Rule Change From May 1 2024: Canada's Temporary Worker Programme, Bank Charges And Others

Starting May 1, a number of existing rules will change, thereby impacting various aspects of daily life, which people need to be aware of. These changes encompass diverse domains, especially financial regulations that include increase in the charges of some banking services. Credit card users and those looking to make payments using a chequebook must also be aware of these changes, along with credit card users of certain banks who will have to pay higher amount as fees for paying utility bills.

Changes in bank rules: YES Bank is revising the minimum average balance that needs to be maintained in different variants of its savings bank accounts. From May 1, 2024, the minimum balance in savings account Pro Plus, Yes Essence SA, Yes Respect SA will be increased to Rs 25,000. Meanwhile, the minimum average balance in Account Pro Max will be Rs 50,000.

Revision in annual fees to ICICI Bank customers: The private sector bank has changed the charges of service related to its savings account. The annual debit card fees has been revised to Rs 200 in urban areas and Rs 99 in rural areas. Apart from this, customers will have to pay fee for taking a chequebook that has more than 25 leaves (at Rs 4 per cheque). Also, the transaction amount of IMPS has been fixed between Rs 2.50 to Rs 15 per transaction.

Credit card fees: IDFC and YES Bank have announced that they will charge 1 per cent GST for utility bill payments. While the limit is Rs 15,000 for YES Bank customers, IDFC has increased it to Rs 20,000 in a single billing cycle. The new charges will kick in from May 1.

Price of LPG gas cylinder: The price of these cylinders are announced on the 1st of every month and is fixed by oil marketing companies. Prices are fixed for 14 kg domestic and 19 kg commercial cylinders. In March 2024, days before the election schedule was announced, the central government had reduced the price of LPG cylinder by Rs 100.

Changes to Canada's temporary foreign worker programme: On March 21, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced changes to its temporary foreign worker programme, as part of its review of the immigration policies. Effective May 1, 2024, Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) will be valid for a period of six months, resulting in a shorter duration for foreign nationals to apply for a work permit. Additionally, the cap for low-wage temporary foreign workers in certain sectors will decrease from 30 per cent to 20 per cent.