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MCA extends timeline for companies following calendar year

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– by Megha Saraf

megha@vinodkothari.com

Updated as on 24th April, 2020

While currently the world is suffering due to the pandemic COVID-19, our regulatory authorities have been continuously providing reliefs/ relaxations to all corporate houses from making various compliances required under the statutory laws. While some of the major relaxations such as conducting extraordinary general meeting of shareholders through VC, making contribution to PM-CARES Fund as a notified CSR expenditure or making compliances under Listing Regulations have already been notified, MCA has come up with yet another Circular[1] granting relaxation from holding AGMs to such companies that follows calendar year as their financial year.

Can there be a different financial year apart from April-March?

Section 2(41) of the Companies Act, 2013 (“Act, 2013”) lays down the definition of “financial year” as, “in relation to any company or body corporate, means the period ending on the 31st day of March every year, and where it has been incorporated on or after the 1st day of January of a year, the period ending on the 31st day of March of the following year, in respect whereof financial statement of the company or body corporate is made up:

Provided that where a company or body corporate, which is a holding company or a subsidiary or associate company of a company incorporated outside India and is required to follow a different financial year for consolidation of its accounts outside India, the Central Government may, on an application made by that company or body corporate in such form and manner as may be prescribed, allow any period as its financial year, whether or not that period is a year:”

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There are corporate groups where the structure of shareholding is such, that the holding company is situated outside India and is having Indian subsidiaries. The provisions of law provide that where the relationship between the group is such, that it requires the Indian company to follow a different financial year for the purpose of consolidation of its accounts with the accounts of the company situated outside India, such Indian company can have a different financial year. However, such company needs to apply to the Tribunal for the same.

What is the timeline for holding AGMs?

Section 96 of the Act, 2013 provides that a company is required to hold an AGM within 6 months from the date of closing of the financial year. However, a newly incorporated company can have its first AGM within 9 months of the closure of the financial year.

Are there such companies following a different financial year?

Source[2]: Business Standard: 226 firms to march to a new accounting year

Yes. As per the above graph, there are nearly 226 companies in India that follow a different financial year. Out of the 226 companies, 74 are such companies whose calendar year is the financial year i.e. January- December.

What is the relaxation?

Currently, only companies that follows calendar year as financial year have been granted a 3-months relaxation from holding their AGMs i.e. such companies are allowed to hold their AGMs till 30th September, 2020 instead of June, 2020. Further, the due dates of all other related compliances such as filing of annual returns or financial statements which are required to be done within 60 days/ 30 days as applicable shall be construed accordingly.

What if the company is a listed entity?

Regulation 44(5) of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 provides that where the listed entity is within top 100 listed entities based on market capitalization, they have to hold their AGM within 5 months from the closure of the financial year i.e. by August 31, 2020. However, considering the present situation and the need for social distancing, conducting AGMs within such time was becoming a challenge for large corporates. Keeping this in mind, SEBI has granted relief to such entities by extending the requirement by 1 month i.e. till September 30, 2020. However, there was no clarity on what if such entity is a listed entity and follows calendar year as their financial year and is among the top 100 listed entities.

SEBI has now also clarified the same vide its Circular[3] dated 23rd April, 2020 and the present timeline may be summarized as follows:

Sl. No. Type of company Time line under the Companies Act, 2013 Time line under the  SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 Extended timeline
1 Listed company following Apr- Mar as F.Y. Within 6 months from end of FY i.e. 30th September, 2020 Does not provide No extension
2 Listed company following Jan-Dec as F.Y. Within 6 months from end of FY i.e. till 30th June, 2020 Does not provide Extended by 3 months i.e. till 30th September, 2020
3 Listed company following Apr- Mar as F.Y. and amongst top 100 listed entities General provision- Within 6 months from end of FY i.e. 30th September, 2020 Within 5 months from end of FY i.e. till 31st August, 2020 Extended by 1 month i.e. till 30th September, 2020
4 Listed company following Jan- Dec as F.Y. and amongst top 100 listed entities General provision- Within 6 months from end of FY i.e. 30th September, 2020 Within 5 months from end of FY i.e. till 31st May, 2020 Extended till 30th September, 2020 under both laws

 

Therefore, all types of companies can conduct their AGMs till 30th September, 2020.

Our other articles on related subject may be found here.

[1] http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular18_21042020.pdf

[2] https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/226-firms-to-march-to-a-new-accounting-year-113100300666_1.html

[3] https://www.sebi.gov.in/legal/circulars/apr-2020/relaxation-in-relation-to-regulation-44-5-of-the-sebi-listing-obligations-and-disclosure-requirements-regulations-2015-lodr-on-holding-of-annual-general-meeting-agm-by-top-100-listed-entitie-_46552.html

General meetings by Video Conferencing: Recognising the inevitable

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Team Vinod Kothari & Company

corplaw@vinodkothari.com | updated as on 14th April, 2020

“If necessity is the mother of invention, then adversity must be the father of re-invention”, says Johnny Flora. It is a pity that an urgency of such colossal scale should have been needed for the lawmakers for companies to realise that in an age where all businesses are working day and night with meetings and conferences on the internet, and even courts are hearing matters using VC, the ability of a company to conduct general meetings by using VC should have come as a concession, or a limited period dispensation. The MCA Circular of 8th April, 2020[1] (‘MCA Circular’),  if it is a precursor to a larger rethinking, is certainly welcome.

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FAQs on Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020

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A quick analysis of the Scheme is available at- https://youtu.be/lXUb4l8srM8

Contribution to PM CARES Fund qualifies as CSR expenditure

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Vinod Kothari & Company

corplaw@vinodkothari.com

Buy-back of shares during Covid-19 Pandemic

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By CS Vinita Nair, Senior Partner| Vinod Kothari & Company

corplaw@vinodkothari.com

Share Buy-Back During COVID-19 Pandemic:

 

Board meetings during Shutdown : How Companies may care less for video-conferencing rules

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Corporate Law Division

corplaw@vinodkothari.com

Updated as on 29th September, 2020

We are in a shut-down mode, but companies still need to work, as business, and of course, life, has to move on. There are lots and lots of matters in the corporate world where board decisions are required. There are matters which mandatorily require board resolutions to be passed in a meeting of the board, and these matters may be quite frequent, for example, borrowing, lending, investing of funds, issue of securities, etc.. Additionally, there may be lots of other matters where approval of boards/ audit committee meetings or other committee meetings may be required.

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CSR funds may be used for COVID-19 relief, clarifies MCA

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Team Vinod Kothari & Company | corplaw@vinodkothari.com

Updated on 29th March, 2020

Like all other public agencies, MCA has been taking a series of steps in the wake of the rapidly spreading COVID-19 and issued clarification[1] on spending of CSR funds for COVID 19 stating that the amount spent on COVID-19 by companies will count towards CSR spending. The activities falling under item nos. (i) & (xii) of Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013 undertaken due to COVID 19 shall qualify as CSR activity which covers the following:

  • Eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting health care including preventive health care and sanitation including contribution to the Swach Bharat Kosh set-up by the Central Government for the promotion of sanitation and making available safe drinking water.
  • Disaster management, including relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

Subsequently, the Ministry on 28th March, 2020 has also clarified by way of an office memorandum, that companies contributing towards recently formed Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (‘PM CARES Fund’) shall also qualify as CSR expenditure under item (viii) of Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013.

Hence, this is the right occasion, and unarguably, one of the noblest causes, to use CSR funds in whatever way, one may think of for the welfare of society.

Notably, substantial CSR money remains unspent, very often for want of appropriate CSR projects. Many companies have to explain the same by finding some reason or the other. Currently the country is passing through an epidemic that has affected the whole world. Hence, companies may come forward and spend their unspent CSR budgets. Indeed companies are also welcome to over-spend this year’s budget pursuant to a proposal in the Companies Amendment Bill which permits carry forward of excess spending as well.

Questions are often being asked – can the company include the expenditure incurred for COVID-19 preparedness for its own employees and workmen – say, giving of masks, sanitizers, or similar expense, as a part of its CSR spending?

Our answer to this question is the same as what we have continuously answered as a part of our FAQs[2] on CSR that CSR is spending on a social cause. An employer spending for the well being, safety or welfare of employees is performing the employer’s legal or moral obligation. That cannot be regarded as CSR. However, if the company spends on COVID-19 preparedness, either by itself or through implementing agencies, for a wider section of public, and its employees or their families are also the beneficiaries of such an exercise, there is no denial as to eligibility of the same as CSR spending.

Our detailed write ups on CSR may be viewed here:

Proposed changes in CSR Rules

Draft CSR Rules Make CSR More Prescriptive

CAB, 2020: Bunch of Proposals for revamping CSR Framework

[1]http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Covid_23032020.pdf

[2]http://vinodkothari.com/2019/11/faqs-on-corporate-social-responsibility/

Schemes under Section 230 with a pinch of section 29A – Is it the final recipe?

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-Sikha Bansal (resolution@vinodkothari.com)

Note: This article is in continuation of/an addition to our earlier article wherein the author discussed various aspects pertaining to schemes of arrangement in liquidation under section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with various provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The author has described various factors and principles which the judiciary may consider while sanctioning a scheme of arrangement for companies in liquidation, how a scheme is different from a resolution plan or a going concern sale, what constitutes ‘class’ in the context, whether the waterfall under section 53 will apply to such schemes, etc. The author also pointed out the lack of clarity as to applicability or inapplicability of section 29A on such schemes. However, very recently, NCLAT has clarified that persons ineligible under section 29A are not qualified to propose a scheme during liquidation. This Part discusses this ruling and ponders upon some questions which still remain open-ended/unanswered.

The conundrum as to whether section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘Code’) will apply to schemes under section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Companies Act’) has been put to rest, at least for the time being, by a recent ruling of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (‘NCLAT’). In  Jindal Steel and Power Limited v. Arun Kumar Jagatramka & Gujarat NRE Coke Limited (Company Appeal (AT) No. 221 of 2018), vide order dated 24.10.2019, NCLAT held, while a scheme under section 230 is maintainable for companies in liquidation under the Code, the same is not maintainable at the instance of a person ineligible under section 29A of the Code. The NCLAT relied on the observation of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Swiss Ribbons Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors., WP No. 99 of 2018, that the primary focus of the legislation is to ensure revival and continuation of the corporate debtor by protecting the corporate debtor from its own management and from a corporate death by liquidation.

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