Changes in Statutory compliances during COVID-19
While businesses are responding to the stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic, it is of paramount importance to keep abreast of changes to the tax laws and the relief measures announced by the Government to help people and businesses navigate through the challenging times.
Union and State Governments have recently announced a slew of relief measures to dispel the gloom caused by COVID-19, which has brought the business world to a grinding halt. We have made our best efforts to communicate the changes in statutory regulations as and when the government announces relief measures. In this article we are trying to consolidate the key announcements made by the Government of India during the COVID-19 time as a ready reference to help you while framing the business decisions. Please refer the relevant links given in each section for original source information.
| 1 | Board meetings under the Companies Act, 2013 | Government has in-principle decided to relax the requirement of holding Board meetings with physical presence of directors under section 173 (2) r/w rule 4 of the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014. It was notified that the Board meetings may till 30th June, 2020 be held through video conferencing or other audio visual means by duly ensuring compliance of rule 3 of the said rules.
To access the relevant notification in this regard, please click here. |
| 2 | MCA Clarification on spending of CSR funds for COVID-19 | The Ministry of Corporate affairs (MCA) has announced that funds spent on measures to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak will be counted towards the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity of companies vide circular on Monday, 23rd March, 2020.
To view the circular released by MCA, please click here. MCA has also released FAQ in this regard. Click here to access the document. |
| 3 | Relief measures in view of COVID-19 | The Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 24th March, 2020 has announced several important relief measures taken by the Government of India on statutory and regulatory compliance matters. |
| 4 | Lower tax deduction certificate of FY 2019-20 is valid till 30th June 2020 | CBDT in exercise of its powers under the Income Tax Act, has now issued directions/ clarifications vide an Order in relation to extension of applicability of the existing certificates issued for lower or nil TDS and TCS as well as revised procedure for making an application for issue of fresh certificates.
For more details, please refer our alert mail dated 01st April, 2020. |
| 5 | GST amendments to refund provisions | Few key amendments have been made to the refund provisions under GST law through notification No. 16/2020- C.T dated 23.03.2020. |
| 6 | Ordinance for relaxation of certain provisions | On 31 March 2020, the President promulgated the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020, to provide relaxation of certain provisions. Direct tax related reliefs are summarized as follows:
– Extension of due dates for filing of revised/ belated return for AY 2019-20, assessments, appeals, making investments for Chapter VI A deductions or section 54G/54GB exemption, etc. to 30th June, 2020. |
| 7 | CBDT Circular- TDS clarifications u/s 192 on new concessional tax regime for individuals opted u/s.115BAC | Circular C1 of 2020 dated 13th April 2020 issued by CBDT to clarify the tax regime to be considered by employers while deducting TDS on payment of salary. The circular says, the employee should intimate his option of tax u/s 115BAC to the employer in each financial year and in the absence of any such intimation, the employer shall deduct the TDS under the existing tax rates applicable. |
| 8 | Due date for filing MSME FORM I is 30th April 2020 | The due date for filing MSME FORM I containing details of all outstanding dues to Micro or small enterprises suppliers outstanding for more than 45 days from the date of acceptance/ deemed acceptance of the good/ services for the period from October to March 2020 is 30th April 2020. This is applicable only for companies and there exists no filing fees for this form. |
| 9 | Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Measures Under Covid-19 Relief Package | The Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has unveiled measures in a press conference for businesses, including MSMEs, to recover from the economic impact due to coronavirus (COVID-19). These are part of the Rs 20 lakh crore stimulus announced by PM Narendra Modi in his address for the nation on 12th May, 2020. The Prime Minister described it as “a special economic package that will serve as an important link to the ‘Self-reliant India Campaign (Aatma nirbhar Bharat)’”. |
| 10 | CBDT releases guidance for 23 payments attracting lower TDS rates to take effect. | Further to Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman’s press conference on May 13th 2020, CBDT issued press release that details out 23 Non-salaried specified payments on which TDS rates shall be lower by 25% effective from 14th May,2020. Further specifies 4 more areas where TCS rates shall be lower and lower TDS/TCS rates to take effect from May 14, 2020 until March 31, 2021. |
| 11 | PF contribution at reduced rate for May, June & July | Government of India has issued an official gazette on 18th May,2020 to notify the reduced rates with respect to the PF contribution. By virtue of the notification, the rate of provident fund contribution for both employer and employee will be reduced to 10% from the existing 12% for all establishments covered under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for the next three months. |
| 12 | Safe Harbour Rules notified for AY 2020-21 | The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Safe Harbour Rules as Rule 10TD, which shall apply for Assessment Year 2020-21; states that rates applicable from AY 2017-18 to 2019-20 will continue to apply for AY 2020-21. |
Conclusion
We believe that enabling smooth and efficient management of tax compliance in these troubled times is one of the keys to manage the crisis. To do so, business will have to reallocate resources, reassign responsibilities, keep track of the economic stimulus packages, review existing systems, and utilise the tax reliefs announced by the Government.
We hope you find this update useful and should you wish to have more clarifications on any of the about information, feel free to contact us.
For further details, please contact:
Direct Taxes:
Ms. Latha Sree
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 6302630083
Ms. Anju Eldhose
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9496148918
Indirect Taxes:
Mr. Vinayak Hegde
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9902586492
Secretarial Compliances
Ms. Radhika K J
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 9108915797