As the financial year draws to a close, taxpayers and businesses are keen to know whether banks will remain operational on March 31, 2025, which coincides with Ramzan-Id (Eid-Ul-Fitr) celebrations.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked all agency bank locations that handle government business to stay open for transactions on March 31, 2025 to make things easier for taxpayers, Monday is a public holiday in India on account of Eid.
Despite extended banking hours and special clearing facilities, taxpayers have been urged to complete their tax-related transactions well in advance to avoid last-minute issues.
Bank holidays in April 2025: Find out if banks will be open or closed on these days in your state in April 2025Initially, banks were scheduled to be closed in almost all states, except Himachal Pradesh and Mizoram, for Ramzan-Id (Id-Ul-Fitr). However, special provisions have been made to keep certain branches operational for critical transactions.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI)
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has directed insurance companies to keep their offices open on March 29, 30, and 31, to avoid any inconvenience for policyholders.
Income Tax Department Directives
The Income Tax Department, in a press release on March 26, 2025, confirmed that all Income Tax Offices across India will remain open on March 29, 30, and 31, to ensure timely completion of pending work. The statement highlighted that March 31, 2025, being a public holiday, could affect last-minute tax filings.
An Income Tax department press release on March 26, stated, “ The Financial Year 2024-25 closes on 31st March, 2025 (Monday), which is a Closed Holiday. Further, 29th March, 2025 is a Saturday and 30th March, 2025 is a Sunday. Therefore, to facilitate completion of pending departmental work, all the Income Tax Offices throughout India shall remain open on 29th, 30th and 31st March, 2025. This direction is issued for administrative convenience by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in exercise of powers conferred under section 119 of the Income-tax Act,1961.”
RBI’s special banking arrangements
As per an RBI press release dated March 17, 2025, agency banks dealing with government transactions will remain operational on March 31, 2025. The key highlights of these arrangements include:
All branches handling government receipts and payments will remain open for over-the-counter transactions until regular working hours on March 31, 2025.
Special clearing operations will be conducted for government cheque collections, with necessary instructions issued by the Department of Payment and Settlement Systems (DPSS), RBI.
The reporting window for Central and State Government transactions, including GST, TIN 2.0, ICEGATE, and State e-receipts, will be open until 12:00 noon on April 1, 2025.
