The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has proposed changes in the regulations applicable to the Housing Finance Companies ("HFCs") for public comments

The RBI has, vide a press release 2019-2020/2510 dated 17 June 2020, released proposed changes in the regulations applicable to HFCs for public comments. RBI had earlier issued a press release 2019-2020/419 dated 13 August 2019 wherein RBI was to carry out a review of the extant regulatory framework applicable to HFCs and come out with revised regulations in due course. Accordingly, RBI has undertaken the review and has identified a few changes which are proposed to be prescribed for HFCs. They are as follows-

  1. Defining principal business and qualifying assets for HFCs;
  2. Defining the phrase 'providing finance for housing' or 'housing finance';
  3. Classifying HFCs as systemically important (asset size of INR 500 crore and above) and non-systemically important (asset size less than INR 500 crore); and
  4. RBI's directions on liquidity risk framework, liquidity coverage ratio, and securitisation, for NBFCs, to be made applicable to HFCs.

The RBI has sought public comments on the draft framework for consideration before issuing the final guidelines, and the responses of HFCs, market participants and other stakeholders may be sent by 15 July 2020 over email.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs ("MCA") has issued a scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013

The MCA has, vide a General Circular No. 23/2020 dated 17 June 2020 ("Circular") issued a scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013. The companies are required to file forms related to creation or modification of charges within the timelines provided in Section 77 of the Companies Act, 2013 ("Act"). In case, the company fails to register the charge within the period of 30 (thirty) days referred to in Sub-Section (1) of Section 77 of the Act, the charge holder may file the form related to creation or modification of charges under Section 78 of the Act i.e. within the overall timelines for filing of such form under Section 77. The Central Government has in exercise of its powers under Section 460 read with Section 403 of the Act and the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 ("Fee Rules") has decided to introduce a scheme, namely "Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013" for the purpose of condoning the delay in filing certain forms related to creation / modification of charges. The details of the scheme as under-

  1. The scheme shall come into effect from the date of issuance of the Circular;
  2. The scheme shall be applicable in respect of filing of Form No. CHG-l and Form No. CHG-9 ("Form(s)") by a company or a charge holder, where the date of creation/ modification of charge-
  1. is before 1 March 2020, but the timeline for filing such Form had not expired under Section 77 of the Act as on 1 March 2020, or
  2. falls on any date between 1 March 2020 to 30 September 2020 (both dates inclusive).
  1. Further, with respect to relaxation of time-
  1. where a Form is filed in respect of a situation covered under sub-para (ii)(a) hereinabove, the period beginning from 1 March 2020 and ending on 30 September 2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting the number of days under Section 77 or Section 78 of the Act. In case the Form is not filed within such period, the first day after 29 February 2020 shall be reckoned as 1 October 2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the Form is required to be filed under Section 77 or Section 78 of the Act.
  2. where a Form is filed in respect of a situation covered under sub-para (ii)(b) above, the period beginning from the date of creation / modification of charge to 30 September 2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting of days under Section 77 or Section 78 of the Act. In case the Form is not filed within such period, the first day after the date of creation / modification of charge shall be reckoned as 1 October 2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the Form is required to be filed under Section 77 or Section 78 of the Act.
  1. With respect to applicable fees-
  1. In sub-para (iii)(a) above, if the Form is filed on or before 30 September 2020, the fees payable as on 29 February 2020 under the Fee Rules for the said Form shall be charged. If the Form is filed thereafter, the applicable fees shall be charged under the Fee Rules after adding the number of days beginning from 1 October 2020 and ending on the date of filing plus the time period lapsed from the date of the creation of charge till 29 February 2020.
  2. In sub-para (iii)(b) above, if the Form is filed before 30 September 2020, normal fees shall be payable under the Fee Rules. If the Form is filed thereafter, the first day after the date of creation / modification of charge shall be reckoned as 1 October 2020 and the number of days till the date of filing of the Form shall be counted accordingly for the purposes of payment of fees under the Fee Rules.
  1. Lastly, the Scheme shall not apply, in case-
  1. The Forms had already been filed before the date of issuance of the Circular.
  2. The timeline for filing the Form has already expired under section 77 or section 78 of the Act prior to 1 March 2020.
  3. The timeline for filing the Form expires at a future date, despite exclusion of the time provided in sub-para (iii) above.
  4. Filing of Form CHG-4 for satisfaction of charges.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI") has amended the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014

SEBI has, vide Notification No. SEBI / LAD-NRO / GN / 2020 / 16 dated 16 June 2020 notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Real Estate Investment Trusts) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020. The regulations shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette. In the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014 amendments have been carried out in-

I. In regulation 2, in sub-regulation (1)-

a. after clause (qa), a new clause (qaa) shall be inserted, namely-

"(qaa) "inducted sponsor" means any person who has been inducted as a sponsor in accordance with sub-regulation (8) of regulation 22."

b. in clause (zc), the words and symbols "re-designated" shall be substituted with the word "inducted".

c. clause (zl) shall be omitted.

d. in clause (zt), the words "and shall include an inducted sponsor;" shall be inserted after the word "Board".

e. in clause (ztb), following new sub-clauses shall be inserted after sub-clause (e), namely-

"f. an insurance company registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India;

g. a mutual fund."

II. Further, after regulation 7, the following new regulation shall be inserted, namely-

"De-classification of the status of sponsor

7A(1) De-classification of the status of a sponsor(s) of a REIT whose units have been listed on the stock exchanges for a period of three years shall be permitted upon receipt of an application from the REIT and subject to compliance with the following conditions- The unit holding of such sponsor and its associates taken together does not exceed 10% of the outstanding units of the REIT;

(a) The manager of the REIT is not an entity controlled by such sponsor or its associates;

(b) The sponsor or its associates are not fugitive economic offender;

(c) Approval of unit holders has been obtained in accordance with sub-regulation 5 of Regulation 22."

III. In regulation 11-

(a) in sub-regulation (3), clause (b) and clause (c) shall be omitted.

(b) sub-regulation (4) shall be omitted.

(c) sub-regulation (5) shall be omitted.

IV. In regulation 14, in sub-regulation (2), a new clause shall be inserted after clause (ba), namely-

"(bb) maximum subscription from any investor other than sponsor(s), its related parties and its associates shall not be more than 25 percent of the total unit capital;"

V. In regulation 22-

a. in sub-regulation (5), after clause (f), a new clause shall be inserted, namely-

"(fa) de-classification of the status of sponsor;"

b. in sub-regulation (6), clause (d) shall be omitted.

c. in sub-regulation (6), the proviso under clause (g) shall be omitted.

d. after sub-regulation (6), the following new sub-regulation shall be inserted, namely-

"(6A) No person, other than sponsor(s), its related parties and its associates, shall acquire units of a REIT which taken together with units held by him and by persons acting in concert with him in such REIT, exceeds twenty-five percent of the value of outstanding REIT units unless approval from seventy five per cent. of the unit holders by value excluding the value of units held by parties related to the transaction, is obtained:

Provided that if the required approval is not received, the person acquiring the units shall provide an exit option to the dissenting unit holders to the extent and in the manner as may be specified by the Board."

e. in sub-regulation (8)

i. for the words and symbols "re- designated", wherever it occurs, the word "inducted" shall be substituted.

ii. clause (a) shall be substituted with the following, namely-

"(a) prior to such changes, approval from seventy-five per cent of the unit holders by value excluding the value of units held by parties related to the transaction shall be obtained;"

iii. in clause b, in sub-clause (i), the words "who proposes to buy the units" shall be omitted and the words and symbols "in the manner specified by the Board;" shall be inserted after the word "units".

iv. in clause (b), sub-clause (ii) shall be substituted with the following, namely-

"(ii) in case of change in control of the sponsor or inducted sponsor, the said sponsor or inducted sponsor shall provide the dissenting unit holders an option to exit by buying their units in the manner as specified by the Board;

Explanation: Change in sponsor or inducted sponsor shall mean any change due to entry of a new sponsor with or without exit of an existing sponsor."

The Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI") has amended the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018

SEBI has, vide Notification No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2020/17 dated 16 June 2020, notified that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 has been amended. These regulations are called the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 and shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette. In the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2018 amendments have been carried out in regulation 172, in sub-regulation (3) wherein, for the words "six months" the words "two weeks" shall be substituted.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ("SEBI") has issued a circular for investment by the sponsor or asset management company

SEBI has, vide Circular No. SEBI / HO / IMD / DF4 / CIR / P / 2020 / 100 dated 12 June 2020 ("Circular"), issued investment norms for the sponsor or asset management company and the Circular shall come into force with immediate effect. According to Regulation 28 (4) of SEBI (Mutual Funds) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020, the sponsor or asset management company is required to invest not less than 1% (one percent) of the amount which would be raised in the new fund offer or fifty lakh rupees, whichever is less in such option of the scheme, as may be specified by SEBI. SEBI has now, in this regard, decided that the investment mentioned hereinabove, shall be made in growth option of the scheme and for schemes where growth option is not available, the investment shall be made in the dividend reinvestment option of the scheme. Further, for schemes where growth option as well as dividend reinvestment options are not available, the investment shall be made in the dividend option of the scheme.

The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") has constituted an Internal Working Group ("IWG") to review extant ownership guidelines and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks

The RBI has, vide press release 2019-2020/2493 dated 12 June 2020, stated that it has constituted an IWG to review extant ownership guidelines and corporate structure for Indian private sector banks with the intent to harmonize the norms applicable to banks set up at different time periods, irrespective of their date of commencement of business. Per the press release, the IWG will examine and review the extant licensing and regulatory guidelines relating to ownership and control, promoters' holding, requirement of dilution, control and voting rights. The terms of reference of the committee are as follows-

  1. To review the extant licensing guidelines and regulations relating to ownership and control in Indian private sector banks and suggest appropriate norms, keeping in mind the issue of excessive concentration of ownership and control, and having regard to international practices as well as domestic requirements;
  2. To examine and review the eligibility criteria for individuals / entities to apply for banking license and make recommendations on all related issues;
  3. To study the current regulations on holding of financial subsidiaries through Non-Operative Financial Holding Company ("NOFHC") and suggest the manner of migrating all banks to a uniform regulation in the matter, including providing a transition path;
  4. To examine and review the norms for promoter shareholding at the initial / licensing stage and subsequently, along with the timelines for dilution of the shareholding; and,
  5. To identify any other issue germane to the subject matter and make recommendations thereon.

The IWG shall submit its report by 30 September 2020.

The Government of Karnataka has notified the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (First Amendment) Rules, 2020

The Government of Karnataka has, vide Notification No. DOH 8 RERA 2017 dated 12 June 2020 notified the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) (First Amendment) Rules, 2020 and it shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette. In the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, amendments have been carried out in rule 8 wherein, a new rule 8A has been inserted namely-

  1. "8A. Agreement for Sale –

(1) For the purpose of sub-section (2) of section 13 of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act 2016, the agreement for sale shall be in the Format as per Annexure-A.

(2) Any application, letter of allotment, letter or any other document signed by the allottee, in respect of the apartment, plot or building, prior to the execution and registration of the agreement for sale for such apartment, plot or building, as the case may be, shall not be construed to limit the rights and interests of the allottee under the agreement for sale or under the Act."

Further, after the Form I of the Karnataka Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017, Annexure A- Agreement for Sale under sub rule (1) of rule 8A shall be inserted in the prescribed format.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India ("IRDAI") has issued guidelines on telemedicine

The IRDAI has, vide Reference No. IRDAI / HLT / REG / Cl R / 1 49 / 0612020 dated 11 June 2020, issued guidelines on telemedicine. Vide the guidelines, the insurers are advised to allow telemedicine wherever consultation with a medical practitioner is allowed in the terms and conditions of policy contract. Further, telemedicine offered shall be in compliance with the telemedicine practice guidelines dated 25 March 2020 and as amended from time to time. Per the guidelines, provision of allowing telemedicine shall be part of claim settlement of policy of the insurers and need not be filed separately with the authority for any modification. However, the norms of sub limits, monthly or annual limits etc. of the product shall apply without any relaxation.

The Government of Karnataka has withdrawn the notification on extension of working hours in factories in Karnataka

The Government of Karnataka has, vide Notification No. KAE 33 KABANI 2020 dated 11 June 2020 withdrawn the Notification KAE 33 KABANI 2020 dated 22nd May 2020 ("Notification") issued under Section 5 of the Factories Act, 1948 (Act No- 63 of 1948) with immediate effect. The Government of Karnataka had, vide the Notification, granted exemption to all the factories registered under Factories Act, 1948 from the provisions of Section 51 (Weekly Hour) and Section 54 (Daily Hour) of the Factories Act, 1948 with effect from 22 May 2020 to 21 August 2020, subject to certain conditions.

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