On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released guidelines aimed at streamlining, standardizing, and providing clarity to the instructions given to different supervised entities for the submission of returns.
Based on suggestions from the central bank’s internal working group and the Regulations Review Authority, the action attempts to lessen the compliance burden on regulated firms.
“In order to create a single reference for all supervisory returns and to harmonise the timelines for filing of returns, all the relevant instructions have been rationalised and consolidated into a single Master Direction,” the RBI mentioned in a circular.
Affected sectors
All commercial banks (PSBs, private sector banks, SFBs, payment banks, and foreign banks), urban cooperative banks, all India financial institutions (Exim Bank, NABARD, NHB, SIDBI, and NABFID), all NBFCs, and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) will be subject to the “Master Direction – Reserve Bank of India (Filing of Supervisory Returns) Directions – 2024,” according to the central bank.
It further said that within 21 days of receiving the statutory central auditor (SCA) report, PSBs must submit their half-yearly and quarterly reviews of accounts. In the past, banks were able to submit the reviews whenever the SCA offered them.
“In case any Supervised Entities is found in violation of these Directions, the Reserve Bank may take necessary action including imposition of a penalty/fine under the extant provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 or the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 or the Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, as the case may be,” the RBI stated.
