MCA vide General Circular no. 23/ 2020 dated 17th June, 2020 has issued Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 for all Companies Registered with ROC.

Provisions Related to Filings:

1. Section – 77 of the Companies Act 2013 - creation or modification of charges
2. Timeline: with a period of 120 days of the creation or modification of charge.
3. In case failure under Section 77 (1): (Charge not registered with in 30 days) the charge holder may file the form related to creation or modification of charges under section 78 of the Companies Act, 2013 within the overall timelines for filing of such form under section 77.

Representation & COVID-19

Several representation has been made to MCA on account of COVID-19 outbreak requesting relaxations in the timelines related to filing of certain charge related forms.

Further, the benefit of waiver of additional fees was not extended to the charge related documents under the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS), 2020.

MCA Relaxations on Charge related filings

In a view of the pandemic situation due to COVID-19 outbreak and Representation made, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has came out with a new scheme called "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.

Decoding Scheme related to Charge Matters

Name of the Scheme	Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013
Purpose	condoning the delay in filing certain forms related to creation/ modification of charges.
Scheme applicable (date)	17th June 2020
Applicability (Scope)	Filing of Form No. CHG-l and Form No. CHG-9 (both referred as 'form' or 'forms) by a company or a charge holder, where the date of creation / modification of charge: is before 01.03.2020, but the timeline for filing such form had not expired under section 77 of the Companies Act as on 01.03.2020, / or falls on any date between 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 (both dates inclusive).
Relaxation of time	In case a form is filed before 01.03.2020, but the timeline for filing such form had not expired under section 77 of the Companies Act as on 01.03.2020: the period beginning from 01.03.2020 and ending on 30.09.2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting the number of days under section 77 or section 78. if the form is not filed within such period, the first day after 29.02.2020 shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the form is required to be filed under section 77 or section 78 In case Filing of Forms falls on any date between 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 (both dates inclusive). the period beginning from the date of creation/ modification of charge to 30.09.2020 shall not be reckoned for the purpose of counting of days under section 77 or section 78 If the form is not filed within such period, the first day after the date of creation / modification of charge shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 for the purpose of counting the number of days within which the form is required to be filed under section 77 or section 78.
Applicable Fees	In case a form is filed before 01.03.2020, but the timeline for filing such form had not expired under section 77 of the Companies Act as on 01.03.2020: if the form is filed on or before 30.09.2020 - the fees payable as on 29.02.2020 under the Fees Rules for the said form shall be charged. If form filed thereafter - the applicable fees shall be charged under the Fees Rules after adding the number of days beginning from 01.10.2020 and, ending on the date of filing plus the time period lapsed from the date of the creation of charge till 29.02.2020 In case Filing of Forms falls on any date between 01.03.2020 to 30.09.2020 (both dates inclusive). if the form is filed on or before 30.09.2020 - Normal fees under the Fees Rules for the said form shall be charged. If form filed thereafter - the First day after the date of creation/modification of charge shall be reckoned as 01.10.2020 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 Fees Rules.
Non – applicability of the Scheme	The Scheme shall not apply, in case: The forms i.e.CHG-1 and CHG-9 had already been filed before the date of issue of this Circular. The timeline for filing the form has already expired under section 77 or section 78 of the Act prior to 01.03.2020 The timeline for filing the form expires at a future date, despite exclusion of the time provided in sub-para (iii) above. Filing of Form CHG-4 for satisfaction of charges.

Link:

• http://www.mca.gov.in/Ministry/pdf/Circular23_17062020.pdf

Disclaimer:
In No Event The Author Shall Be Liable For Any Direct, Indirect, Special Or Incidental Damage Resulting From Or Arising Out Of Or In Connection With The Use Of This Information. This Has Been Shared For Knowledge Purposes Only.