The Central Government has issued a Gazette notification announcing that key provisions of the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 will come into effect from December 15, 2025.
Among the activated sections, the most immediate impact will be on the cooperative banking sector, with the enforcement of Section 14, which amends Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The amendments will significantly affect cooperative banks by replacing the old alternate-Friday reporting cycle with a uniform “last day of the fortnight” system, aligning them with commercial banks. Outdated provisions have been removed, enabling modern regulatory compliance. Monthly and quarterly return filing will now follow calendar-end dates, simplifying submissions. Overall, cooperative banks will face streamlined reporting, clearer supervision and greater compliance uniformity.
Section 14 updates the special chapter dealing with cooperative banks by shifting them to a new “last day of the fortnight” reporting cycle, replacing the outdated alternate-Friday system. The amendment also removes provisions that no longer align with current regulatory practices, enabling cooperative banks to follow the same modern reporting structure used across the banking system.
Beyond the cooperative-specific reforms, the Government has also put into force several amendments that apply to the wider banking industry, including public sector, private sector and foreign banks. These provisions aim to modernise CRR and SLR reporting systems and bring uniformity to statutory return filing.
Under the broader set of changes, Section 2 revises Section 42 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, redefining “fortnight” and shifting CRR reporting to the last day of each fortnight. This brings CRR calculations in sync with the updated reporting cycle now being implemented sector-wide.
Similarly, Section 6, which amends Section 18 of the Banking Regulation Act, updates statutory liquidity requirements for non-scheduled banks and moves them to the same fortnight-based framework. Section 7 modernises Section 24 by updating SLR reporting timelines and the penalty mechanism for delayed compliance, aiming to create a more transparent supervisory environment.
The filing of statutory returns has also undergone reform. Section 8 amends Section 25 to ensure that quarterly returns are submitted based on the last day of each quarter, instead of the previous last-Friday system. Additionally, Section 9, which amends Section 27, mandates that monthly returns be filed as on the last calendar day of every month, establishing uniformity across banks of all categories.
Collectively, these amendments streamline reporting timelines, eliminate outdated procedures and introduce greater consistency to India’s banking regulatory framework.
The notification, issued by the Department of Financial Services, formally operationalises Sections 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 14 of the Act from December 15. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 had earlier received Presidential assent on April 15, 2025.
The reforms are expected to simplify compliance processes, harmonise reporting cycles and strengthen supervisory oversight across the banking system.
