask Us

Cheque truncation is the process of stopping the flow of the physical cheque issued by a drawer at some point with the presenting bank en-route to the drawee bank branch. In its place an electronic image of the cheque is transmitted by the clearing house,along with relevant information,which obviates the need to move the physical instruments for clearing.

How can I revive an old insurance policy,which I forgot to renew in the past 3 years?

—Neelam Pathak,Pune

In your case,the policy has ceased to be in force for 3 years; hence you are not within the grace period. An insurance policy can be revived within 5 years from the date of the last unpaid premium. To revive the policy,you need to contact the insurance company,submit a declaration of health from a recognised doctor and pay up the unpaid premia along with a late payment penalty.

Do I need to pay for my credit card statements? What is the notice period for changes?

—Suparna Chowdhury,Lucknow

The bank has to send a statement on a pre-determined date and free of cost. In case a customer complains of non-receipt,the bank is expected to immediately send a copy free of cost. Any changes in fees,charges,terms and conditions can be effected only after giving at least one month’s notice along with the monthly statement. Only when there is a change in interest rates and regulatory changes can the bank implement them from the date of announcement.

What happens in the case of an individual who does not have any taxes pending? Are they given any allowances on the deadline to file returns?

— Anil Pandey,Kolkata

This includes all such people who have either paid advance tax or have resorted to TDS and thus have no outstanding taxes to be paid up. This is a comfortable situation. One can file the returns by the end of that financial year without any penalty being levied. For the current assessment year one can safely file returns up to March 31,2013. However,filing returns beyond that date will result in a penalty of R 5,000 which is again at the discretion of the assessing officer.

—The expert is CEO,Bankbazaar.com

For your personal finance queries please email at expressmoney@expressindia.com