Extension of CFSS, LLP Settlement & Various Schemes Till 31.12.2020

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs introduced several schemes {Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 (CFSS) General Circular No. 30/2020, LLP settlement Scheme 2020 General Circular No. 31/2020, Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 General Circular No. 33/2020 and Clarification on holding of annual general meeting (AGM) through video conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) General Circular No. 32/2020} valid from 01.04.2020 to 30.09.2020 to enable companies to complete their pending compliances.

The aforementioned schemes has now been extended till 31.12.2020 vide circular dated 28.09.2020

In view of the large scale disruption caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic and after due examination, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has decided to extend the scheme and all other requirements provided in the said circular shall remain unchanged.

Apart from this, in order to support and enable Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) in India to focus on taking necessary measures to address the COVID-19 threat, including the economic disruptions caused by it, the various measures have been implemented by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to reduce their compliance burden and other risks: –

• No additional fees shall be charged for late filing during a moratorium period from 01sr 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, which will not only reduce the compliance burden, including financial burden of companies/ LLPs at large, but also enable long-standing non-compliant companies/ LLPs to make a’fresh start’.
• The mandatory requirement of holding meetings of the Board of the companies within the intervals provided in section 173 of the Companies Act, 2013 (CA13) (120 days) stands extended by a period of 60 days till next two quarters i.e., till 30th September. Accordingly, as a onetime relaxation the gap between two consecutive meetings of the Board may extend to 180 days till the next two quarters, instead of 120 days as required in the CA-13.
• The Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020 shall be made applicable from the financial year 2020-2021 instead of being applicable from the financial year 2019-2020 notified earlier. This will significantly ease the burden on companies & their auditors for the financial year 2019-20.
• As per Para Vll (1) of Schedule lV to the CA-13, Independent Directors (lDs) are required to hold at least one meeting without the attendance of Non independent directors and members of management. For the financial year 2019-20, if the lDs of a company have not been able to hold such a meeting, the same shall not be viewed as a violation. The lDs, however, may share their views amongst themselves through telephone or e-mail or any other mode of communication, if they deem it to be necessary.
• Newly incorporated companies are required to file a declaration for Commencement of Business within ‘180 days of incorporation under section 10A of the CA-13. An additional period of 180 more days is allowed for this compliance.
• 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 CA-1 3 shall not be treated as a non-compliance for the financial year 2019-2

Kindly find below the link of schemes