As we all know the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman held press conference today, 24th March 2020 to address the queries regarding deadlines related to income tax filings, GST compliances etc. since 31st March 2020 deadline is approaching.

The Finance Minister stated the Agenda, which includes compliances related to income tax matters, compliance and deadlines related to GST, customs and central excise-related; compliance and regulations under MCA; announcement on IBC-related matters; fisheries compliances; bank-related matters; commerce-related compliance. 

She also stated that the lockdown is done with intention of flattening the curve for coronavirus and work is going on and the Government is very close to coming out with an economic package that will be announced sooner or later.

(A)     Income Tax 

• Last date for income tax returns for (FY 18-19) has been extended from 31st March, 2020 to 30th June, 2020; Interest rate has also been reduced from 12% to 9% for delayed payments till 30.06.2020,
• Delayed deposit of TDS to attract reduced interest of 9% till 30.06.2020;
• 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 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 where the time limit is expiring between 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 shall be extended to 30th June 2020;
• Aadhaar-PAN linking date to be extended from 31st March, 2020 to 30th June, 2020;
• Vivaad se Vishwas scheme extended to 30.06.2020 and from now to 30.06.2020. Those availing the scheme by the extended deadline will not have to pay 10 per cent interest on the principal amount;
• Necessary legal circulars and legislative amendments for giving effect to the aforesaid relief shall be issued in due course. 

(B)     GST/Indirect Tax 

• Last date for filing GSTR-3B in the months of March, April and May 2020 will be extended till the last week of 30th June, 2020. No interest, late fee, and penalty to be charged if turnover is upto 5 Crores, for others, no late fee and penalty but interest at reduced rate of 9%;
• 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 31st March, 2020 and filing of return for 2019-20 by the composition dealers will be extended till the last week of June, 2020;
• Date for filing GST annual returns of FY 18-19, which is due on 31st March, 2020 has been extended till the last week of June 2020;
• 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 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 shall be extended to 30th June 2020;
• Necessary legal circulars and legislative amendments to give effect to the aforesaid GST relief shall follow with the approval of GST Council;

Central Excise / Service Tax

• Payment date under Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution) Scheme shall be extended to 30th June, 2020. No interest for this period shall be charged if paid by 30th June, 2020. 

(C)      Customs 

• 24X7 Custom clearance till end of 30th June, 2020;
• 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 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 shall be extended to 30th June 2020. 

(D)     Corporate Affairs 

In respect of MCA-21 Registry, there is a moratorium from 1st April to 30th September 2020. No additional fees shall be charged for late filing during a moratorium 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’; 

• There is mandatory requirement of holding board meetings of the companies within prescribed interval provided in the Companies Act (120 days), 2013, shall be extended by a period of 60 days till next two quarters i.e., till 30th September; 
• Applicability of Companies (Auditor’s Report) Order, 2020, shall be made applicable from the financial year 2020-2021 instead of from 2019-2020 notified earlier;
• 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 (as per Schedule 4 to the Companies Act, 2013, Independent Directors are required to hold at least one meeting);
• An additional time of 6 more months shall be allowed to newly incorporated companies to file a declaration for Commencement of Business (as per law- within 6 months of incorporation);
• Non-compliance of minimum residency in India for a period of at least 182 days by at least one director of every company in terms of the requirement under Section 149 of the Companies Act, shall not be treated as a violation;
• There is a requirement to create a Deposit Reserve of 20% of deposits maturing during the financial year 2020-21 before 30th April 2020. Now, the said requirement can be complied with by 30th June 2020;
• There is a requirement to invest 15% of debentures maturing during a particular year in specified instruments before 30th April 2020. Now, the same can be done so before 30th June 2020;

(E)      INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE

• It has been 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) considering the emerging financial distress faced by most companies on account of the large-scale economic distress caused by COVID-19. This will by and large prevent triggering of insolvency proceedings against MSMEs.
• If the current situation continues beyond 30th of April 2020, the Government may consider suspending section 7, 9 and 10 of the IBC 2016 for a period of 6 months so as to stop companies at large from being forced into insolvency proceedings in such force majeure causes of default;
• The Ministry of Corporate Affairs shall issue detailed notifications/circulars in this regard

(F)      Financial Services

• Relaxations for 3 months to Debit cardholders to withdraw cash for free from any other banks’ ATM for 3 months;
• Waiver of minimum balance fee;
• Reduced bank charges for digital trade transactions for all trade finance consumers 

(G)     Department of Commerce 

• Extension of timelines for various compliance and procedures will be given. Detailed Notification(s) will be issued by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 

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