Relaxation of additional filing fees for annual return and financial statement filings in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry extended.
Relief is granted to relax additional fees and extend the filing deadline for electronic filings of AOC-4, AOC (CFS) AOC-4 XBRL and MGT-7 for companies in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry due to heavy rains and floods, permitting waiver of additional fees where applicable and directing stakeholders to comply with the extended timeline as notified by the Ministry.

Relaxation of Additional Fees for late filing of annual returns and financial statements extended, easing e-form compliance deadlines.
Relaxation of additional fees and extension of the last date for filing have been authorised for e-forms AOC-4, AOC-4 (CFS), AOC-4 XBRL and MGT-7, wherever additional fee is applicable, permitting affected companies to file financial statements and annual returns within the extended period without the normally applicable additional fee.

Relaxation of additional fees for company e form filings extended, easing late filing penalties for AOC 4 and MGT 7.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs temporarily relaxed the requirement to pay additional fee for filings of AOC-4 and AOC-4 XBRL and similarly relaxed additional fees for MGT-7 e-forms where applicable; the relief applies to forms filed within the extended filing period and was issued with approval of the competent authority as a continuation of an earlier circular.

Corporate social responsibility committee deadline extended after ministerial approval for submission of its report within the new timeframe.
A High Level Committee constituted to suggest measures for improved monitoring of Corporate Social Responsibility under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, has been granted a one-month extension by ministerial approval to submit its report by 22.09.2015.

Extension of time for filing cost audit report: deadline extended to 30th September 2015 to avoid penalty.
Extension of time granted for submission of the cost audit report (Form CRA-4) for the financial year 2014-2015: the period for filing the CRA-4 return with the Central Government without incurring any penalty or late fee is extended until 30th September, 2015.

Shorter notice for general meetings permits circulating financial statements; unaudited foreign subsidiary accounts may be filed with translation.
Where a company convenes a general meeting on shorter notice under section 101, it may circulate the financial statements to be considered at that meeting on the same shorter notice. For foreign subsidiaries not required by local law to be audited, the Indian holding company may place or file such unaudited accounts; accounts must be translated into English if necessary and, as far as possible, follow Companies Act, 2013 format, with a statement explaining any deviations.

Relaxation of additional fees for annual return and financial statement filings extends deadlines and permits CFS filing without penalty.
The Ministry confirms applicability of the Companies Act, 2013 requirements for financial statements and annual returns to specified financial years, announces availability timelines for electronic Forms AOC-4, AOC-4 XBRL, MGT-7 and a new AOC-4 CFS, and relaxes additional fees on AOC-4, AOC-4 XBRL and MGT-7 until 31 October 2015; companies required to file Consolidated Financial Statements but not in XBRL may file using AOC-4 CFS without additional fees until 30 November 2015.

Repayment of deposits: companies may repay pre-commencement deposits per original terms and registrars may prosecute for defaults.
Depositors may apply to the adjudicatory body exercising tribunal powers for non-repayment, and companies may seek time extensions; companies may repay deposits accepted before commencement in accordance with the original terms and conditions, subject to conditions in the Acceptance of Deposits Rules, and registrars may initiate prosecution for failures to repay.

Waiver of late filing fees for cost audit CRA 2 notices and CRA 4 reports extended due to portal availability.
Waiver of the additional fee for delayed filing is granted where revised electronic Form CRA 2 was unavailable on the MCA 21 portal, covering notices of appointment of Cost Auditors delayed beyond the prescribed 30 day period from the board meeting; a parallel waiver applies to delayed filing of Form CRA 4 cost audit reports delayed beyond 30 days from receipt of the cost auditor's report, both waivers tied to specified extended filing cut offs and issued due to portal unavailability.

Companies Law Committee constituted to recommend reforms implementing the Companies Act and review related committee recommendations.
Constitution of a Companies Law Committee with the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs as Chair and specified official and non-official members; the Committee may invite or co-opt subject-matter experts and officials from other agencies. Its terms of reference are to recommend to the Government on implementation issues of the Companies Act and to examine recommendations from other committees and agencies. Non-official members may receive travel and related allowances if sponsors do not fund them, secretarial support will be provided by the Ministry, and the Committee must submit recommendations within six months of its first meeting.

Auditor reporting requirements require specified disclosures on assets, inventory, loans, controls, statutory compliance and fraud in audit reports.
The Order mandates the matters auditors must include in reports under section 143 for applicable companies, including verification and records of fixed assets and inventory, loans to parties in the section 189 register, adequacy of internal controls, compliance with deposit and statutory obligations, maintenance of prescribed cost records, disclosure of arrears and disputed statutory dues and transfer to investor education fund, reporting of significant accumulated losses and cash losses, defaults to lenders, prejudicial loan guarantees, proper application of term loans, and any frauds; auditors must state reasons for unfavourable, qualified or non answerable responses.

Remuneration continuity under Schedule provisions: managerial persons may receive company approved pay for remaining term beyond transition date.
A managerial person appointed under the earlier Act's Schedule may continue to receive remuneration for the remainder of the term in accordance with terms and conditions approved by the company under that Schedule, even if part of the tenure falls after the transition date.

Effective yield comparison for tax-free bonds prevents violation of lending yield restrictions under companies law.
Where the effective yield on tax-free bonds exceeds the prevailing Government Security yield closest to the loan tenor, there is no violation of sub-section (7) of section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013; the comparator may be the prevailing yield of the one-year, three-year, five-year or ten-year Government Security that most closely matches the tenor.

Auditor reporting obligations under section 143(11) await a government order; no additional reporting required yet for auditors.
Auditor reporting obligations under the Companies Act depend on a government Order that, when notified, will specify classes of companies and matters to be included in audit reports; until that Order is issued no additional reporting is required and auditors should await the Central Government's notification before changing auditor reporting for the affected financial year.

Deposit classification: pre-April 2014 receipts by private companies not treated as deposits if disclosed in financial notes.
Amounts received by private companies from members, directors or their relatives before 1 April 2014 shall not be treated as deposits under the Companies Act, 2013 provided the private company discloses in the notes to its financial statements for the year commencing on or after 1 April 2014 the figure of such amounts and the accounting head in which they are shown; any renewal or fresh deposits on or after 1 April 2014 must comply with the Companies Act, 2013 and related rules.

Work distribution amendment: deletion of a named member from New Delhi Bench, effective from the specified date.
The Board, exercising powers under the Companies Act and Company Law Board Regulations, partially modifies its 29.01.2015 order by deleting the reference to Shri Dhan Raj, Member (Technical), at serial number 3 under NEW DELHI BENCH in paragraph (a) and similarly in sub para (2) of paragraph (c); the amendment takes effect from 23.03.2015.

Loans to employees excluded from section 186 when granted under service conditions and applicable remuneration policy.
Loans and advances by companies to employees, other than managing or whole-time directors, are not governed by section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013. Such advances are permissible provided they conform to the employees' conditions of service and, where applicable, to the company's remuneration policy. Loans to managing and whole-time directors continue to be governed by section 185.

Digital signature deactivation blocking director appointments; registrar may allow a resigned authorised director to file the appointment form.
Automatic deactivation of a director's Digital Signature Certificate on filing Form DIR-11 can block filing of Form DIR-12 when all directors resign. Registrars of Companies may, on request and after due examination, permit a resigned authorised signatory director to file Form DIR-12, subject to additional fees and compliance with the Companies Act and MCA21 procedures, until a system-level alternative is implemented.

Small company definition tightened to require both statutory thresholds, and financial firms exempted for ordinary securities acquisitions.
The Order amends clause (85) of section 2 to require that both thresholds for classification as a small company be satisfied, replacing the prior disjunctive wording. It further inserts an item in section 186(11)(b) explicitly exempting acquisitions of securities made "in the ordinary course of business" by banking companies, insurance companies, and housing finance companies, thereby clarifying their entitlement to the statutory exemption.

Extension of filing deadline for cost auditor appointment notices preserves penalty-free filing for Form CRA-2 submissions.
Extension of time is granted for filing the notice of appointment of the cost auditor in Form CRA-2, permitting submission without penalty or late fee until 31st March, 2015, as a continuation of the relief announced in General Circular No. 42/2014 and issued with the approval of the competent authority.