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Relaxations during COVID-19

Summary of Various Relaxations during COVID-19 Virus Pandemic

A - Relaxations by SEBI

Relaxation from compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure requirements) Regulation, 2015 (LODR)

 

a. Extension of time limits of certain filings under the provision of LODR

Regulation Particulars Existing due date Extended Date
33 Financial Results (Quarterly) May 15, 2020 June 30, 2020
33 Financial Results (Annual) May 30, 2020 June 30, 2020
31 Shareholding Pattern April 21, 2020 May 15, 2020
27(2) Corporate Governance Report April 15, 2020 May 15, 2020
24A Secretarial Compliance Report May 30, 2020 June 30, 2020
13(3) Statement of Investor Complaint April 21, 2020 May 15, 2020
7(3) Compliance certificate on share transfer facility April 30, 2020 May 31, 2020
Circular Date- March 23,2020
52(1) and (2) Financial Results Relating to issue of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs),
Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares (NCRPS) and Commercial Papers (CPs)
Half-yearly May 15, 2020 June 30, 2020
Annual May 30, 2020 June 30, 2020
Circular Date- March 26, 2020
40 (9) Certificate from Practicing Company Secretary on timely issue of share certificate August 31, 2020 September 30, 2020
44(5) Holding of AGM by top 100 Listed Entities by Market Capitalization of 2019-20 May 15, 2020 June 30, 2020
 

b. Extension of time limits of certain filings under SEBI Circular HO/ DDHS /CIR /P/2018/144 dated November 26, 2018 for Large Corporate (LC)

Circular Date- March 23,2020
SEBI Circular HO/ DDHS /CIR
/P/2018/144 dated November 26, 2018
for Large Corporate (LC)		 Initial Disclosure that they are identified as LC April 30, 2020 June 30, 2020
Annual Disclosure of incremental borrowing during the financial year May 15, 2020 June 30, 2020
 

c. Other Relaxation under the provisions of LODR

Circular Date Particulars Regulatory Provision Relaxation
March 19, 2020 Relaxation of time gap between two Board meetings/Audit Committee The Board of Directors / Audit Committee shall meet at least four times a year with a maximum time gap of 120 days between two meetings. The current restriction of a maximum time gap of 120 days between two meetings shall not apply for the meetings held or proposed to be held between the period from 1-12-2019 and 30-06-2020.
However there should be 4 meeting in a year.
March 23, 2020 Cut- off Date for Issuance of NCDs, NCRPS and CPs based on available audited financial as on September 30, 2019 Date for Issuance- On or before March 31, 2020 Issuance of NCDs , NCRPS and CPs based on available audited financial as on September 30, 2019
March 23, 2020 Companies proposing to make public issue of Debt Securities. Required to give audited financials in the offer document which should not be older than 6 months from the date of prospectus. These companies are allowed to disclose unaudited financials with limited review report.
March 23, 2020 Companies proposing to make public issue of Debt Securities. Required to give audited financials in the offer document which should not be older than 6 months from the date of prospectus. These companies are allowed to disclose unaudited financials with limited review report.
March 23, 2020 Issuers who intend to list their CPs Required to submit audited financials which should not be older than 6 month These companies are allowed to file unaudited financials with limited review report.
March 26, 2020 Nomination and Remuneration Committee- Regulation 19(3A) These Committees shall meet at least once in a year. The Due date being March 31, 2020 The due date has been extended to June 30, 2020
The Stakeholders Relationship Committee-Regulation 20(3A)
The Risk Management Committee- Regulation 21(3A)
March 26, 2020 Standard Operating procedure(SOP) dated January 22, 2020- Imposition of fines and other enforcements actions for noncompliance with the provisions of LODR Effective date of operations is for compliance period ending on or after March 31, 2020 Effective date of operations shall be for compliance period ending on or after June 30, 2020
March 26, 2020 Information such as Notice of Board meeting, Financial Results etc– Regulation 47 of LODR Publications of advertisements in newspapers Exemptions of publication for all events scheduled till May 15, 2020

Relaxations from Compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI [Substantial Acquisitions of Shares and Takeovers (SAST)] Regulations, 2011(Circular Date- March 27, 2020)

 
Regulations Particulars Existing due date Extended Date
30(1) and 30(2) Disclosure of aggregate shareholding as on March 31, 2020 to the company and stock exchange by every person who together with Person Acting in Concert (PAC) holds voting rights of 25% or more / promoters together with PAC. April 15, 2020 June 01, 2020
31(4) Annual declaration by Promoter of the Companythat he along with PAC has not made any encumbrances, directly or indirectly, other than those already disclosed. April 15, 2020 June 01, 2020

Relaxations to RTA, Intermediaries & Market participants (Circular Date April 13, 2020)

 

A relaxation of 21 days, over and above the prescribed time limits for activities / investor requests / compliance has been provided to RTA, intermediaries and market participants in respect of processing of remat request, request for issue of duplicate share certificate, Handling Investor Correspondence / Grievances / SCORES complaint, Processing of Requests for Consolidation / Split / Replacement of Share Certificates / Amalgamation of Folios, Submission of half yearly report to SEBI, Compulsory Internal Audit of RTAs etc.

In the event of further extension of the lock down period as directed by the Government, the relaxation will be increased by the number of days by which the lockdown is further extended.

Relaxations from Compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Buy-back of Securities) Regulations,2018 (Circular Date- April 23, 2020)

 
Regulations Particulars Regulatory Provision Relaxation
24(1)(f) Further issue of capitalafter buy back Restriction on further raising of capital for a period of one year from the buy back period The period of one year has been reduced to six months

Relaxations from Compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 (Circular Date- April 21, 2020)

 
Regulations Particulars Regulatory Provision Relaxation
44(1), 85 and 140 Time period within which a public / right issue may be opened from the date of observation from SEBI A public issue / rights issue may be opened within twelve months from the date of issuance of observations by SEBI In case where the validity of SEBI observation is expiring between 01- 03-2020 and 30-09-2020, the validity of SEBI observation has been extended by 6 months

B – Relaxations by Ministry of Corporate Affairs

 
  • Under Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014, a company has been allowed to hold the meetings through video conferencing or other audio visual means from 19-03-2020 to 30-06-2020 for approval of Annual Financial Statements, approval of Board Report. Approval of prospectus, Audit Committee Meetings for consideration of Financial Statement etc to be approved by the Board, approval of matter relating to amalgamation, merger, demerger etc.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Rules_19032020.pdf
  • Spending of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund for Covid-19 shall be treated as eligible CSR activity. Companies may spend funds on various activities related to Covid-19 on account of promotion of health care including preventive health care, sanitation, and disaster management which shall be treated as eligible CSR spent.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Covid_23032020.pdf
  • MCA 21filing of any document, statement, return etc. - No additional fees shall be charged for late filing during a moratorium period from 01-04-2020 to 30-09-2020.
  • The mandatory requirement of holding meetings of the Board within prescribed interval of 120 days shall be extended by a period of 60 days till next two quarters.
  • No violation would be considered if the independent directors have not been able to hold their separate meeting in 2019-20.
  • If a director does not comply with the minimum residency requirement (stay in India for 182 days or more), it will not tantamount to violation.
  • Commencement of business can be notified within one year as against 6 months earlier.
  • Time period to create the deposit repayment reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-21 by 30-04-2020 has been extended to 30-06-2020.
  • Time period to invest or deposit of 15% of amount of debentures maturing by 30-04-2020 has been extended to 30-06-2020.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular_25032020.pdf
  • In order to provide opportunities to defaulting Companies to file belated Annual Return, Financial & other Statements, Documents and Returns for any number of years without charging additional fees, MCA has introduced a scheme named as “Companies Fresh Start Scheme 2020” which applies both to public and private companies incorporated under the Companies Act. It provides for condoning of the delay in filing the documents and granting immunity from prosecution for delayed filing subject to certain exceptions. It shall come into force on 01.04.2020 and shall remain effective up to 30.09.2020.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular12_30032020.pdf
  • In view of difficulties in complying with the procedures relating to transfer of money remaining unpaid or unclaimed for a period of 7 years in terms of provisions of Section 124 (5) of the Companies Act, 2013 and transfer of shares under section 124 (6) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the rules made there under, MCA has clarified that relaxation has already been provided in filing forms with MCA Registry without additional fee. Accordingly, various IEPF e-forms can be filed without additional fee till 30-09-2020.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular16_13042020.pdf
  • Companies have been provided relaxation for holding Extra-Ordinary General meeting through video conferencing (VC) or other audio-visual means (OAVM) till June 30, 2020 subject to conditions provided in the circular.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular14_08042020.pdf
  • Further clarification on manner of serving notice of EGM and other modalities to be followed by the companies while conducting the meeting has been provided in the circular referenced below. It has been provided that the notice may be served only through e-mail registered with the company or the depository participants.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular17_13042020.pdf
  • Companies, whose financial year (other than first financial year) has ended on 31-12-2019, can hold their AGM for such financial year within a period of nine months from the closure of the financial year (i.e. by 30-09-2020). The same shall not be viewed as a violation.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular18_21042020.pdf
  • Names reserved for new company (reservation allowed for 20 days) and names reserved for change in the name of the company (reservation allowed for 60 days), which is expiring any day between 15-03-2020 to 03-05-2020 would be extended by 20 days beyond 03-05-2020.
    http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Extension_22042020.pdf

C – Relaxations by Ministry of Ministry of Commerce & Industries – Foreign Trade Policy (FTP)

 
  • Current FTP, which was valid till 31-03-2020, has been extended by one year i.e. till 31-03-2021. Similar extension is made in the related procedure
  • Benefit under all the Export Promotion Schemes (except Service Export from India Scheme) and other schemes, available as on date, will continue to be available for another 12 month.
  • Exemption from payment of IGST and Compensation Cess on the imports made under Advance/ EPCGAuthorisation has been extended up to 31.03.2021.
  • Validity period for making imports under various duty free import authorizations (AA/DFIA/EPCG)expiring between 01.02.2020 and 31.07.2020, has been allowed extension for another six months from the date of expiry.
  • Where ever the period to make export is expiring between 01.02.2020 and 31.07.2020 under various authorizations, automatic extension in the export obligation period is allowed for another six months from the date of expiry, without payment of any composition fee.
  • Last dates for applying for various duty credit Scrips (MEIS/SEIS/ROSCTL) have been extended.
  • Extension in time has been allowed for filing various Reports/Returns etc. under the policy.
    https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1609704

D – Relaxations by RBI - Extension of realization period of export proceeds

 

E- Relaxations under Goods & Services Tax (GST)

 

    Input Tax Credit (ITC)

    Notification No. 30/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • As per Rule 36(4) of the CGST Rules, Input tax credit to the recipient in respect of invoices or debit notes that are not reflected in his FORM GSTR-2A is restricted to 10 per cent of the eligible credit available in respect of invoices or debit notes reflected in the FORM GSTR-2A. The Government has relaxed the above provision for the ITC availed in the returns in FORM GSTR-3B for the months of February, March, April, May, June, July and August, 2020. As per the relaxation, ITC as per books can be claimed for the aforesaid period without considering ITC as per Form – GSTR 2A. However, the ITC so claimed has to be matched and adjusted in a cumulative manner with Form GSTR-2A while filing Form GSTR 3B for September 2020.

    Form GSTR-1 – Waiver of late fee

    Notification No. 33/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • For the registered persons who fail to furnish the details of outward supplies for the months of March, 2020, April, 2020 and May, 2020, and for the quarter ending 31st March, 2020 in FORM GSTR-1 by the existing due date, the late fee payable shall be waived provided the person furnishes the said details in FORM GSTR-1, on or before the 30-06-2020.

    Form GSTR-3B – Relief in respect of interest and late fee

    Notification No. 31/2020 – Central Tax & 32/2020 – Central Tax both dated 03-04-2020

  • The due dates for furnishing FORM GSTR-3B for the months of February, March and April, 2020 have not been extended per se. However, relief from payment of interest and late fee will be available provided the due tax is paid by furnishing return in Form GSTR-3B by the date(s) as specified in the last column of the table below.
  • The lower rate of interest and waiver of late fee would be available only if due tax is paid by filing return in FORM GSTR-3B by the date(s) as specified in the last column of table below. If not paid then interest and late fees will be levied at the applicable rate without any relief.
Category of tax payers having aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year of Tax Period Rate of interest Condition of furnishing return in Form GSTR-3B on or before
More than Rs.5 crores February 2020, March 2020, April 2020 Nil for first 15 days from the existing due date, and 9% thereafter (Refer illustration below) 24-06-2020
More than Rs.1.5 crores and up to Rs.5 crores February 2020, March 2020 Nil 29-06-2020
April, 2020 Nil 30-06-2020
Up to Rs.1.5 crores February 2020 Nil 30-06-2020
March 2020 Nil 03-07-2020
April 2020 Nil 06-07-2020

Illustration of levy of interest and late fee for filing of FORM GSTR-3B for the months of February, March and April, 2020 for tax payers having turnover of more than Rs.5 crores in previous financial year

Period Furnished before or between Interest rate p.a. Late fee
February 2020 20-03-2020 to 04-04-2020 Nil Nil
05-04-2020 to 24-06-2020 9% Nil
25-06-2020 onwards 18% from 20-03-2020 At the applicable rate of Rs.20 or Rs.50 per day
March 2020 20-04-2020 to 05-05-2020 Nil Nil
06-05-2020 to 24-06-2020 9% Nil
25-06-2020 onwards 18% from 20-04-2020 At the applicable rate of Rs.20 or Rs.50 per day
April 2020 20-05-2020 to 04-06-2020 Nil Nil
05-06-2020 to 24-06-2020 9% Nil
25-06-2020 onwards 18% from 20-05-2020 At the applicable rate of Rs.20 or Rs.50 per day
 

    Due date for exercising option for Composition Scheme

    Notification No. 30/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • Taxpayers opting for the Composition Scheme for the financial year 2020-21 are allowed to file their option in FORM CMP-02 till 30-06-2020

    Due date for furnishing statement and filing return by Composition dealers

    Notification No. 34/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • The due date of furnishing statement, containing the details of payment of self-assessed tax in FORMGST CMP08 for the quarter ending 31st March, 2020 has been extended to 07-07-2020.
  • The due date of filing FORM GSTR-4 for the financial year ending 31st March, 2020 has been extended to 15-07-2020.

    E-way bill validity

    Notification No. 35/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • In respect of E-way bill generated with period of validity between 20-03-2020 to 15-04- 2020, the validity period of such e-way bill shall be extended till the 30th day of April, 2020.

    Other relaxation

    Notification No. 35/2020 – Central Tax dated 03-04-2020

  • Where, any time limit for completion or compliance of any action, by any authority or by any person, completion of any proceeding or filing of any appeal etc, which falls during the period from 20-03-2020 to 29-06-2020, then the time limit for completion or compliance of such action, shall be extended up to the 30-06-2020.

F- Relaxations under Income Tax

 
  • Last date of filing of ITR for FY 2018-19 has been extended from 31-03-2020 to 30-06-2020 and interestrate for delayed payment has been reduced to 9% from 12%.
  • On delayed deposit of TDS, interest will be lowered to 9% as against 18% up to 30-06-2020.
  • Aadhar – PAN linking date extended to 30-06-2020
  • VSV Scheme has been extended to 30-06-2020. No additional charges of 10% till 30-06-2020
  • Due dates of notices, intimation, filing of appeal, furnishing of returns by taxpayer etc shall be extended to 30-06-2020
  • The time limits for investment in saving instruments and roll over benefits for capital gains also extended to 30-06-2020
  • Vide an order dated 24-04-2020, CBDT has deferred the reporting requirements of GAAR (Clause 30C) and GST (Clause 44) in Form 3CD (Tax Audit Report) till 31-03-2021.

G – Relaxations under Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code

 
 
 
 
DISCLAIMER
This summary lists some of the important relaxations announced by the Government from time to time due to Covid-19. While care has been taken in the preparation of this document it might contain errors for which we should not be held responsible.
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