While people tend to invest a lot of time and effort in evaluating investment avenues, the same cannot be said about the caution exercised during execution of the transaction. Even minor errors, many of them merely clerical in nature, could result in needless hassles or delays.
Here are a few mistakes you should look to avoid while executing various financial transactions:
Not investing in the same folio number
This is applicable if you are investing in several funds managed by the same fund house. It is important to make sure that subsequent investments are listed under the same folio as your initial investment.
For instance, if you hold units of SBI Magnum Tax Gain and are planning to buy SBI Magnum Contra units, you need to mention the folio number of the former, while making investments in the latter. Such a consolidation of all investments under a single folio will give you a better idea of your asset allocation, and also, reduce the paperwork — like multiple account statements — that separate folios may entail.
Not entering the core banking account number
If you opted for a direct credit facility for receiving mutual fund redemption proceeds and have furnished a non-core banking account number, you may have to face problems at the time of maturity. If you have not entered the same at the time of filling the form, you need to keep a tab on mutual fund account statements sent to you every quarter.
In addition to reminder about updating your account with a core-banking account number, it will detail the other information pending at your end. Make sure you supply the fund house with any other information/documents the statement may have specified, at the earliest. Also, ensure that the bank account number you have provided is accurate.
Delaying submission of ITR-V
Many tax payers have taken to filing their tax returns online, thanks to the convenience this mode offers. However, merely filing your return online before July 31 — the last date for doing so — is not enough, if you have not obtained a digital signature (DS).
In the absence of the DS, the procedure will be deemed complete only if you send a copy of the completed ITR-V (an acknowledgement-cum-verification form generated once you are through with filing your return) — to ‘Income-tax department — CPC, Post Bag No-1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore-560 100, Karnataka’ by ordinary post. Curiously, those sent by courier or Speedpost are not accepted. Most importantly, this is to be done within 30 days of filing the return online. If the same is furnished post this period, the e-filing will be considered invalid, resulting in the individual having to go over the return-filing procedure all over again.
Not insisting on a signed benefit illustration
Before buying a unit-linked insurance plan (ULIP), prospective policyholders must insist on a signed copy of the benefit illustration, which gives an indication of the returns and other benefits the fund will yield at maturity. It is mandatory for life insurance companies to provide the same. In addition, effective July 1 this year, they will also have to disclose the commission paid to the insurance agents in the document.
