Sequence of Events
Relief Under Income Tax
CBIC provide Relief Under
Measures undertaken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Measures undertaken by the SEBI
measures-india
FSSAI extends date of annual/half-yearly returns filing for manufacturers and importers
Sequence of Events
- Janata Curfew – 14 Hrs – on Sunday 22nd March
- Monday and Tuesday also most states observed Locked Down or Curfew based on local administration or State Government Orders
- 21 Day – LockDown from Midnight of 24th March – i.e. from 25th March 2020 to 14th April 2020
- Announcements by
Finance Minister – 2 Tranches – 24th and 26th March 2020 Reserve Bank of India – 27th March 2020 MCA, NCLT, IBBI, etc - Extension of Lockdown by our Government on 14th April 2020 till 03rd May
2020.
Relief Under Income Tax
Press Release ID : 1607942 dated 24-03-2020
- Extend last date for income tax returns for (FY 18-19) from 31st March 2020 to 30th June 2020.
- Aadhaar-PAN linking date to be extended from 31st March 2020 to 30th June 2020.
- Vivad se Vishwas scheme – no additional 10% amount, if payment made by June 30, 2020.
- Due dates for issue of notice, intimation, notification, approval order, section order, filing of appeal, furnishing of return, statements, applications, reports, any other documents and time limit for completion of proceedings by the authority and any compliance by the taxpayer including investment in saving instruments or investments for rollover benefit of capital gains under Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act, Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act, Black Money Act, STT law, CTT Law, Equalization Levy law, Vivad Se Vishwas law where the time limit is expiring between 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 shall be extended to 30th June 2020.
- For delayed payments of advanced tax, self-assessment tax, regular tax, TDS, TCS, equalization levy, STT, CTT made between 20th March 2020 and 30th June 2020, reduced interest rate at 9% instead of 12 %/18 % per annum ( i.e. 0.75% per month instead of 1/1.5 per cent per month) will be charged for this period. No late fee/penalty shall be charged for delay relating to this period.
- Necessary legal circulars and legislative amendments for giving effect to the aforesaid relief shall be issued in due course.
CBIC provide Relief Under
Goods and Service Tax
S.No. | Notification No./Date | Remarks | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 01 | 15/2020-CT March 23,2020 | The time limit for furnishing of annual return (GSTR-9 and GSTR- 9C) specified under section 44 of CGST Act, 2017 for the financial year 2018-2019 extend till 30.06.2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
02 | 30/2020-CT April 3,2020 | Amendment in the CGST Rules so as to allow taxpayers opting for the Composition Scheme for the financial year 2020-21 to file their option in FORM CMP-02 till 30th June, 2020 and to allow cumulative application of the condition in rule 36(4) for the months of February, 2020 to August, 2020 in the return for tax period of September, 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
03 | 31/2020-CT 32/2020-CT April 3,2020 | CBIC provide relief by conditional lowering of interest rate and late fee for tax periods of February, 2020 to April, 2020
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04 | 33/2020-CT April 3,2020 | CBIC waive late fee for delay in furnishing the statement of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 for taxpayers for the tax periods March, 2020 to May, 2020 and for quarter ending 31st March 2020 if the same are furnished on or before 30th day of June, 2020. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05 | 34/2020-CT April 3,2020 | Extension of due date of furnishing statement, containing the details of payment of self-assessed tax in FORM GST CMP- 08 for the quarter ending 31st March, 2020 till the 7th day of July, 2020 and filing FORM GSTR-4 for the financial year ending 31st March, 2020 till the 15th July, 2020. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06 | 35/2020-CT April 3,2020 | CBIC notified that except for excluded provision, any compliance action failing during period from 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 can now be completed till 30th June, 2020 Excluded Provisions
The validity of E-way bill expires during the period 20th March, 2020 to 15th April, 2020, the validity period of such e-way bill shall be deemed to have been extended till the 30th April, 2020 |
Custom
S.No. | Notification No./Date | Remarks |
| 01 | Press Release ID : 1607942 March 24, 2020 |
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02 | Circular No. 17/2020- Customs April 03, 2020 | Custom board relaxes certain measures to facilitate trade during the lockdown period
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Measures undertaken by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Notification Date | Details of provision |
March 24, 2020 | No additional filing fees shall be charged for late filing during amoratorium period from 01st April to 30th September 2020, in respect of any document, return, statement etc., required to be filed in the MCA-21 Registry, irrespective of its due date. |
March 24, 2020 | Gap in Board meetings: The mandatory requirement of holding meetings of the Board of Directors of the Company within prescribed interval provided in the Companies Act, 2013 (120 days) shall be extended by a period of 60 days till next two quarters i.e., till 30th September. |
March 19, 2020 | Meetings through video conference – As per rule 4 of the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014 read with the Companies Act, 2013, the following matters cannot be dealt with in any meeting held through video conferencing or other audio-visual means:
On March 19, 2020, Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended the above rules, as per which, from the date of the commencement of the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Amendment Rules, 2020 till June 30, 2020, meetings on the above-mentioned matters may also be held through video-conferencing or other audio visual means. |
| March 24, 2020 | CARO extended: Applicability of Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020(CARO) shall be made applicable from the financial year 2020-2021 instead of from 2019-2020 notified earlier. |
| March 24, 2020 | Independent Directors' meeting: As per Schedule IV to the Companies Act, 2013, Independent Directors are required to hold at least one meeting without the attendance of Non-independent directors and members of management. For the year 2019-20, if the IDs of a company have not been able to hold even one meeting, the same shall not be viewed as a violation. |
| March 24, 2020 | Deposit repayment reserve: Requirement to create a Deposit repayment reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-21 before 30th April 2020 shall be allowed to be complied with till 30th June 2020. |
| March 24, 2020 | Deposit repayment investment: Requirement to invest 15% of debentures maturing during a particular year in specified instruments before 30th April 2020 may be done so before 30th June 2020. |
| March 24, 2020 | Commencement of Business: Newly incorporated companies are required to file a declaration for Commencement of Business within 6 months of incorporation in the form INC-20A. An additional time of 6 more months shall be allowed. |
| March 24, 2020 | Mandatory resident Director: Non-compliance of minimum residency in India for a period of at least 182 days by at least one director of every company, under Section 149 of the Companies Act, shall not be treated as a violation for the financial year 2019-20. |
| March 23, 2020 | Spending CSR funds for COVID-19 is now eligible as CSR activity - On 23.03.2020, MCA vide its circular allowed companies to use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending on measures to fight COVID-19. |
| March 20, 2020 | A web based form CAR (Company Affirmation of Readiness towards COVID 19) shall be filed by the authorized Signatory of Company's and LLPs. III. The form shall be deployed on 23rd March, 2020 and is required to be filed instantly i.e. On 23rd itself.
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| March 30, 2020 | Modifications in LLP Settlement Scheme 2020- Key Highlights:
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| March 24, 2020 |
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| April 8, 2020 | MCA issues clarification on passing of Ordinary and Special resolutions- Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued a circular allowing companies to hold Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) through video conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) complemented with e-Voting facility/simplified voting through registered emails, without requiring the shareholders to physically assemble at a common venue. The companies are required to follow below mentioned procedures, in case of holding of an, on or before 30 June, 2020 in addition to any other requirement provided in the Companies Act, 2013 (the Act) or the rules made thereunder.
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| March 24, 2020 |
MCA issues additional clarification on passing of Ordinary and Special resolutions- April 13, 2020
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| April 13, 2020 | Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued circular providing relaxation in filings of various Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) E-forms u/s 124 and 125 of the Companies Act 2013 r/w IEPFA(Accounting, Audit, Transfer and Refund) Rules Pursuant to MCA's previous General Circular allowing filing in MCA-21 registry without additional fees till 30 September, 2020, Ministry is further extending the coverage of its said General Circular by allowing relaxation in filing of various other IEPF e-forms i.e. IEPF-1, IEPF-1A, IEPF-2, IEPF-3, IEPF-4, IEPF -7 and IEPF-5 (everification of claims). |
Measures undertaken by the SEBI
S. No | Notification Date | Regulation and associated filing | Filing due date | Extended date | ||||
A. SEBI has decided to grant the following relaxation from compliance stipulations specified under the SEBI LODR: | ||||||||
01 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 7(3) - certificate on share transfer facility | April 30, 2020 | May 31, 2020 | ||||
02 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 13(3) -Statement of Investor complaints | April 21, 2020 | May 15, 2020 | ||||
03 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 24A - Secretarial Compliance report | May 30, 2020 | June 30, 2020 | ||||
03 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 24A - Secretarial Compliance report | May 30, 2020 | June 30, 2020 | ||||
04 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 27(2) Corporate Governance report | April 15, 2020 | May 15, 2020 | ||||
05 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 31- Shareholding Pattern | April 21, 2020 | May 15, 2020 | ||||
06 | March 19, 2020 | Regulation 33- Financial Results |
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07 | March 26, 2020 | Regulation 40(9)-PCS Certificate on timely issue of share certificate | April 30, 2020 (Half Yearly) | May 31, 2020 | ||||
08 | March 26, 2020 | Regulation 44(5)- Holding A GM by top 100 listed entities by market cap for financial year 2019-20 | August 31, 2020 (Annual) | September 30, 2020 | ||||
09 | Regulation 47- Publication of advertisements in the newspapers- | Regulation 47of the LODR requires publishing, in the newspapers, information such as notice of the board meeting, financial results etc. It has been brought to the notice of SEBI that some newspapers are not bringing their print versions for a limited period; some newspapers that are still printing are not accepting a 'e-copy' of the information to be published which acts as a challenge in ensuring compliance with this regulation. Hence it has been decided to exempt publication of advertisements in newspapers as required under regulation 47 for all events scheduled till May 15, 2020 | ||||||
B) Relaxation of time gap between two Board and Audit Committee meetings: | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 19, 2020 | The Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of a listed entity have been exempted from maintaining time gap of 120 days between two Board Meetings to be held between the period December 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020. However, the board of directors / Audit Committee ensure that they meet at least four times a year, as stipulated under regulations 17(2) and 18(2)(a) of the LODR. |
C) Conduct of Committee meeting: - | ||||||
S. No | Notification Date | Regulation | Requirement | Frequency | Due Date | Extended Date |
01 | March 26, 2020 | Regulation 19(3A) | The nomination and remuneration committee shall meet at least once in a year | Yearly | March 31, 2020 | June 30, 2020 |
02 | March 26, 2020 | Regulation 20(3A) | The Stakeholders Relationship committee shall meet at least once in a year | Yearly | March 31, 2020 | June 30, 2020 |
03 | March 26, 2020 | Regulation 21(3A) | The Risk Management Committee shall meet at least once in a year | Yearly | March 31, 2020 | June 30, 2020 |
D) SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (SAST Regulations). | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 27, 2020 | The disclosures filing under Regulations 30(1), 30(2) and 31 (4) of the SAST Regulations require shareholders to compile, collate and disseminate information of their consolidated shareholding to the company and the stock exchanges within 7 working days from the end of the financial year, 31 March, 2020. These report as per the 2020 calendar is required to be filed by 15 April, 2020. SEBI has now granted a onetime extension on the due date of filing the above disclosures for the financial year ending 31 March, 2020 till 1 June, 2020. |
E) SEBI relaxes compliance requirements for AIFs and VCFs- | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 30, 2020 | Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to extend the due date for regulatory filings for Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Venture Capital Funds (VCFs). The due date for regulatory filings for AIFs and VCFs for the periods ending 31 March, 2020 and 30 April, 2020 is extended by 2 months, over and above the timelines prescribed under SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 and circulars issued thereunder. |
F) SEBI relaxes compliance under InvIT and REIT Regulations- | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 23, 2020 | Due to the spread of COVID 19 virus, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to grant temporary relaxations in compliance requirements to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs). The Due dates for regulatory filings and compliances for REIT and InvIT for the period ended 31 March, 2020 has been extended by 1 month over and above the time lines prescribed under SEBI (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 and SEBI (Real estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014. |
G) Relaxations to listed entities which have listed their Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs), Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares (NCRPS), Municipal Debt Securities (MDS) and Commercial Papers (CPs). | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 23, 2020 | A) Relaxation to issuers who intend to list their NCDs / NCRPS / CPs Cut-off date for issuance of NCDs / NCRPS / CPs, if audited financials are available as on 30 September, 2019, has been extended from on or before 31 March, 2020 to on or before 31 May, 2020. B) Extension of timeline for filings under SEBI (LODR) Regulation 2015 for the Half Year / Financial Year ending 31 March, 2020 Initial Disclosure and Annual Disclosure for Large Corporate ( SEBI Circular HO/DDHS/CIR/P/2018/144 dated 26 November, 2018) A listed entity, identified as a Large Corporate (LC), needs to make certain disclosures to the stock exchanges, where its securities are listed. An Initial Disclosure, about their identification as a LC, has to be made within 30 days from the beginning of FY and an Annual Disclosure carrying details of the incremental borrowings done during the FY, has to be made within 45 days from the end of FY. Due date for Initial Disclosure has been extended from 30 April, 2020 to 30 June, 2020 and due date for Annual Disclosure has been extended from 15 May, 2020 to 30 June, 2020. |
H) SEBI relaxes certain compliance requirements for Mutual Funds- | ||
Authority | Notification Date | Details of Provision |
Securities and Exchange Board of India | March 23, 2020 | A) Relaxation in timelines for certain disclosures:
B) The access control in the AMCs dealing room, including call recording of deals, is temporarily relaxed subject to electronic confirmation by way of email or other system having audit trail are in place. C) SEBI has also extended the effective dates of implementation of certain policy initiatives notified via different circulars, details of which are as below.
Valuation of money market and Debt securities dated 24 September, 2019 - Due date of dispensing with amortization valuation extended from 1 April, 2020 to 1 May, 2020. |
Measures undertaken by the Reserve Bank of India
- Reduce Repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) by 75 basis points from 5.15 per cent to 4.40 per cent with immediate effect.
- Reverse Repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted from 4.90 per cent to 4.00 per cent with immediate effect.
- Bank Rate is revised downwards by 75 basis points from 5.40 per cent to 4.65 per cent with immediate effect.
- Reduce the minimum daily maintenance of the Cash Reserve Ratio from 90 per cent of the requirement to 80 per cent effective from March 28, 2020. This is a one-time dispensation available up to June 26, 2020.
- Reduce the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) of all banks by 100 basis points from 4.00 per cent to 3.00 per cent of their Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL) with effect from March 28, 2020, for a period of one year, ending on March 26, 2021.
- Rescheduling of Payments: – In respect of all term loans (including agricultural term loans, retail and crop loans), all commercial banks (including regional rural banks, small finance banks and local area banks), co-operative banks, all-India Financial Institutions, and NBFCs (including housing finance companies) (“lending institutions”) are permitted to grant a moratorium of three months on payment of all instalments falling due between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2020. The repayment schedule for such loans as also the residual tenor will be shifted across the board by three months after the moratorium period. Interest shall continue to accrue on the outstanding portion of the term loans during the moratorium period.
Note: Instalments will include the following payments falling due from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2020: (i) principal and/or interest components; (ii) bullet repayments; (iii) Equated Monthly instalments; (iv) credit card dues.
- defer the implementation of NSFR (Net Stable Funding Ratio) guidelines by six months. These guidelines will now come into effect from October 1, 2020, as against April 1, 2020.
- Review of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy for curbing opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of Indian companies due to the current COVID-19 pandemic-
Present Position | Revised Position |
| A non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI Policy except in those sectors/activities which are prohibited. However, a citizen of Bangladesh or an entity incorporated in Bangladesh can invest only under the Government route. Further, a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan can invest, only under the Government route, in sectors/activities other than defence, space, atomic energy and sectors/activities prohibited for foreign investment. | A non-resident entity can invest in India, subject to the FDI Policy except in those sectors/activities which are prohibited. However, an entity of a country, which shares land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the Government route. Further, a citizen of Pakistan or an entity incorporated in Pakistan can invest, only under the Government route, in sectors/activities other than defence, space, atomic energy and sectors/activities prohibited for foreign investment. |
