India Inc gets more time to post results
MUMBAI: The markets regulator Thursday allowed extra time for publicly listed companies to file their earnings reports, among other steps to support companies struggling amid the turmoil unleashed by the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Companies which till now had 45 days from the end of the quarter to file their quarterly earnings will now get an extra 45 days. Also, annual figures, which needed to be filed in 60 days have now been extended by another month. In effect, the deadline to file both has been extended till 30 June.
Currently, a company can delay earnings release only for reasons such as auditor resignation, or in some court cases.
Thursday’s relaxations by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) follow large-scale business disruption as travel restrictions bite and many employees work from home.
“It has been declared a ‘pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO). Developments arising due to the spread of the virus have warranted the need for temporary relaxations in compliance requirements for listed entities,” Sebi said in a press statement.
Sebi also relaxed the deadline for submitting governance reports by a month and quarterly shareholding patterns by three weeks. The governance report for this quarter is due by April 15 but now companies can submit them by May 15. The shareholding pattern is due on April 21; now companies can submit it by May 15.
These steps follow the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) Wednesday night relaxing the requirement for holding physical board meetings.
“Sebi’s decision to extend the reporting timelines for Q4 and annual financial reporting for 2020 in the light of disruption caused due to COVID19 is a welcome relief for corporate India. Many companies have proactively announced work-fromhome in the recent weeks and this extension will help them focus on current business exigencies. Further, it will provide time to financial market regulators to assess potential accounting guidance or additional disclosure requirements,” said Khazat Kotwal, partner, Deloitte India.