After the World Health Organization changed the status of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, there has been a slew of emergency actions that the Indian Government has taken to prevent further proliferation of the virus. These include strict restrictive measures around movement and public gatherings across the nation, leading to 'work from home' arrangements being implemented by employers. To ease the burden on compliance functions in light of the restricted work arrangements, certain regulatory authorities have granted relaxations to the corporate world, which are summarized below:
Regulatory Authority | Relaxation Granted |
Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) |
|
National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) | All benches of NCLT to remain closed till 31 March 2020. It was
earlier provided that if there is a 'limitation issue,'
matters may be filed online at the Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad,
Amaravati, and Jaipur benches, hard copies of which could be filed
upon re-opening of the filing counters. Other than matters which
are likely to be hit by limitation, it has been directed that
filings may be postponed until the filing counters are re-opened.
For NCLT benches other than Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Amaravati,
and Jaipur, applications in matters which are possibly hit by a
limitation issue may be filed (without annexures) by way of emails
to the Registrars of the respective benches. |
Securities And Exchange Board of India (SEBI) | SEBI issued a circular granting relaxation for the following
compliances under SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements) Regulations, 2015 ('LODR'):
|
Hon'ble Supreme Court | It is understood that the Hon'ble Supreme Court is also
considering the aspect of video conferencing. A decision on the
modalities of the same may be taken shortly. Further, it is also learned that the Hon'ble Supreme Court indefinitely extends the limitation period for filing appeals against orders of High Court or any tribunal before Supreme Court. No appeal is to be time-barred in the wake of the shutdown of the Apex Court due to COVID-19. |
Our Comments
Undoubtedly, prevention is the best course of action to contain COVID-19 spread, and in that direction, cooperation from all the stakeholders is expected by the Government. While that expectation is legitimate, the regulators have also responsively issued immediate relief that corporates may require while ensuring their compliance obligations. Moving ahead, further relaxations are expected to come into effect because COVID-19 has effectively impaired the ability of corporate and regulators to comply with regulatory requirements in a time-bound manner.
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