IMPORTANT DIRECTIVES/ADVISORIES ISSUED IN WAKE OF THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC IN INDIA
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Directive(s)/ Advisory(ies)1.

Department of Expenditure Procurement and Policy Division, Ministry of Finance vide Office Memorandum No. F. 18/04/2020PPD dated 19.02.2020, has clarified that disruption of the supply chains due to spread of corona virus in China or any othercountry, will be covered in the Force Majeure clause 9.7.7 of the Manual of Procurement of Goods, 2017.

2.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide Notification No. F. No. I/32/2013-CL-V-Part dated 19.03.2020, allowed companies to holdboard meetings via video conference till June 30.

3.

Securities and Exchange Board of India vide Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/38 dated 19.03.2020, granted
temporary relaxations from certain compliance stipulations specified under the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2015 to listed entities w.r.t. the quarter / financial year ending March 31, 2020. The said relaxations
are detailed as follows:
S. No

Regulation and associated filing

Period of relaxation

1.

Regulation 7(3) relating to half yearly compliance certificate on share 1 monthtransfer facility

2.
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Regulation 13(3) relating to quarterly statement of Investor complaints
Regulation 24A read with circular No CIR/CFD/CMD1/27/2019 dated
February 8, 2019 relating to Annual Secretarial compliance report
Regulation 27(2) relating to filing of quarterly Corporate GovernancereportRegulation 31 relating to filing of quarterly Shareholding Pattern
Regulation 33 relating to filing of quarterly and annual Financial Results

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5.
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3 weeks (appx.)
1 month
1 month
3 weeks (appx.)
45 days/1 month4.

Ministry of Labour & Employment vide Notification No. M-11011/08/2020-Media dated 20.03.2020, issued an advisory to all theemployers of public/ private establishments to not terminate their employees, particularly casual or contractual workers from job
or reduce their wages. It is also advised that if any worker takes leave during the subsistence of COVID-19 outbreak in India, heshould be deemed to be on duty without any consequential deduction in wages.

5.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in a suo-moto Writ Petition (Civil) No. 3/2020 has taken cognizance for extension of limitation andvide order dated 23.3.2020, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has directed that the period of limitation in all proceedings, irrespectiveof the limitation prescribed under the general law or special laws whether condonable or not, shall stand extended w.e.f. 15 March,2020 till further order/s to be passed by the Supreme Court.

6.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide General Circular No. 10/2020 dated 23.03.2020 clarified that spending of CSR Funds forCOVID 19 is an eligible CSR activity. It is further clarified that funds may be spent for various activities related to COVID 19
under item nos. (i) and (xii) of Schedule VII relating to promotion of health care, including preventive health care and sanitationand disaster management.

7.

National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, Govt. of India (NCDRC) vide Office Order No. A-2/Listing/NCDRC/2020
dated 24.03.2020 ordered that the limitation for filing Complaints, Appeals, Revision Petitions, Execution Applications, ExecutionAppeals, Review Applications and all other miscellaneous application before NCDRC shall stand extended with effect from15.03.2020 till further orders.

8.

To mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the Indian economy, Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced number ofrelief measures on 24.03.2020. Summary of reliefs made are annexed below as Annexure A.

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Hon’ble Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi on 24.03.2020 announced 21 days nationwide lockdown. Immediately after
the announcement, Ministry of Home Affairs vide Order No. 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated 24.03.2020, issued Guidelines on themeasures to be taken by the Ministries / Departments of Government of India, State / Union Territory Governments and State /Union Territory Authorities for containment of COVID-19 Epidemic in the Country. Under the said guidelines it is specificallyprovided that commercial and private establishments shall remain closed during the lockdown period. The said guidelines also
contain comprehensive list of essential services that will remain operational during the nationwide lockdown.

10.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide General Circular No. 11/2020 dated 24.03.2020 notified special measures under Companies
Act, 2013 and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 to support and enable Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships tofocus on taking necessary measures to address the COVID 19 threat. The following are the measures notified under the said
circular:a) No additional fees shall be charged for late filing during a moratorium period from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020;b) One-time relaxation on the gap between two consecutive meetings of the Board, extended to 180 days till the next two quarters(instead of 120 days);c) Companies (Auditor Report) Order, 2020 shall be made applicable from the financial year 2020 – 2021 instead of financial year
2019-2020;d) No violation of provisions for the financial year 2019-20, if Independent Directors of a company have not been able to holdmeeting;e) Creation of deposit repayment reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-2021 before April 30, 2020
shall be allowed to be complied with till June 30, 2020;f) Requirement under Rule 18 of the Companies (Share Capital & Debentures) Rules, 2014 to invest or deposit at least 15% ofamount of debentures maturing in specified methods of investments or deposits before April 30, 2020, may be complied withtill June 30, 2020;g) Period for filing declaration for Commencement of Business within 180 days of incorporation by newly incorporated companies,
has been extended for 180 more days; andh) Non-compliance of minimum residency in India for a period of at least 182 days by at least one director of every company, shallnot be treated as a non-compliance for the financial year 2019-20.

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Health and Family Welfare Department, Government of NCT of Delhi vide order no. F.51/DGHS/PH-IV/COVID19/2020/prsecyhfw/3316-30 dated 24.03.2020, clarified that landlords/house-owners cannot force their tenant public servantsincluding doctors/paramedical staff/healthcare personnel to vacate the rented residences.

4Annexure A
SUMMARY OF ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE BY FINANCE MINISTER ON MARCH 24, 2020
INCOME TAX
1. Extension of last date for filing of Income Tax Returns for financial year 2081-19 from March 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
2. Aadhaar-PAN linking date to be extended from March 31, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
3. Vivad se Vishwas Scheme (VSVS) – VSVS extended to June 30, 2020. No additional 10% to be paid, if payment made by June 30, 2020.
4. Due dates for issue of notice, intimation, notification, approval order, sanction 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 roll over benefit of capital gains under the 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 March 20, 2020 to June 29, 2020 shall be extended to June 30, 2020.
5. For delayed payments of advanced tax, self-assessment tax, regular tax, TDS, TCS, equalization levy, STT, CTT made between March 20,
2020 and June 20, 2020, reduced interest rate at 9%, instead of 12 %/18 % per annum ( i.e. 0.75% per month instead of 1/1.5 percent permonth) will be charged for this period. No late fee/penalty shall be charged for delay relating to this period.
6. Necessary legal circulars and legislative amendments for giving effect to the aforesaid relief shall be issued in due course.
GST/INDIRECT TAX
1. Last date for filing form GSTR-3B in March, April and May 2020 will be extended till the last week of June 30, 2020 for those having aggregateannual turnover less than Rs. 5 Crore. No interest, late fee, and penalty to be charged.
2. For any delayed payment made between March 20, 2020 and June 30, 2020, reduced rate of interest @9 % per annum (current interest rate is18 % per annum) will be charged. No late fee and penalty to be charged, if complied before till June 30, 2020.
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3. Date for opting for composition scheme is extended till the last week of June, 2020. Further, the last date for making payments for the quarter
ending March 31, 2020 and filing of return for 2019-20 by the composition dealers will be extended till the last week of June, 2020.
4. Date for filing GST annual returns of FY 18-19, which is due on 31st March, 2020 is extended till the last week of June 2020.
5. Due date for issue of notice, notification, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeal, furnishing of return, statements, applications, reports,
any other documents, time limit for any compliance under the GST laws where the time limit is expiring between March 20, 2020 to June 29,
2020 shall be extended to June 30, 2020.
6. Necessary legal circulars and legislative amendments to give effect to the aforesaid GST relief shall follow with the approval of GST Council.
7. Payment date under Sabka Vishwas Scheme shall be extended to June 30, 2020. No interest for this period shall be charged if paid by June30, 2020.
CUSTOMS
1. 24X7 Custom clearance till end of June 30, 2020.
2. Due date for issue of notice, notification, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeal, furnishing applications, reports, any other documents
etc., time limit for any compliance under the Customs Act and other allied Laws where the time limit is expiring between March 20, 2020 toJune 29, 2020 shall be extended to June 30, 2020.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Relaxations for 3 months for –1. Debit cardholders to withdraw cash for free from any other banks’ ATM for 3 months
2. Waiver of minimum balance fee
3. Reduced bank charges for digital trade transactions for all trade finance consumers
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COMPANIES ACT
1. No additional fees shall be charged for late filing during a moratorium period from April 1, 2020 to September 30, 2020, in respect of any
document, return, statement etc., required to be filed in the MCA-21 Registry, irrespective of its due date, which will not only reduce thecompliance burden, including financial burden of companies/ LLPs at large, but also enable long-standing non-compliant companies/ LLPs tomake a ‘fresh start’.
2. The mandatory requirement of holding of meetings of the Board of the companies 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 September 30, 2020.
3. Applicability of Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020 shall be made applicable from the financial year 2020-2021 instead of from 20192020 notified earlier. This will significantly ease the burden on companies & their auditors for the year 2019-20.
4. As per Schedule 4 to the Companies Act, 2013, Independent Directors are required to hold at least one meeting without the attendance of Nonindependent directors and members of management. For the year 2019-20, if the Independent Directors of a company have not been able tohold even one meeting, the same shall not be viewed as a violation.
5. Requirement to create a Deposit reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-21 before April 30, 2020 shall be allowed
to be complied with till June 30, 2020.
6. Requirement to invest 15% of debentures maturing during a particular year in specified instruments before April 30, 2020, may be done so
before June 30, 2020.
7. Newly incorporated companies are required to file a declaration for Commencement of Business within 6 months of incorporation. An
additional time of 6 more months shall be allowed.
8. 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 149of the Companies Act, shall not be treated as a violation.
79. Due to the emerging financial distress faced by most companies on account of the large-scale economic distress caused by COVID 19, it hasbeen decided to raise the threshold of default under section 4 of the IBC 2016 to Rs 1 crore (from the existing threshold of Rs 1 lakh). This
will by and large prevent triggering of insolvency proceedings against MSMEs.
If the current situation continues beyond April 30, 2020, the Government may consider suspending section 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC 2016 for aperiod of 6 months so as to stop companies at large from being forced into insolvency proceedings in such force majeure causes of default.
10. Detailed notifications/circulars in this regard shall be issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs separately.
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Extension of timelines for various compliance and procedures will be given. Detailed notifications will be issued by Ministry of Commerce.

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