Earlier today, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced as the government she will be addressing the media specifically on statutory and regulatory compliance matters. She also mentioned that the ministry is already working on an economic package to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on the Indian economy.

The minister announced that the last date for Income Tax return for 2018-19 has been extended till June 30 amid the coronavirus pandemic. It can also be recalled that the ministry has clarified that the spending of(Corporate Social Responsibility)  CSR funds for COVID-19 is eligible CSR activity. Investments relating to the promotion of health care, including preventive health care and sanitation, and disaster management will be considered under CSR. 

Major announcements by the Finance Minister

• The ministry is working on an economic package, and the announcement will follow up soon. 
• For newly incorporated companies: 6 more months to file commencement of business report.
• Aadhaar-PAN linking deadline extended to June 30.
• For larger companies, only interest but no late fee and no penalty for GST.
• For companies with less than ₹5 crore turnover, no interest, late fee, or penalty will be charged.
• Deadline for filing March, April, May GST returns extended to June 30: 
• The ministry will announce a relief related to tax return filing.
•  Vivad se Vishwas tax dispute resolution scheme will be extended by three months to June 30. Those availing the scheme by the extended deadline will not have to pay 10 per cent interest on the principal amount.

Various industry bodies such as CII, FICCI, and ASSOCHAM requested the government to extend the deadlines of filing the returns and GST. It will help them to pass on the benefits to their employees and won't lead to slashing their jobs or salaries.