The order said banks will have to be confirm that the receiver of the payment belongs to the ST community, “and the payment as referred above is accruing or arising to the receiver as referred to in clause (26) of section 10 of the said Act, during the previous year relevant for the assessment year in which the payment is made.”

The bank will have to report such payment in the statements of deduction of tax, in accordance to the relevant provisions of the Income-tax Act. The payment made or aggregate of payments made during the previous year should be ₹20 lakh or less.

In a separate order, the Finance Ministry extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) by six months to March 31, 2022. The time limit for this was scheduled to end on September 30, 2021. The due date for completion of penalty proceedings has also been extended by six months to March 31, 2022.