<h1>Indian Banks Extend Hours for Tax Payments Under 2013 VCES; Open Until 6 PM, E-Payments Until Midnight.</h1> The Department of Financial Services of the Government of India has requested agency banks to extend their banking hours and e-payment deadlines to facilitate tax payments under the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013. Designated branches are to remain open until 6:00 PM on December 31, 2013, and e-payments are accepted until midnight. Banks are instructed to accept VCES payments even if the taxpayer's registration number is not in the NSDL database, provided they present a copy of the ST-2 registration certificate. Banks are to update and digitize the information for NSDL the following working day.