The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) extended, till December 31, 2020, the timelines for several relaxations on compliance norms and schemes rolled out to provide relief and support to companies amid the pandemic.

Post the decisions, the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 will be valid till December 31, from September 30 and the board meetings of companies can be held through video conference or other audio visual mechanism till the end of this year.

"The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the duration of several schemes till 31.12.2020 in view of the continued disruption caused due to the COVID-19 pandemic in certain parts of the country and to provide greater Ease of Doing Business," the office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a tweet.

The ministry had introduced the Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020, valid from April 1, 2020 to September 2020, to enable companies to make good their previous defaults. This scheme has now been extended till December 31, 2020.

Another scheme introduced amid the pandemic LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020, was valid from April 1, 2020 to June 13, 2020 and was later extended till September 30, 2020. This scheme too has been further extended to December 31, 2020 to enable LLPs to make good their previous defaults.

"The Scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 and the time for conducting EGMs through Video Conference or Other Audio Visual Means also stand extended till 31.12.2020," said another tweet by Sitharaman's office.

The MCA has also extended the time within which independent directors of companies have to register themselves on the data bank maintained by the IICA from September 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020.