CORONA VIRUS PANDEMIC : MEASURES TO RELAX STATUTORY COMPLIANCE ANNOUNCED BY FINANCE MINISTER

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced few measures for extension of statutory and regulatory compliance(s) to provide relaxation to stakeholders in view of corona virus pandemic. Economic Task Force will also soon announce an economic relief package to deal with the impact of the corona virus pandemic on the economy.

INCOME TAX
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	Belated Income Tax Return for Financial Year 2018-19	Due Date Extension	Due date is extended up to 30th June, 2020.
2.	Delayed Payment till 30th June, 2020	Interest Rate Reduced	Interest Rate on delayed payment is reduced from 12% to 9% till 30th June, 2020.
3.	Deposit of TDS	Interest Rate Reduced	TDS deposit date is not extended, but Government has reduced the interest rate on late deposit of TDS from 18% to 9%.
4.	Vivad se Vishwas Scheme	Extension of Date	Scheme date is extended up to 30th June, 2020 without 10% additional charge.
5.	Aadhar Pan Linking	Due Date Extension	Due date is extended up to 30th June, 2020.
6.	Compliance under Income Tax Act, Wealth Tax Act, Benami Transaction Act, Black Money Act	Due Date Extension	Due date is extended up to 30th June, 2020 for all compliance.

GOODS & SERVICE TAX
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	All GST Returns for March, April & May, 2020 including Composition Return	Due Date Extension	Due date is extended up to 30th June, 2020.
2.	Option to avail Composition Scheme	Due Date Extension	Due date is extended up to 30th June, 2020.
3.	Companies having Turnover less than 5 Crores	Relaxation in Late Fees, Penalty & Interest	No late fees, penalty and interest to be charged.
4.	Companies having Turnover above 5 Crores	Relaxation in Interest	No interest to be charged.

CUSTOMS
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	SABKA VISHWAS SCHEME	Due Date Extension	Scheme date is extended up to 30th June, 2020. No Interest to be charged.
2.	CUSTOM CLEARANCE	Working Hours	Custom Clearance will work 24*7 till 30th June, 2020.

CORPROATE AFFAIRS
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	MCA 21 Registry	Moratorium Period	During Moratorium Period from 1st April, 2020 to 30th September, 2020, no additional fees to be charged.
2.	Board Meeting	Relaxation to Hold Board Meetings	Holding board meeting is relaxed for 60 days for next two quarters.
3.	Declaration of Commencement of Business (Form INC-20A)	Additional Period	Additional period of six months is granted to newly incorporated companies to file Form INC-20A.
4.	Applicability of CARO, 2020	Applicability	Applicability of CARO, 2020 is deferred to financial year 2020-21
5.	Resident Director	Relaxation in Violation	Company Director who does not comply with minimum residency requirement of 182 days, it shall not be treated as violation.
6.	Meeting of Independent Directors	Relaxation to Hold Meeting	If Independent Directors fail to hold one meeting of Independent Directors for Financial Year 2019-20, it shall not be treated as violation.

INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	Threshold Limit of Default	Limit Extension	Threshold limit of Rs. 1 Lakh is raised to Rs 1 Crore to prevent triggering of insolvency proceedings for SMEs.
2.	Section 7,9, 10 of IBC	Suspension	Section 7,9, 10 of IBC will be suspended, if current situation is not improved.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
S.No.	Particulars	Type of Relaxation	Relaxation
1.	ATM CASH WITHDRAWAL	Free Transaction(s)	Withdraw cash from any Bank ATM without any charge for next three months.
2.	MINIMUM BANK BALANCE	Relaxation to maintain minimum bank balance	No Charges on not maintaining minimum balance in Bank Account.