The weekly messenger | Edition 24.18

Auditing News

ICAI issues Indian Valuation Standards – 10 June 2018

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued eight Valuation Standards in order to have consistent, uniform and transparent valuation policies and to harmonise the diverse practices in use in India. These standards would be applicable for all valuation engagements on mandatory basis under the Companies Act, 2013 and on recommendatory basis for the valuation engagements under other statues are concerned like Income Tax, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) etc.

These standards would be effective for the valuation reports to be issued on or after 1 July 2018 till the Central Government (CG) notifies the Valuation Standards under Rule 18 of the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2018.

For more information, click here.

COSO and WBCSD issue draft guidance to supplement COSO's updated ERM framework - 8 June 2018

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have published a draft guidance: ‘Enterprise risk management: Applying enterprise risk management to environmental, social and governance – related risks’ in order to supplement the COSO’s updated enterprise risk management (ERM) framework, ‘ERM – Integrating with strategy and performance’.

Comments are to be received by 30 June 2018.

For more information, click here.

Regulatory News

Order regarding extension for a period of one month for the Steering Committee on CSR – 31 May 2018

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide its Office order dated 4 April 2018 had constituted the Steering Committee in order to review the functioning of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) enforcement and to recommend uniform approach for its enforcement. The Committee was originally required to submit its report by 3 June 2018. However, the MCA after considering the request of the Convener of the Committee, has decided to extend the aforesaid time period by one month.

For more information, click here.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 – 6 June 2018

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 has been further amended by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 due to which the certain sections have undergone changes and certain new sections have been added. These sections inter-alia includes:

• Section 3 ‘Definitions’;
• Section 7 ‘Initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process by financial creditor’;
• Section 8 ‘Insolvency resolution by operational creditor’;
• Section 9 ‘Application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process by operational creditor’;
• Section 10 ‘Initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process by corporate applicant’; and
• Section 12 ‘Time-limit for completion of insolvency resolution process’ etc.

For more information, click here.

Intimation regarding disclosures to be made in the prospectus for public issue of debt securities and non-convertible redeemable preference shares post amendment in the Companies Act, 2013 - 5 June 2018

The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 had amended Section 26(1) 'Matters to be stated in the prospectus' of the Companies Act 2013 wherein it stated that the prospectus shall state such information and set out such reports on financial information as may be specified by SEBI in consultation with the CG as against the earlier requirements which provides the detailed specification w.r.t. the information and reports to be filed. Further, a new proviso was also added to the aforesaid sub-section stating that till the time, the SEBI specifies information and reports on financial information, the regulations made by SEBI under the SEBI Act, 1992, in respect of such financial information or reports shall apply.

Now, SEBI in view of the aforesaid amendment, has advised the stock exchanges to intimate the issuers that till the time, new disclosure norms afre notified by SEBI for public issue of debt securities and non-convertible redeemable preference shares under the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Debt Securities) Regulations, 2008 and the SEBI (Issue and Listing of Non-Convertible Redeemable Preference Shares) Regulations, 2013 respectively, the issuers shall continue to make disclosures in the prospectus, as prescribed in the Companies Act,2013 and the rules made thereunder, i.e. before the amendment of section 26(1) and the rules made thereunder.

For more information, click here.

Further GST Updates

The Central Board of excise and Customs has issued certain updates w.r.t. Goods and Services Tax (GST) whose links are as follows:

• For information w.r.t. applicable GST rate on Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLCs), Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and other similar scrips – regarding, click here and;
• For clarifications w.r.t. certain issues under GST, click here