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Hi Folks

“The persistent urge to respond to calls and office emails throughout the day, and even on weekends and holidays is causing stress, burnouts and sleeplessness in lakhs of urban working Indians,” writes Member of Parliament, Supriya Sule. “It is our right to lead happy, stress-free lives,” she adds. She has even introduced a Bill in Parliament to make the #RightToDisconnect a reality for every working Indian.

IS MCA LISTENING !!??

Well, you may wonder who is this MCA and what has it got to do with Right to Disconnect. Why am I singling out MCA this time ? MCA a la Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the ministry regulating corporates in India through the Companies Act, LLP Act and other legislations. While the Hon’ble MP quoted above feels employers are over-working employees beyond the normal 8-9 hours, what can we do when we are faced with dysfunctional web portals like www.mca.gov.in that keep hanging frequently, switch off completely on the crucial last day of some important filing and surprisingly spring back into mid-night action, forcing lakhs of professionals to stretch way into midnight or wake up very early in the morning to upload an e-form ?? What prescribed working hours are we talking here ?

The latest experience was the filing of e-form DPT3 (not worth explaining the purpose since the MCA is bombarding corporates and professionals with forms, deadlines, additional fee & penalties way too frequently) for which the last date was 29th June, 2019. Since the time the form was introduced it has been confusion galore – with the drafting, with the interpretation on webinars, with so-called clarifications, with forms throwing up technical challenges, with conflicting views from different Registrars and what not. So much so that my whatsapp was flooded with messages from professionals venting their ire on the inefficiency of the portal and our own helplessness, torn as we are between uncooperative clients that give information late and dysfunctional MCA portal with no updates and no one to turn to. Thousands of manhours were lost and company secretaries were reduced to filing clerks praying earnestly for the ‘Almighty MCA portal’ to open its eyes and give us ‘darshan’. What hurt us more was that the same portal that froze on the last date for more than 24 hours, magically de-froze in the wee hours next day, promptly slapping additional fee on every form that was accepted. Revenue for the Government for the failure of its technology service provider ! Loss of faith for the corporates and professionals ! The frustration was so much that, otherwise seasoned and patient professional friends started calling this a ‘cancer that can be treated only with chemotherapy’. Unfortunately this is not the first time. Since the last 5-6 years, this is the plight with no signs of improvement.

As a cancer survivor, I can tell you bottled up stress is one of the reasons for cancer cells to grow. Therefore I encourage all the stressed out employers and employees to do whatever it takes to de-stress. Needless to say proper planning and prior communication to clients is a must – Is MCA listening ? Their officials need a lesson or two in drafting, planning, communication & technology readiness !!. On a lighter note, I am sure Company Secretaries participated in the International Yoga Day on 21st June and continued various “innovative postures and positions” throughout the next 10 days to make sure the MCA portal works. At least in my office they sat for hours, meditating with eyes wide open, without a blink, hoping to catch that elusive moment when the portal would function. They even sat in the same uncomfortable positions and used the same lucky laptop, missing out even on the loo-breaks, praying that the form will get accepted. But Lord MCA didn’t seem moved

While the above may seem an exaggeration, it is not. RBI has joined MCA’s bandwagon, suddenly changing the way the yearly FLA return needs to be filed by 15th July. The tech process has changed and the announcement came only on 28th June, leaving us with little time to communicate and ensure the clients give us information in time. Fellow Company Secretaries and staff, brace yourself for 2 more weekends ruined if the RBI portal behaves like MCA’s !!

From Right to Disconnect to Right to Connect (to a functioning portal!!) should be the slogan of compliance professionals. Before the maiden Big Budget from our Hon’ble Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman tomorrow, catch up with the few regulatory changes that took place in the last fortnight. Mrw is yet another day. Yet another sunrise with hopefully more economy fuelling announcements. In this 215th issue of Samhita, the 16th article on Mediation (Mediation in Taxation) is contributed by a leading tax advocate, Ms. Rukmani Menon. For any previous issues of Samhita and the readers feedback, please visit https://sharadasc.com/resource-center/

Happy Reading

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It is said that an “ounce of Mediation is worth a pound of Arbitration and a ton of Litigation”. Mediation is a part of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) family. It is a voluntary and confidential process where a neutral third party (called the mediator) facilitates dialogue and discussion between the disputing parties. In Mediation, the parties…Read more

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MCA Updates :
Register of Charges at RoC

MCA has appointed 15.08.2019 as the date on which the provisions of S.81 of the Companies Act, 2013 shall come into force. S.81 refers to a Register of Charges which is to be maintained by the RoC. It shall be open to inspection by any person on the payment of fees as may be prescribed.

BEN-2 form notified

Vide Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Second Amendment Rules, 2019, e-form BEN-2 has been notified. It shall be available for filing shortly.

Significant Beneficial Owners are required to submit a declaration in BEN-1 to the reporting company under S.90 under CA, 2013. Based on the information received the Company has to file e-form BEN-2 with the RoC in the new format within 30 days of deployment of the e-form on the MCA portal.

Nidhi Rules amended

MCA has notified Nidhi (Amendment) Rules, 2019 which shall come into force on 15.08.2019

Companies are required to file application for declaration as a Nidhi Company and for updating their status as a Nidhi Company in e-form NDH-4 which has been notified.

RBI updates :
Web based FLA reporting

All Indian entities which have received FDI (Foreign Direct Investments) and / or made overseas investments are required to file an annual return w.r.t Foreign Assets and Liabilities (FLA) by 15th June every year. This return was to be reported via e-mail to the RBI. From the year 2018-19 onwards, the e-mail reporting format is replaced with a web based reporting format which is to be submitted via its web portal https://flair.rbi.org.in. The entities not complying with this requirement will be treated as non-compliant with FEMA Act and its regulations.

Last date for FLA reporting remains as 15.07.2019.

NFRA updates :
NFRA-1 available for filing

Every Body corporate, other than a company as defined in clause (20) of S.2, formed in India and governed under NFRA Rules, 2018, shall within 15 days of appointment of an auditor, inform the Authority in Form NFRA-1, the particulars of the auditor appointed by such body corporate.

The due date for filing NFRA-1 is 31.07.2019 as per NFRA letter dated 01.07.2019 addressed to the RoCs and RDs. The said form is deployed on www.nfra.gov.in

GST updates :
Extension of due date – Rule 138E

CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) has postponed the date of applicability of Rule 138E to 21.08.2019 from existing 21.06.2019. Rule 138E provided that if a registered dealer fails to file GST Return for consecutive two tax periods, there would be a restriction on furnishing of information in PART A of FORM GST EWB 01.

Income Tax :
Income from unexplained sources

Section 115BBE taxes income from unexplained sources / investments etc., at the rate of 60%. The section further states that no deduction of any expenditure or set off of losses are allowed against this income with effect from 1.4.2017, i.e., Assessment year 2017-18. The CBDT has now clarified that set off of losses is allowable until the Assessment year 2016-17.

Note: The contents of this Newsletter are only a summary and has not dealt with any issue in detail. Any action taken or proposed to be taken must be in consultation with professionals and not merely based on the articles / news updates. S. C. Sharada & Associates disclaims all liability on action taken without professional advice.

S. C. Sharada & Associates,

Company Secretaries. #405, 7th Cross, IV Block, Koramangala, Bangalore – 560 034.
sharadasc.com Phone : +91 80 25534374 , +91 80 25536618 Email: [email protected]

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