Date of deposit of cheque & opening PPF account by Minor, RBI clarification

Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968:
1) Clarification regarding reckoning of the date of deposit
2) Reiteration of instructions on opening of an account for a minor
1. Reckoning the date of deposit in case of cheque payment:
As you are aware, Ministry of Finance letter No. F. 3(9)-PD/72 dated September 4, 1972, has issued notification for Public Provident Fund Scheme, 1968 (PPF). In order to bring uniformity in the reckoning of the date of deposit in the PPF vis-à-vis Post Office Savings Schemes (POSS) and Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004 (SCSS), the Government of India (GoI), vide their letter F. No.7/7/2008/NS-II dated February 10, 2010, have decided that hereafter in modification of Ministry of Finance letter No.F.3(9)-PD/72 dated September 4, 1972 "when a deposit is made in the PPF account by means of a local cheque or demand draft by the subscriber, the date of realization of the amount will be the date of deposit."

2. Opening of an account for a minor:
In view of complaints being received about non-opening of accounts for minor by some Agency banks, it is reiterated that as per Rule 3 (1) of PPF Scheme, 1968, an individual may, on his own behalf or on behalf of a minor, of whom he is the guardian, subscribe to the Public Provident Fund. Further it is reiterated that as clarified, vide Ministry of Finance letter F.7/34/88/-NS II dated November 17, 1989, either father or mother can open a PPF account on behalf of his/her minor child but not both.

Source: DGBA.CDD. H- 7530/15.02.001/2009-10 dated 29th March 2010

Again an option to Buyback / Prepayment of FCCB under RBI Approval Route till June 2010

Buyback / Prepayment of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs)
Attention of Authorised Dealer Category – I (AD Category – I) banks is invited to the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 39 dated December 08, 2008 and A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 65 dated April 28, 2009 on the captioned subject. In terms of A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 58 dated March 13, 2009, Indian companies were allowed to buyback their Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) both under the automatic route and approval route until December 31, 2009. The Scheme was discontinued with effect from January 1, 2010.

In view of the representations made by the issuers of FCCBs, it has been decided to consider applications, under the approval route, for buyback of FCCBs until June 30, 2010, subject to issuers complying with all the terms and conditions of buyback/prepayment of FCCBs, as mentioned in abovementioned circulars.

Accordingly, applications complying with the conditions may be submitted, together with the supporting documents, through the designated AD Category - I bank to the Chief General Manager-in-Charge, Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department, External Commercial Borrowings Division, Central Office, 11th Floor, Central Office Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai-400 001.

Source: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 44 dated 29th March 2010

Practising CS CA CWA to give COP & list of documents for KYC regarding Bank Account for Sole Proprietorship Concerns

Know your Customer (KYC) guidelines - accounts of proprietary concerns
A reference is invited to Para 2.4(a) of the Master Circular on KYC/AML/CFT/Obligation of banks under Prevention of Money laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 issued to banks vide DBOD.AML.BC. No.2/14.01.001/2009-10 dated July 1, 2009. It has been advised to banks that internal guidelines for customer identification procedure of legal entities may be framed by them based on their experience of dealing with such entities, normal bankers’ prudence and the legal requirements as per established practices. If the bank decides to accept such accounts in terms of the Customer Acceptance Policy, the bank should take reasonable measures to identify the beneficial owner(s) and verify his/her/their identity in a manner so that it is satisfied that it knows who the beneficial owner(s) is/are.

For sake of clarity, in case of accounts of proprietorship concerns, it has been decided to lay down criteria for the customer identification procedure for account opening by proprietary concerns. Accordingly, apart from following the extant guidelines on customer identification procedure as applicable to the proprietor, banks / financial institutions should call for and verify the following documents before opening of accounts in the name of a proprietary concern:

• Proof of the name, address and activity of the concern, like registration certificate (in the case of a registered concern), certificate/licence issued by the Municipal authorities under Shop & Establishment Act, sales and income tax returns, CST/VAT certificate, certificate/registration document issued by Sales Tax/Service Tax/Professional Tax authorities, Licence issued by the Registering authority like Certificate of Practice issued by ICAI, ICWAI, ICSI, Indian Medical Council, Food and Drug Control Authorities, etc.
• Any two of the above documents would suffice. These documents should be in the name of the proprietary concern.

These guidelines will apply to all new customers, while in case of accounts of existing customers, the above formalities should be completed in a time bound manner and should be completed before December 31, 2010.

Source: RBI DBOD.AML.BC.No.80 /14.01.001/2009-10 dated 26th March 2010

ASBA for Mutual Funds, NFO 15 days, Corporate Governance norms, No revenue sharing arangement & No dividend from Unit Premium Reserve

To All Mutual Funds (MFs)/Asset Management Companies (AMCs)

1. Brokerage and commission paid to associates
i. Regulation 25 (8) of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 mandates that the payment of brokerage or commission, if any, to the sponsor or any of its associates, employees or their relatives, has to be disclosed in the half–yearly annual accounts of the mutual fund.  Now, in the bridged scheme wise
annual report and the SAI, these disclosures shall henceforth be made in the
format as prescribed in Annexure A.
2. Additional mode of payment through Applications Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA) in Mutual Funds and Reduction in New Fund offer (NFO) period

1. ASBA is already available for subscription to public  issue & rights issue of equity and now it is extended to the investors subscribing to New Fund Offers (NFOs) of mutual fund schemes. It shall co-exist with the current process, wherein cheques/ demand drafts are used as a mode of payment. The banks which are in SEBI’s list shall extend the same facility in case of NFOs of mutual fund schemes to all eligible investors in Mutual Fund units. Mutual Funds shall ensure that adequate arrangements are made by Registrar and Transfer Agents (RTA) for the implementation of ASBA. Mutual Funds/AMCs shall make all relevant disclosures in this regard in the SAI. Also read [SEBI-ASBA] Lets Learn the Concept.
2. Reduction of NFO Periods to 15 days: It has been decided that the present limit of maximum period of 30 days in case of Open ended schemes and 45 days of close ended scheme shall be reduced to 15 days (except ELSS schemes). Mutual Funds/ AMCs shall use the NFO proceeds only on or after
   the closure of the NFO period. The mutual fund should allot units/refund of money and dispatch statements of accounts within 5 business days from the closure of the NFO and all the schemes (except ELSS) shall be available for ongoing repurchase/sale/trading within five business days of allotment”.
3. Applicability: For all NFOs launched on or after July 01, 2010.

3. Non availability of Unit Premium Reserve for dividend distribution

The IX and XI Schedule of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations provide the accounting policies to be followed for determining distributable surplus and accounting the sale and repurchase of units in the books of the Mutual Fund. The Unit Premium Reserve, which is part of the sales price of units that is not attributable to realized gains, cannot be used to pay dividend.  It is therefore reiterated that:

• When units of an open-ended scheme are sold, and sale price is higher than face value of the unit, part of sale proceeds that represents unrealised gains shall be credited to a separate account (Unit Premium Reserve) and shall be treated at par with unit capital and the same shall
  not be utilized for the determination of distributable surplus.
• When units of an open-ended scheme are sold, and sale price is less than face value of the unit, the difference between the sale price and face value shall be debited to distributable reserves and the dividend can be declared only when distributable reserves become positive after
  adjusting the amount debited to reserves as per XI Schedule of SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations.

4. Role of Mutual Funds in Corporate Governance of Public Listed Companies

It has been decided that henceforth, AMCs shall disclose their general policies
and procedures for exercising the voting rights in respect of shares held by them on the website of the respective AMC as well as in the annual report distributed to the unit holders from the financial year 2010-11.

Further, the AMCs are also required to disclose on the website of the respective AMC as well as in the annual report distributed to the unit holders from the financial year 2010-11, the actual exercise of their proxy votes in the AGMs/EGMs of the investee companies in respect of the following matters

• Corporate governance matters, including changes in the state of
  incorporation, merger and other corporate restructuring, and anti
  takeover provisions.
• Changes to capital structure, including increases and decreases of
  capital and preferred stock issuances.
• Stock option plans and other management compensation issues.
• Social and corporate responsibility issues.
• Appointment and Removal of Directors.
• Any other issue that may affect the interest of the shareholders in
  general and interest of the unit-holders in particular.

The format for disclosure of voting by mutual funds in general meetings of listed companies is placed in Annexure B.
5. Provision of charging of additional management fees by the AMC’s in case of schemes launched on no load basis
Consequent to SEBI Circular Empowering investors through transparency in payment of commission and load structure” which stipulated that No entry load for all Mutual Fund (MF) scheme,all expenses out of 1% Exit load & disclosure of all commissions to distributors from 1st August 2009, it is clarified that AMC shall not collect any additional management fees referred to in Regulation 52(3) of SEBI Mutual Funds Regulation, 1996.  This is applicable to MF schemes which are not launched (including those for which observation letter have been issued).

6. Fund of Funds Scheme
i. It has been observed from the disclosures in the scheme information documents (SID) that Asset Management Companies (AMCs) have been entering into revenue sharing arrangements with offshore funds in respect of investments made on behalf of Fund of Fund schemes. These arrangements create conflict of interest.
ii. It has been decided that henceforth AMCs shall not enter into any revenue sharing arrangement with the underlying funds in any manner and shall not receive any revenue by whatever means/head from the underlying fund. Any commission or brokerage received from the underlying fund shall be credited into concerned scheme’s account.

Source: SEBI/IMD/CIR No 18 / 198647 /2010 dated 15th March 2010

New definition of PIO includes Mother & Grandmother for FEMA, RBI notification as per Immovable Property Second Amendment 2009

Purchase of Immovable Property in India by Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) – Amendment of the definition

The term PIO is defined under Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India), Regulations, 2000.

The definition is partially amended by Foreign Exchange Management (Acquisition and Transfer of Immovable Property in India) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2009 to include Mother & Grandmother.

Now, PIO means:

• an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh or Sri Lanka or Afghanistan or China or Iran or Nepal or Bhutan),
• (i) who at any time, held an Indian Passport or
• (ii) who or either of whose father or mother or whose grandfather or grandmother was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Source: A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.25 dated 10th January 2o1o

FIU-IND transaction reporting under Money Laundering for Rs.10 lakh or Rs.50,000 as per Amendment Rules, 2009

Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Amendment Rules, 2009 - Obligation of banks/Financial institutions

As you are aware, Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 read with Rules is amended by Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries)  Amendment Rules, 2009 vide Records to be maintained from transaction, Non profit organisation included, Suspicious transaction defined in amendment of Money Laundering Rules 2009.

Accordingly, in view of amendments to the above Rules, banks / financial institutions are required to :
i) Maintain proper record of all transactions involving receipts by non- profit organizations of value more than Rs.10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency and to forward a report to FIU-IND of all such transactions in the prescribed format every month by the 15th of the succeeding month.
ii) In case of transactions carried out by a non-account based customer, that is a walk-in customer, where the amount of transaction is equal to or exceeds Rs.50,000/-, whether conducted as a single transaction or several transactions that appear to be connected, the customer's identity and address should be verified. Further, if a bank has reason to believe that a customer is intentionally structuring a transaction into a series of transactions below the threshold of Rs.50,000/- the bank should verify identity and address of the customer and also consider filing a suspicious transaction report (STR) to FIU-IND.

Source: DBOD. AML.BC. No. 68 /14.01.001/2009-10 dated 12th January 2010

Money deposit schemes are illegal, RBI cautions public about Unincorporated bodies

RBI cautions public : Not to deposit money in unincorporated bodies

It has come to the notice of the Reserve Bank of India that some individuals/firms/unincorporated association of individuals (unincorporated bodies) have been collecting deposits from the public by making tall promises of high returns. Some of them are stated to have vanished without repaying deposits. Under Section 45-S(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, unincorporated bodies that are carrying on the business of a financial institution or NBFC or whose principal business is that of receiving deposits are prohibited from accepting deposits from the public. Members of public are hereby cautioned not to deposit money with such unincorporated bodies. Persons depositing money with such unincorporated bodies would be doing so at their own risk.

Press Release: 2009-2010/1315

Understand listing agreement amendments with new sub-clauses in 41 & 49 (position before & after 5th April 2010)

As part of a review of the extant policies of disclosure requirements for listed entities and  also  to  bring  more  transparency  and  efficiency  in  the  governance  of  listed entities  it  has  been  decided  to  specify  certain  listing  conditions  so  to  amend  the Equity Listing Agreement.  This post has list of new clauses inserted and ends with a summary table to understand position before and after amendment along with the effective date.

Voluntary  adoption  of  International  Financial Reporting Standards  (IFRS)  by listed entities having subsidiaries - Insertion of Clause 41(I) (g)
Various  regulatory  authorities  are  working  on  arriving  at  a  roadmap  for implementation of IFRS in India and on the steps to be taken for convergence of the Indian Accounting Standards with IFRS by April 01, 2011.

Requirement of a valid peer review certificate for statutory auditors- Insertion of Clause 41(1) (h)

It  has  been  decided  that  in  respect  of  all  listed  entities,  limited review/statutory audit reports submitted to the concerned stock exchanges shall be given only by those auditors who have subjected themselves to the peer review process of ICAI and  who  hold  a  valid  certificate  issued  by  the  ‘Peer  Review  Board’  of  Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Interim disclosure of Balance Sheet items by listed entities- Insertion of clause 41(V) (h) and Annexure IX

With  a  view  to  have more  frequent  disclosure  of  the  asset-liability position  of entities, it has been decided that listed entities shall disclose within forty-five days from  the  end  of  the  half-year,  as  a  note  to  their  half-yearly  financial  results,  a statement of assets and liabilities in the specified format.

Approval of appointment of ‘CFO’ by the Audit Committee- Insertion of Clause 49(II)(D)(12A)

 

GIST OF SEBI CIRCULAR 5^TH APRIL 2010 – AMENDMENT OF LISTING AGREEMENT

Credits to Mr. CS Sriram Sharma for the wonderful presentation in table format:

SL. NO	CLAUSES	AMENDMENT OF CIRCULAR
1	Clause 24 (i)	Company while filing for approval with the Stock Exchange any draft scheme of amalgamation / merger / reconstruction, etc under Clause 24(f) is required to file with the Stock Exchange an Auditors’ Certificate that the accounting treatment contained in the scheme of amalgamation is in compliance with the Accounting Standards specified by ICAI. Effective Date: 5th April 2010.
2	Clause 41 (I)(c)	Companies have an option to submit audited or un-audited quarterly and year to date financial results within 45 days of the end of each quarter instead of 1 month of the end of each quarter. [The above clause is for results to be submitted for other than last quarter]
3	Clause 41 (I) (c)	For Companies which opt to submit un-audited financial results, the copy of the Limited Review report should be furnished to Stock Exchange within 45 days from the end of the quarter instead of 2 months earlier. [The above clause is for results to be submitted for other than last quarter]
4	Clause 41 I (d)	In respect of the last quarter, Companies have an option to submit un-audited financial results for the quarter within 45 days of the end of the Financial Year OR if the Company decides to submit audited financial results for the entire Financial Year it should do so within 60 days of the end of the Financial Year
5	Clause 41 I (d)	The Limited Review Report in respect of the last quarter should be furnished to the Stock Exchange within 45 days of the end of the Financial Year
6	Clause 41 I (e) (i)	In case of a Company having subsidiaries, it may in addition to submitting quarterly and y-t-d stand alone financial results to the Stock Exchange within 45 days from the end of the quarter, also submit quarterly and year to date consolidated financial results within 45 days from the end of the quarter
7	Clause 41 I (e) (ii)	For a Company having subsidiaries, it should submit the annual audited consolidated financial results along with the annual audited stand alone financial results within 60 days from the end of the Financial Year to the Stock Exchange
8	Clause 41 I (ea) & (eaa)	A Statement of Assets & Liabilities as at the end of the half-year should be disclosed within 45 days from the end of the half-year to the Stock Exchange. The said information should be disclosed as a part of the audited or un-audited financial results for the half-year to the Stock Exchange so as to keep the shareholders informed about the solvency position of the Company
9	Clause 41 I (g)	If the Company has subsidiaries, it may opt to submit consolidated financial results as per IFRS
10	Clause 41 I (h)	Company to ensure that the Limited Review / Audit Reports is given by an Auditor who has subjected himself to the peer review process of the ICAI and holds a valid certificate issued by the Peer Review Board of the ICAI. Effective Date: For appointment of Auditors after 1st April 2010.
11	Clause 41 V (g)	Disclosure of Balance Sheet items as per Cl 41 I (eaa) to be in the format specified in Annexure IX drawn from the Schedule VI of the Companies Act, 1956
12	Clause 41 VI (b)	Disclosure of Consolidated financial results along with the following items on a stand alone basis as a foot note (a) Turnover (b) Profit before Tax (c) Profit after tax instead of only consolidated financial results
13	Clause 41 VI (b) (iv)	Companies that are required to prepare consolidated financial results for the first time at the end of the Financial Year should exercise the option mentioned in Cl. 41 VI (b) in respect of the quarter during the Financial Year in which they first acquire the subsidiary
14	Annexure V to Clause 41 – Limited Review Report for Companies other than Banks	Disclosures regarding “Public Shareholding” and “Promoter & Promoter Group Shareholding” which have been traced from the disclosures made by the management and have not been audited by us inserted
15	Annexure VI to Clause 41 – Limited Review Report for Banks	Same as point 14 above.
16	Annexure VII & VIII  (both parts)	Except for the disclosures regarding ‘Public Shareholding’ and ‘Promoter & Promoter Group Shareholding’ which have been traced from the disclosures made by the management and have not been audited by us inserted after the words pursuant to the requirement of Clause 41 of the Listing Agreement
17	Annexure IX	Statement of Assets & Liabilities introduced
18	Clause 49 II D (12A)	Audit Committee to approve the appointment of CFO - Approval of the appointment of CFO after assessing the qualifications, experience and background of the candidate.

 

Unless effective date is mentioned above, all other provisions shall be effective from the date of circular as mentioned below..

Source: SEBI CIR/CFD/DIL/1/2010 dated 5th April 2010

Stock Exchanges website to disclose orders of listed companies/members & arbitration awards

Disclosure of Regulatory orders i.e., orders against listed companies, trading / clearing members and arbitration awards issued by Stock Exchanges need to be made available to investors.

Accordingly, it has been decided that the Stock Exchanges shall post all their
regulatory orders and arbitration awards,

• issued since April 1, 2007, on their websites within 30 days from 1st April 2010. Further, all regulatory orders and
• arbitration awards as and when issued by Exchanges from the date of this circular shall be posted on their website immediately.

Source: SEBI/MRD/DSA-OIAE/Cir.- 09 /2010 dated 1st April 2010

DIPP Consolidated FDI Policy Circular 1 of 2010 wef 1st April and all Press Notes repealed, the legal edifice is built on FEMA RBI notifications (Master)

The system of periodic consolidation and updation of Indian Foreign Direct investment (FDI) Policy issued by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Ministry of Commerce & Industry is introduced as an investor friendly measure (as assured by Finance Ministry in his recent Budget Speech).  The draft master Press Note was released for public comments which can be read from Download all Press Notes from 1991 to 2009 issued by DIPP as it proposes to consolidate PNs in 2010 to release a comprehensive FDI policy in India like Master Circulars with a sunset clause of 6 months

Now, it has been decided that from now onwards a consolidated circular (Master Press Notes or Consolidated FDI Policy or Circular 1 of 2010) would be issued every 6 months to update the FDI policy. This consolidated circular will, therefore, be superseded by a circular to be issued on September 30, 2010. (like you wait for RBI Master Circulars on 1st July every year).  While this circular consolidates FDI Policy Framework, the legal edifice is built on notifications issued by RBI under FEMA.

Press Notes are NOT applicable:

All earlier Press Notes/Press Releases/Clarifications on FDI issued by DIPP which were in force and effective as on March 31, 2010 stand rescinded as on March 31, 2010. The present circular consolidates and subsumes all such/these Press Notes/Press Releases/Clarifications as on March 31, 2010.  Enjoy reading the last press note, it won’t kill you any more.  Its just a single document hereon (making the life of a Corporate Legal Consultant easier and interpretations tougher).

Consolidated FDI Policy is APPLICABLE:

With effect from 1st April 2010, the Consolidated FDI Policy will be applicable.  It has the following important categories,

1. ORIGIN, TYPE, ELIGIBILITY, CONDITIONS AND ISSUE/TRANSFER OF INVESTMENT
2. CALCULATION, ENTRY ROUTE, CAPS, ENTRY CONDITIONS ETC. OF INVESTMENT
3. POLICY ON ROUTE, CAPS AND ENTRY CONDITIONS
4. AGRICULTURE
5. INDUSTRY, MINING, MANUFACTURING
6. SERVICES SECTOR
7. REMITTANCE, REPORTING AND VIOLATION/COMPOUNDING
8. ANNEXURES

• Annex-1 Form FC-GPR
• Annex-2 Terms and conditions for transfer of capital instruments from resident to non-resident and vice-versa
• Annex-3 Documents to be submitted by a person resident in India for transfer of shares to a person resident outside India by way of gift
• Annex-4 Definition of "relative" as given in Section 6 of Companies Act, 1956
• Annex-5 Report by the Indian company receiving amount of consideration for issue of shares / convertible debentures under the FDI scheme
• Annex-6 Know Your Customer (KYC) Form in respect of the non-resident investor
• Annex-7 Form FC-TRS
• Annex-8 Form DR
• Annex-9 Form DR – Quarterly

Definitions

CAPITAL
Means
Compulsorily, Mandatorily and Fully convertible
Preference Shares	Debenture Shares
and includes
DR’S	FCCB’s

Any many more interesting definitions, concepts, provisions, etc…

Download Circular 1 of 2010 on FDI Policy

Changes in Automatic Route Sectoral Cap under FEMA FIPB & treatment of additional foreign investments - Press Note 1 2010

Government Route (ie) prior approval of Government of India shall be considered by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), under Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance.

Approval of FIPB/CCEA:

• FIPB can recommend on proposals for approval of Ministry of Finance if total foreign equity inflow is UPTO Rs.1200 crore.
• The FIPB Secretariat in DEA will process the recommendations of FIPB to obtain the approval of Minister of Finance and Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) for total foreign equity inflow of more than Rs. 1200 crore.
• The CCEA would also consider the proposals which may be referred to it by the FIPB/ the Minister of Finance.

Additional Foreign Investment into Same Entity:

It has also been decided that companies may not require fresh prior approval of the Government i.e. Minister in-charge of FIPB/CCEA for bringing in additional foreign investment into the same entity, in the following cases:

1. Cases which earlier required prior approval of FIPB/Cabinet Committee on Foreign Investment (CCFI)/CCEA and who had, accordingly, earlier obtained prior approval of FIPB/CCFI/CCEA for their initial foreign investment but subsequently such activities/sectors have been placed under automatic route;
2. Cases which had sectoral caps earlier and who had, accordingly, earlier obtained prior approval of FIPB/CCFI/CCEA for their initial foreign investment but subsequently such caps were removed/increased and the activities placed under automatic route; provided that such additional investment alongwith the initial/original investment does not exceed the sectoral caps;
3. Cases of additional foreign investment into the same entity where prior approval of FIPB/CCFIICCEA had been obtained earlier for the initial/original foreign investment due to requirements of Press Note 18/1998 or Press Note 1 of 2005 and prior approval of the Government under the FDI policy is not required for any other reason/purpose.

Thats it, this is the final and last of the classes of Press Note series.  This subsequently will be superceded by Master Press Notes which will be released for every 6 months.

Source: Press Note 1 of 2010

ODI under Automatic route for participating in Submarine Cable Systems consortium subject to FEMA online filing & other conditions

In general, Overseas Direct Investments (ODI) shall not 400% cent of the net worth of the Indian company, under the automatic route.

Now, Indian companies are allowed to participate in a consortium with other international operators to construct and maintain submarine cable systems on co-ownership basis under the automatic route on satisfying the following conditions,

1. Licence from the Department of Telecommunication, Ministry of Telecommunication & Information Technology to establish, install, operate and maintain International Long Distance Services (ILDS).
2. Certified copy of the Board Resolution approving such investment.
3. Report the same as per A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 68 dated June 1, 2007.
4. Comply with Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of any Foreign Security) Regulations, 2004.
5. Make Online filing for allotment of Unique Identification Number as per A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 36 dated February 24, 2010 which are detailed below,

• Online Filing: The new system would enable on-line generation of the Unique Identification Number (UIN), acknowledgment of remittance/s and filing of the Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and easy accessibility to data at the AD level for reference purposes.
  Transactions in respect of Mutual Funds, Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) and Employees Stock Options Scheme (ESOPS) are also required to be reported on-line in the Overseas Investment Application.
• FEMA Online Website: The on-line reporting would be required to be made by the Centralized Unit/Nodal Office of AD Category - I banks. The Overseas Investment Application would be hosted on the Reserve Bank's Secured Internet Website (SIW) https://secweb.rbi.org.in and a link would be made available for accessing the Application on the main page of the website.
• Physical Filing: The application for overseas investment under the approval route would continue to be submitted to the Reserve Bank in physical form as hitherto, in addition to the on-line reporting of Part I as contemplated above, for approval purposes. Further, the transactions relating to closure / disinvestment/ winding up/ voluntary liquidation of the overseas Joint Ventures/Wholly Owned Subsidiaries (JVs / WOSs) under the automatic and approval routes (Part IV of form ODI) would continue to be submitted to the Reserve Bank in physical form as is being done at present.
  

Source: Liberalisation of Overseas Direct Investment as per A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.45 dated 1st April 2010.