On March 25, 2021, the Insurance Amendment Act, 2021 came into force. Through the said Amendment, Section 2, in clause (7A), for sub-clause (b) of the Insurance Act, 1938 has been substituted with “aggregate holdings of equity shares by foreign investors including portfolio investors, do not exceed seventy- four per cent of the paid-up equity capital of such Indian insurance companyand the foreign investment in which shall be subject to such conditions and manner, as may be prescribed;”.
The objective of the Insurance (Amendment) Act, 2021 is to achieve the objective of government’s Foreign Direct Investment Policy of supplementing domestic long-term capital, technology and skills for the growth of the economy and the insurance sector.
The amendment can be accessed here.
Amendment regarding the filing of Bill of Entry (BE) w.e.f. March 29, 2021 [Section 46 of Customs Act, 1962]
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) with a view to facilitate the importers, has amended the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration) Regulations, 2018 by the issue of Notification, dated 29.03.2021 thereby prescribing different time-limits for filing BE in respect of goods imported by various modes of transport.
Changes that were made are:
| S.NO | Customs Station | Bill of Entry is Required to be Filed Latest by End of the Day of Arrival of the Vessel/Aircraft/Vehicle | Bill of Entry is Required to be Filed Latest by the End of Day Preceding the Day of Arrival of the Vessel/Aircraft/Vehicle |
| 1 | Sea Port | Imports consigned from following countries viz. 1. Bangladesh 2. Maldives 3. Myanmar 4. Pakistan 5. Sri Lanka |
Imports consigned from all countries other than those mentioned in column (3) |
| 2 | Airport | All imports | None |
| 3 | Land Customs Station (LCS) | All imports | None |
| 4 | Inland Container Depot (ICD) | None | All imports |
Advance BE can be filed on the strength of either a Master Bill of Lading (MBL) / Master Airway Bill (MAWB) or the House Bill of Lading (HBL) / House Airway Bill (HAWB) or both. Details of MBL/ MAWB in BE can be updated later, on auto-approval mode. No approval from Customs is required.
The notification can be accessed here.
The Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2021
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide notification dated March 24, 2021 has amended the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2014 in reference to section 139, 143, 147 and 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 wherein some new additional reporting requirements have been inserted in Rule 11 which are to be disclosed in the audit report. The amendment intends to omit paragraph (iv) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 and require the auditor’s report to include the following in addition to paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) mentioned above:
- Whether the management has represented that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts, no funds have been advanced or loaned or invested (either from borrowed funds or share premium or any other sources or kind of funds) by the company to or in any other person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities;
- Whether the management has represented, that, to the best of its knowledge and belief, other than as disclosed in the notes to the accounts, no funds have been received by the company from any person(s) or entity(ies), including foreign entities;
- Based on such audit procedures that the auditor has considered reasonable and appropriate in the circumstances, nothing has come to their notice that has caused them to believe that the representations under paragraphs (i) and (ii) mentioned above contain any material misstatement;
- Whether the dividend declared or paid during the year by the company is in compliance with Section 123 of the Companies Act, 2013; and
- Whether the company has used such accounting software for maintaining its books of account which has a feature of recording audit trail (edit log) facility and the same has been operated throughout the year for all transactions recorded in the software and the audit trail feature has not been tampered with and the audit trail has been preserved by the company according to the statutory requirements for record retention.
The Amendment Rules shall come into effect from April 01, 2021.
The notification can be accessed here.
Notification of Sections under the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020
As of March 24, 2021, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs notified Sections 23 and 45 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020.
Sections 23 and 45 of the Amendment Act have been introduced to amend Sections 124(7) which states the amount of penalty in case the company fails to pay the declared dividend amount and Section 247 of the Companies Act 2013 which mentions the penalty on the valuer if he fails to adhere with the section. Post amendment, the amount of the penalty has been changed.
Amended Section as per the Amendment Act:
Section 23 of the Amendment Act: Any failure by the company to adhere to this Section shall be punishable with a penalty of INR 1,00,000 and in case of continuing failure, with a further penalty of INR 500 for each day after the first during which such failure continues, subject to a maximum of INR 10,00,000. Further, every officer of the company who is in default shall be liable to a penalty of INR 25,000 in case of continuing failure, with a further penalty of INR 100 for each day after the first during which such failure continues, subject to the maximum limit of INR 2,00,000.
Section 24 of the Amendment Act: Any failure by the valuer to adhere to this Section shall be liable to a penalty of INR 50,000.
The notification can be accessed here.
