The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday gave more time to listed companies to declare their results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and for the fiscal year.

In a circular, the market regulator said it was giving more time as the spread of coronavirus has affected the movement of people and businesses.

“The Covid-19 virus has hit populations around the world and has resulted in many restrictions, including the free movement of people, thereby hampering businesses and day to day functioning of companies,” Sebi said.

Sebi on Thursday gave a 45-day relaxation for companies to file their fourth quarter results as well as an additional one-month time to submit their annual results.

Besides, the market watchdog has relaxed the time-gap required between two board meetings of a company.

Companies have also been provided one-month relaxation till May 15 for filing their quarterly governance reports.

“Development arising due to the spread of the virus warrant the need for temporary relaxation in compliance requirement of listed entities,” Sebi said in a circular.

With respect to the quarterly financial results, companies have been given 45 days till June 30, 2020 to file their March quarter results.

Under the rules, firms are required to file their financial results within 45 days from the end of a quarter. According to that time frame, the deadline is May 15.

In the case of submitting results for the year ending March 31, the watchdog has extended the time till June 30.

Normally, listed companies are required to file their annual results within 60 days from the end of a financial year.

“The board of directors and the audit committee of the listed entity are exempted from observing the stipulated time gap between two meetings for the meeting held or proposed to be held between the period December 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020,” Sebi said.

However, the board of directors and audit committees would have to ensure that they meet at least four times a year as stipulated under listing regulations.

Under the norms, the board of directors or audit committee need to meet at least four times a year, with a maximum gap of 128 days between any two meetings.