Statutory Compliance Calendar for October, 2021

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This article contains various Compliance requirements for the Month of October, 2021 under various Statutory Laws.

Compliance requirement under Income Tax Act, 1961

• Income Tax Due Date – Extensions

• Importatnt updates – September, 2021:

1. Income tax refunds of Rs 80,086 cr issued during this fiscal: CBDT

Refunds amounting to more than Rs 80,000 crore have been issued to the taxpayers during the current financial year, the CBDT said.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) frames policy for the Income Tax Department. This figure includes income tax refunds of Rs 19,699 crore in 47,53,254 cases and corporate tax refunds of Rs 60,387 crore in 1,63,021 cases.

2. ITR filing due date for AY 2021-22 extended! Check new deadline to file income tax return

CBDT has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22.

Keeping in view the difficulties reported by taxpayers and other stakeholders in filing of Income Tax Returns as well as the various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22 under the Income-Tax Act, 1961, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has decided to further extend the due dates for filing of Income Tax Returns and various reports of audit for the Assessment Year 2021-22.

• The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which was 31st July, 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 30th September, 2021, is now further extended to 31st December, 2021.
• The due date of furnishing of Report of Audit under any provision of the Act for the Previous Year 2020-21, which is 30th September, 2021, as extended to 31st October, 2021, is now further extended to 15th January, 2022.
• The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which is 31st October, 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 30th November, 2021 is now further extended to 15th February, 2022.
• The due date of furnishing of Return of Income for the Assessment Year 2021-22, which is 30th November, 2021 under sub-section (1) of section 139 of the Act, as extended to 31st December, 2021 is now further extended to 28th February, 2022.
• Important Notifications – For the month of September – 2021:

Compliance Requirement under GST, 2017

Filing of GSTR –3B

A. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover > Rs. 5 Cr. in preceding FY

B. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crores in preceding FY (Group A)

C. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 crores in preceding FY (Group B)

D. Filing Form GSTR-1:

E. Non Resident Tax Payers, ISD, TDS & TCS Taxpayers

F. GST QRMP monthly return

G. GST Refund:

• Other Returns:

Major Update:

• Due date for filing of revocation application for cancelled registrations has been extended up to 30th Sept. 2021, for the cases where application due dates were falling between 1st Mar, 2020 & 31st Aug, 2021. More details in “News & Updates”
• The taxpayers, who have registered at GST portal but have not yet furnished their Bank Account details, are required to update it at GST Portal through non-core amendment, within 45 days of first login henceforth.
• Key UPDATE(s):

1. ‘No GST input tax credit on CSR expense’

he Gujarat bench of the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) recently held that corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities under the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules are excluded from the normal course of business. Its ruling came in a case where the applicant was a private limited company, Adama India. The AAR said Adama India would not be eligible for input tax credit (ITC) under goods and services tax (GST) laws.

If this ruling is followed by GST authorities during assessments, it will be a big blow to India Inc which, in the backdrop of the pandemic, has spent heavily on CSR activities, such as providing medical relief by way of oxygen concentrators & sanitisers, to name a few instances.

This is another classic case of divergent views on the same issue taken by two different benches of the AAR. In its edition of April 8, TOI had covered the ruling given by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) bench in the case of Dwarikesh Sugar Industries. In this case, the AAR bench had held that CSR expenditure is incurred by a company to comply with its legal obligations under the Companies Act. Thus, the GST paid by the company on the products it purchased for its CSR-related expenditure could be set off against its GST liability (this is referred to as ITC). It submitted that CSR expenses were mandatory, thus, they were incurred in the course and furtherance of business. Therefore, it should be eligible for ITC. However, the Gujarat AAR bench disagreed with this contention. It went further and pointed out that the ruling given by the UP AAR bench was not binding on it. AAR rulings are binding only on the applicant and the relevant GST officials.

• GST UPDATES from 01.09.2021 to 30.09.2021:

Compliance Requirement UNDER Companies Act, 2013 and Rules made thereunder;

• LLP Compliance:

• Due dates of ROC Return Filings

• KEY UPDATES – September, 2021:

1. MCA extends due date for AGMs by two months

Companies get till end November to hold AGM for financial year 2020-21

In what could come as some respite for companies, especially small and medium ones, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has extended the due date for holding annual general meetings (AGMs) for the financial year 2020-21 by two months.

This extension would mean that companies now have time till the end of November 2021 to hold the AGM. Under company law, corporates are required to hold AGM within six months from the date of completion of financial year — i.e September 30.

This latest MCA move comes in the wake of representations received by the Ministry seeking extension of time for holding of AGM for FY21.

• Important Updates – September, 2021
  • MCA Monthly UPdate Calendar: September, 2021

Compliances under FEMA / RBI

Entities which are filing FLA return for the first time/ with revised UIN (Unique identification number) are required to register themselves first for generating login credentials and afterwards they can file FLA return. However, the entities which have already registered earlier may submit FLA-2021 using their earlier login credentials.

• Important Updates, September-2021:

1. RBI’s new auto-debit rules to set in from October 1, 2021: Things to know

Under the new norms, banks will be required to inform customers in advance about recurring payment due and transaction would be carried following nod from the customer

1. There will be no automatic recurring payments for services like recharge, utility bill as the additional factor of authentication (AFA) has now become mandatory. However, non-readiness of some of the players had forced the RBI to extend the deadline on recurring payment till September 30. As per the guidelines, banks will send a one-time password (OTP) to customers for payments above Rs 5,000.
2. “Customers are instructed to watch for email, SMS communication from the bank. OTP will be sent for additional authentication for payments over Rs 5,000 if the preset standing instruction is non-compliant with new RBI rules,” said a bank manager at State Bank of India.
3. Banks will send customers a debit notification with the amount and name of the merchant 24 hours before each payment. The notification will contain a link that will allow users to modify or cancel the payment or the mandate. If they take no action, the transaction will be carried out as usual.
4. If in case the bank has failed to communicate with customers, then customers should be proactive in many payments directly to merchants to avoid defaults.

• RBI Circulars / Notifications: September, 2021

Compliance under Other Statutory LAws

• Key Updates – September, 2021:

1. Labour codes unlikely to be implemented this fiscal year: report

The implementation of these laws assumes significance because once these are implemented there would be reduction in take-home pay of employees. Once implemented, employers would have to restructure salaries of their employees as per the new code on wages.

The four labour codes are unlikely to be implemented this fiscal in view of slow progress on the drafting of rules by the states and also for political reasons like elections in Uttar Pradesh, a source said. The implementation of these laws assumes significance because once these are implemented there would be reduction in take-home pay of employees and firms have to bear higher provident fund liability.

“The Ministry of Labour is ready with the rules under the four labour codes. But the states have been slow in drafting and finalising those under new codes. Besides, the government is not keen to implement the four codes due to political reasons, which are mainly elections in Uttar Pradesh (due in February 2022 onwards).” (To read more Click Here)

• Updates TRACKER under Labour LAws – September, 2021:

SEBI – Securities Exchange Board of INDIA

Compliance Requirement under SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) (LODR) Regulations, 2015

1. Half Yearly Compliances:

2. Regular / Annual Compliances:

3. Quarterly compliance which included half year compliance except FR

SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) vide notification / Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/DCR1/CIR/P/2020/49 issued and publish dated 27th March 2020, has published Relaxation from compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 due to the COVID-19 pandemic”.

SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015

9. SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018

SEBI (Buyback of Securities) Regulations, 2018 (Buyback Regulations)

SEBI (Depositories and Participants) Regulations 2018)

• SEBI Circulars Tracker: 01.09.2021 to 30.09.2021

IBBI Updates {Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India}

• Next phase of IBC implementation should be personal insolvency: Sahoo

The outgoing IBBI chief said the next phase of the implementation of the IBC should include “individual insolvency with provisions for a fresh start and an informal approach to insolvency resolution, moving away slightly from court proceedings.”

Sahoo, who demitted office on October 30, has headed the IBBI since its inception and was the first Chairperson of the regulator which has played a key role in setting up the rules and regulations for insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and regulating insolvency professionals and information utilities. The outgoing IBBI chief said the next phase of the implementation of the IBC should include “individual insolvency with provisions for a fresh start and an informal approach to insolvency resolution, moving away slightly from court proceedings.”

The IBC does have provisions for a “fresh start” scheme for individuals with debts of up to Rs 35,000, gross annual income under Rs 60,000, total assets of under Rs 20,000 and do not own a home. The process would allow such persons who are unable to pay off their debts to be discharged of their liabilities.

• Important Notifications and Circulars Tracker (September, 2021)

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This article is updated till 30^th September 2021 with all Laws / Regulations and their respective amendments.