Extension of regulatory return deadlines allows delayed filings during the COVID-19 period and mandates corporate e-mail submissions.
Regulatory returns required to be submitted to the Department of Regulation may be filed with a delay of up to 30 days from the due date for returns whose original due dates fall on or before June 30, 2020; entities able to file earlier should do so. No extension is permitted for statutory returns prescribed under the Banking Regulation Act, the RBI Act or other statutes. Communications to the Department should be routed via corporate e mail to minimize physical paperwork. The Annex lists the specific returns and applicable frequencies covered by this relief.

Dividend declaration restriction: banks must conserve capital and defer payouts until regulatory reassessment based on quarterly results.
Banks are prohibited from making any further dividend payouts out of profits for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, as a prudential capital conservation measure during COVID-19; the restriction is temporary and will be reassessed by the Reserve Bank based on banks' financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2020, and operates alongside existing dividend declaration guidelines.

Fully Accessible Route for non-resident investment in government securities opens specified tenors to non-residents alongside domestic investors.
Creation of a Fully Accessible Route permitting non-resident investors to purchase designated Central Government securities on the same basis as domestic investors; the Reserve Bank will notify which securities are specified securities, which once designated remain eligible under the FAR until maturity, and new issuances of specified tenors will be eligible with the Reserve Bank able to add or change tenors.

Conflict of interest restrictions bar ARCs from bilateral acquisitions with sponsors, lenders or group entities; transparent auctions allowed.
ARCs are barred from bilateral acquisition of financial assets from (i) a sponsoring bank or financial institution, (ii) a bank or financial institution that is a lender to the ARC or a subscriber to funds raised by the ARC, and (iii) any entity in the ARC's group. Despite this prohibition, ARCs may participate in auctions for financial assets if auctions are transparent, conducted on an arm's length basis, and prices are determined by market forces.

Free ATM transactions clarified: failed and non cash on us transactions excluded, and customers not charged for failures.
Transactions that fail due to technical reasons-including hardware, software, communication issues, non-availability of currency, invalid PIN/validations, or other declines directly attributable to the bank or service provider-shall not be counted as valid ATM transactions and no charges shall be levied. Non-cash 'on us' transactions at the card issuing bank's ATM (e.g., balance enquiry, cheque book request, tax payment, funds transfer) are likewise excluded from the number of free ATM transactions.

Bank rate reduction lowers penal interest rates linked to reserve shortfalls and takes effect immediately.
Bank Rate is revised downward by 35 basis points to 5.65 per cent with immediate effect and becomes the reference rate for regulatory purposes. Penal interest rates on shortfalls in reserve requirements linked to the Bank Rate are revised accordingly: Bank Rate plus 3.0 percentage points (8.65 per cent) or Bank Rate plus 5.0 percentage points (10.65 per cent), applied depending on the duration of the shortfalls.

Large Exposures Framework limits bank concentration, mandates look through, connectedness tests and mandatory reporting of large exposures.
The Large Exposures Framework mandates caps, measurement and reporting of banks' aggregated exposures to single counterparties and groups of connected counterparties, applied at consolidated and solo levels. Banks must aggregate on and off balance sheet exposures, recognise eligible credit risk mitigation consistent with Basel III, determine connectedness through control or economic interdependence, apply a mandatory look through approach to structures and CIUs, and report exposures meeting the regulatory threshold; most provisions became effective from April 1, 2019, with certain criteria phased in April 1, 2020.

Deferral of Indian Accounting Standards implementation pauses adoption for scheduled commercial banks pending legislative amendments and preparedness.
Deferral of implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) for scheduled commercial banks (excluding regional rural banks) is extended until further notice because recommended legislative amendments to the Banking Regulation Act remain under government consideration and many banks require additional preparedness time, thereby suspending the previously scheduled transition timetable.

Incorporation of purchaser name on demand instruments to reduce anonymity and curb money laundering; issuers must comply.
Issuance instruments such as demand drafts, pay orders and banker's cheques must bear the name of the purchaser printed on the face of the instrument, and the issuing bank is required to incorporate the purchaser's name on such instruments issued on or after September 15, 2018; this amendment to the Master Direction on KYC mandates the change and banks are instructed to ensure compliance.

Prohibition on dealing in virtual currencies bars regulated entities from providing services that facilitate virtual currency transactions.
Regulated entities are prohibited from dealing in virtual currencies or providing services that facilitate dealing in or settling virtual currencies, including maintaining related accounts, registering or supporting exchanges, trading, settlement, loans against virtual tokens, accepting virtual currencies as collateral, and transferring funds connected to virtual currency purchases or sales; existing service relationships must be terminated under an exit requirement, and the prohibition is grounded in statutory powers under the Banking Regulation Act, the Reserve Bank of India Act, and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act.

MSME asset classification relief: standard asset treatment subject to conditions, specified provisioning and limits on income recognition.
Banks and NBFCs may maintain exposure to MSME borrowers as standard assets during GST transition if borrowers were GST-registered by the reference date, had aggregate exposure within the prescribed threshold and were standard earlier, and if overdue amounts and instalments due during the transition are paid within an extended cure period; lenders must make a specified provisioning which may be reversed once the account no longer breaches the applicable delinquency norm, and interest overdue beyond that norm cannot be recognised on accrual.

Agency commission claims for GST receipts must be submitted to the designated regional office only under revised certification procedure.
Claims for agency commission relating to GST receipt transactions must be submitted to a single designated Reserve Bank regional office for settlement; the amendment revises paragraph 15 to distinguish GST receipts from other Central and State government transaction submission routes. Submission must use the prescribed claim formats and include a separate set of certificates signed by branch officials and Chartered Accountants as specified in Annex-2, in addition to the usual ED/CGM certificate regarding pension arrears.

Legal Entity Identifier requirement mandates large corporate borrowers to obtain and renew LEI to retain credit facilities.
The circular mandates that banks require large corporate borrowers with exposures of fifty crore and above to obtain and renew a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) per a phased schedule; non-compliant borrowers are to be refused renewal or enhancement of credit. Banks must encourage LEI adoption for parent and group entities, obtain LEI from accredited Local Operating Units such as LEIIL in India, ensure renewals per GLEIF guidelines, and record LEI in credit information systems including CRILC.

Legal Entity Identifier requirement mandates LEI for OTC derivatives participants, making LEI mandatory to continue market participation.
A mandatory Legal Entity Identifier has been introduced for all participants in OTC rupee interest rate, foreign currency and credit derivatives markets; failure to obtain an LEI by the regulator's phased deadlines will render entities ineligible to participate. LEIs must be obtained from GLEIF accredited Local Operating Units, with a recognised issuer available domestically. Entities must comply with application, documentation and renewal procedures; lapsed LEIs are invalid for Trade Repository reporting. The requirement is issued under the regulator's statutory authority and applies to both current and future participants.

NEFT half-hourly settlements: expanded batch frequency to speed transfers and require system readiness and confirmations.
Introduction of half-hourly settlements in NEFT adds eleven additional settlement batches to make 23 daily half-hourly batches while retaining the opening and closing batches; banks must update their CBS to initiate and accept transactions on the new schedule and ensure readiness. The existing return discipline of B+2 hours continues, and beneficiary banks must send N10 confirmations to originating banks, which must notify remitting customers. Technical implementation guidance and support will be provided by system service providers. The instructions are issued under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.

Legal tender exemption for specified bank notes allows limited transactions and mandatory record-keeping during transitional period.
The Central Government provided a temporary legal tender exemption for the specified bank notes, permitting their use for narrowly defined transactions-payments at Government hospitals and pharmacies with prescription, ticket purchases at railway, government bus and airline counters, authorised consumer cooperative stores and milk booths, fuel stations of public sector oil companies, crematoria and burial grounds, and limited exchanges by international passengers and foreign tourists-and required all such establishments to maintain complete accounts and records of stock and sales of transactions effected with the specified bank notes during the transitional period.

Rupee denominated bonds overseas permitted for bank capital instruments and infrastructure and affordable housing financing.
Banks may issue rupee denominated bonds overseas to raise funds through perpetual debt instruments qualifying as Additional Tier 1 capital, debt instruments qualifying as Tier 2 capital, and to finance infrastructure and affordable housing, subject to applicable prudential norms and FEMA guidelines and relevant existing instructions.

Bank Rate reduction announced; penal interest rates linked to it revised for reserve requirement shortfalls, effective immediately.
Bank Rate adjusted downward by 25 basis points to 6.75%, effective October 04, 2016, and penal interest rates linked to shortfalls in reserve requirements revised accordingly, with revised penal charges specified in the annex and applicable depending on the duration of shortfalls.

Acceptance of cash over the counter: banks must accept declarants' tax deposits under the scheme while following KYC.
Banks must accept cash over the counter from any customer, irrespective of amount, for payment of tax dues under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, including deposits via challan ITNS-286, and must apply Know Your Customer procedures in accordance with the Master Direction on Know Your Customer, 2016; banks should issue immediate branch-level instructions to implement this requirement.

Indian Accounting Standards implementation requires AIFIs to prepare proforma Ind AS statements and disclose ECL methodologies for regulatory review.
Select All India Term Lending and Refinancing Institutions must adopt Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) on the prescribed transition timeline for both standalone and consolidated financial statements; early adoption is prohibited. Boards must oversee implementation with a Steering Committee and quarterly Audit Committee reporting. AIFIs must prepare and submit proforma Ind AS financial statements and detailed reconciliations and disclosures to the Reserve Bank, including comprehensive Ind AS 109 expected credit loss methodologies, while assessing impacts on capital adequacy. Directions issued under Section 45L require strict compliance.