13.1 Finance minister has announced in his budget speech that individual and sole proprietor assessees with a turnover upto Rs 60 lakhs shall not be subject to audit.  

13.2 Interest rate for all assessees (including firms and corporates) upto a turnover of Rs 60 lakhs shall be 3% less than the prescribed rate.  

13.3 The period for making the payment in order to avail the benefit of reduced penalty under the second proviso to Section 78 shall be 90 days for assessees mentioned at paragraph 13.2.

Audit exemption for small taxpayers, with reduced interest and an extended payment window for penalty relief. Individual and sole proprietor assessees with turnover up to the prescribed threshold are exempted from audit; assessees including firms and corporates below that threshold receive a reduced interest rate of three percentage points below the standard rate; and the payment period to obtain reduced penalty under the second proviso to the relevant penalty provision is ninety days for those eligible for reduced interest.