Monitoring of foreign investment limits in listed entities

Gist of RBI notification dated 3rd May, 2018 follows

Attention of Authorised Dealer Category-I (AD Category-I) banks is invited to Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a person Resident outside India) Regulations, 2017 notified vide Notification No. FEMA 20(R)/2017-RB dated November 07, 2017 and as amended from time to time, in terms of which the onus of compliance with the sectoral/ statutory caps on foreign investment lies with the Indian investee company.

2. Currently, Reserve Bank of India receives data on investment made by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) and Non-resident Indians (NRI) on stock exchanges from the custodian banks and Authorised Dealer Banks for their respective clients, based on which restrictions beyond a threshold limit is imposed on FPI/ NRI investment in listed Indian companies.

3. In order to enable listed Indian companies to ensure compliance with the various foreign investment limits, Reserve Bank in consultation with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has decided to put in place a new system for monitoring foreign investment limits, for which the necessary infrastructure and systems for operationalizing the monitoring mechanism, shall be made available by the depositories. The same has been notified by SEBI vide Circular-IMD/FPIC/CIR/P/2018/61 dated April 05, 2018 read with Circular- IMD/FPIC/CIR/P/2018/74 dated April 27, 2018.

4. In terms of para 6 of Annexure A of the circular dated April 05, 2018, all listed Indian companies are required to provide the specified data/ information on foreign investment to the depositories. The requisite information may be provided before May 15, 2018. The listed Indian companies, in non-compliance with the above instructions will not be able to receive foreign investment and will be non-compliant with Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and regulations made thereunder.

5. All Authorised Dealer Banks are advised to instruct their clients and respective Indian companies, about the system requirement at para 4 of this circular.

6. Further, upon implementation of the new monitoring system, all Authorised Dealer banks would be required to provide the details of investment made by their respective NRI clients to the depositories in the format as provided by the depositories/ SEBI. In addition, the reporting to Reserve Bank in the existing system, viz., LEC (NRI) and LEC (FII), would continue.

7. AD Category-I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their customers / constituents concerned.

8. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions / approvals, if any, required under any other law.

Copy of this notification can also be found here

Setting up of IFSC Banking Units (IBUs)

RBI notification dated 17th May on the subject

Please refer to RBI circular DBR.IBD.BC.14570/23.13.004/2014-15 dated April 01, 2015, as modified from time to time, setting out RBI directions relating to IFSC Banking Units (IBUs).

2. In terms of para 2.3 of the circular, the parent bank will be required to provide a minimum capital of USD 20 million or equivalent in any foreign currency to start their IBU operations and the IBU should maintain the minimum prescribed regulatory capital on an on-going basis as per regulations amended from time to time.

3. In this regard, we have received suggestions from the stakeholders to consider minimum prescribed regulatory capital at the parent level rather than at the IBU level. The issue has been examined and the directions stand modified as follows:

4. The existing paragraph No.2.3 of Annex I of the aforesaid circular dated April 1, 2015 is amended to read as follows:

With a view to enabling IBUs to start their operations, the parent bank will be required to provide a minimum capital of USD 20 million or equivalent in any foreign currency to its IBU which should be maintained at all times. However, the minimum prescribed regulatory capital, including for the exposures of the IBU, shall be maintained on an on-going basis at the parent level.

5. The existing paragraph No.2.3 of Annex II of the aforesaid circular dated April 1, 2015 is amended to read as follows:

With a view to enabling IBUs to start their operations, the parent bank will be required to provide a minimum capital of USD 20 million or equivalent in any foreign currency to its IBU which should be maintained at all times. However, the minimum prescribed regulatory capital, including for the exposures of the IBU, shall be maintained on an on-going basis at the parent level as per regulations in the home country and the IBU shall submit a certificate to this effect obtained from the parent on a half-yearly basis to RBI (International Banking Division, DBR, CO, RBI). The parent bank will be required to provide a Letter of Comfort for extending financial assistance, as and when required, in the form of capital / liquidity support to IBU.

6. All other terms and conditions contained in the aforementioned circular remain unchanged.

7. An updated copy of the RBI circular on IBU dated April 01, 2015 incorporating the amendments made on January 07, 2016, November 10, 2016, April 10, 2017and May 17, 2018 is available on RBI’s website.

Full notification is available at here

11.40 kms in Aarey Forest

11.40 kms in Aarey Forest, Mumbai. Weather inside the forest is at least 3 to 4 degrees lower than on the outside. Beautiful trees, fresh oxygen, serene atmosphere, chirping birds, buzzing insects, winding roads, nature at its very best. Don't know why these morons want to destroy such a beautiful forest for the purpose of their ill planned metro car shed, when there is so much land available at other place like in Kanjur Marg, plus Indian Railways has so much unutilised land. Politicians are destroying this country. 

Additional fee structure for MCA e-forms

The MCA has vide its notification dated 7th May, 2018 amended the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 wherein w.e.f. 1st July, 2018 the additional fee structure would be Rs.100 per day instead of the slab wise additional fees that was applicable. In fact the slab wise additional fees will still be applicable in respect of the specified forms upto 30th June, 2018. Therefore if the event date of the form is before 30th June, 2018, then the slab wise additional fee structure will be applicable upto 30th June, 2018 and thereafter it will go up by Rs.100 per day. However, if the event date of the form is after 30th June, 2018 then additional fee structure will be straightaway Rs.100 per form. 

This additional fee structure is applicable only for the statutory annual e-forms like AOC-4 (annual audited accounts), MGT-7 (annual return of shareholders/ directors/ debts etc.), AOC-4 XBRL and AOC-4 (CFS).  It is not applicable for event based forms like MGT-14, PAS-3, CHG-1, CHG-4 etc. 

The additional fee structure is also applicable in respect of old version of the annual e-forms under the previous Companies Act, 1956 i.e. forms 23AC, 23ACA, 20B, 23AC (XBRL), 21A etc. 

So in case you have any annual e-forms still to be filed, the period upto June is the best time to file and upload the same as otherwise from 1st July, 2018 the additional fees will be Rs.100 per day. 

The Edge of Seventeen

Watched this movie called "The Edge of Seventeen" yesterday on Amazon Prime Video. Its a teenage coming of age kinda movie. At first i thought it would be irrelevant and got ready to get bored. But as the movie went along it was quite a pleasant surprise. It was a good movie. Hailee Steinfeld is a young kid growing up with no emotional support. She has an elder brother who is more loved and more popular and she has no friends at all. Only her dad is her emotional support which is quite natural with the Oedipus complex and all. As she grows up, she then befriends one girl Kyra Sedgwick and that's it. Then her dad unexpectedly passes away. So there you are - lone girl, no friends, introvert - how she copes up with loneliness, trauma and decision to commit suicide is what makes up the rest of the movie. The movie treats all these aspects very well without being very preachy and all. Pretty good acting by Hailee Steinfeld and decent by others. Rating 5/5