The FM also said the government has proposed a joint panel of Corporate Affairs Ministry and CBDT for incorporation of income computation and disclosure standards.
Various stakeholders told the committee that there is a need for expanding judicial capacity or restructuring the adjudicatory process by increasing the number of benches and also enhancing financial allocation for improvement of infrastructure.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is contemplating an increase to the existing strength of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) benches to handle the growing case load. The ministry is currently analysing the time taken by each bench to dispose of matters and the total number of cases being handled by each bench. "We need to first determine our requirement, given that the NCLT handles both Company Act and insolvency and bankruptcy matters. "The latter constitutes the majority of the case burden.
He will succeed incumbent Rajiv Gauba, who completes his unprecedented five-year term in the top bureaucratic post this month-end.
The government on Thursday rolled out the internship programme on a pilot basis that will provide a total annual financial assistance of Rs 66,000 to those in the age group of 21-24 years, and aim to cover one crore youth over five years.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money-laundering case against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter Veena Vijayan and her IT firm for receiving 'illegal payments' from a Kochi-based private firm, official sources said on Wednesday.
The corporate affairs ministry has asked its field officers to expedite the inspection of the books of Byju's and submit the report, a senior official said on Monday as trouble continues to brew at the edtech firm. The ministry, which is implementing the companies law, will decide the further course of action after receiving the report from its regional office. In July 2023, the ministry had asked the office of the regional director in Hyderabad to conduct an inspection of the company Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, which is registered in Bengaluru.
The Enforcement Directorate has filed its first charge sheet in connection with its money laundering probe against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo-India and some others, official sources said on Thursday. The prosecution complaint was filed before the court of Special Judge Kiran Gupta in New Delhi on Wednesday under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Vivo-India has been named an accused apart from those arrested in this case, the sources told PTI. The judge posted the matter for consideration on December 13.
It is being suggested that apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, should share their APIs with each other to ensure there is interoperability, just as it exists across email services.
No government in the past initiated the process of policy making for its next tenure even before going in for elections. Once the Model Code of Conduct is enforced by the Election Commission, should the government of the day refrain from taking an active interest in policy making for the next five years and let that be the function of the new government?, asks A K Bhattacharya.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested four persons including the MD of the Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national as part of its ongoing money-laundering probe against Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo, official sources said on Tuesday. They identified the four as Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen Kyang, chartered accountant Nitin Garg and a person called Rajan Malik. They have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The corporate affairs ministry has ordered an inspection of the books of Byju's, a senior government official said on Monday amid the edtech major facing multiple headwinds, including delay in submitting financial statements and concerns over corporate governance issues. The inspection of Bengaluru-based Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, which operates under the brand Byju's, will be carried out by the ministry, which is implementing the companies law. The ministry decided to carry out the inspection after taking note of the developments, including that the company has been unable to finalise its financial statements and that its auditor has resigned, the official told PTI.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday met top officials of the finance and corporate affairs ministries to review the implementation of various announcements of the Union Budget FY24. "The finance minister underlined the importance of continuous assessment of progress to ensure that various announcements are implemented in a time-bound manner," the finance ministry said in a tweet. Sitharaman also discussed in detail various issues on the digital competition laws with Rajeev Chandrashekhar, the minister of state for entrepreneurship, skill development, electronics and technology.
Scores of chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants are currently under the regulatory scanner for alleged violations of the companies law with respect to setting up of certain Chinese companies and their subsidiaries in India, according to officials. The apex bodies of chartered accountants and company secretaries, ICAI and ICSI, have together received around 400 complaints on the issue and necessary actions have been initiated. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India has also initiated action against some of their members in the matter.
The investor education and protection fund authority (IEPFA) has reached out to top hundred companies to reduce the documentation required for individuals trying to claim their shares, according to a senior government official. Recently, the Supreme Court-appointed expert panel on the Adani-Hindenburg case had raised issues such as capacity constraints faced by IEPFA in clearing these claims which are over Rs 5,000 crore. "Our immediate priority is to ensure that claims of those investors whose application was approved a year ago but the transfer has not gone through yet are settled first.
The ED carried out searches against two former auditor firms of IL&FS -- BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells -- on Wednesday in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged financial irregularities at the infrastructure development and finance company, official sources said. The premises linked to the two auditors in Mumbai were searched under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added. The action came a week after the Supreme Court set aside a Bombay High Court verdict that quashed an SFIO probe against the two companies, both former auditors of IL&FS Financial Services, paving the way for action against them under the Companies Act and allowing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to take forward its enquiry against them.
The government has reshuffled the board of IL&FS Ltd, which is undergoing debt resolution process, with existing board member C S Rajan being redesignated as the non-executive chairman. Nand Kishore, who was serving as an executive director, has been made the managing director, according to the company. In the wake of financial misdoings coming to light, the corporate affairs ministry had superseded the board of IL&FS in October 2018.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday flagged concerns about possible cartelisation in markets and stressed on the need to look into the causes of short supply of commodities. Speaking at the 13th annual day function of the Competition Commission of India (CCI), the minister also said that the regulator needs to have a "proactive understanding" of mergers and acquisitions. "Cartelisation is going to be a challenge...," the minister said.
The Centre has taken a major step towards increasing efficiency in decision-making by empowering joint secretaries to report to secretaries directly, officials said on Wednesday.
The government on Wednesday cleared amendments to the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, with an aim to decriminalise various provisions under the law and foster the ease of doing business in the country.
A key feature of the new version is to identify the people transacting on its portal by linking each user ID with the person's permanent account number (PAN), followed by a two-factor authentication through mobiles and email IDs. Those who cannot complete the KYC requirements cannot use the portal.
The meeting is believed to be called to chalk out the strategy of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
Corporate social responsibility rules that kicked in on Friday also set a three year time-limit for any CSR project, among a series of other amendments introduced by the government.
The government is also planning to set up specialised Benches for competition law to reduce the burden of the appellate tribunal, which is referred to on all matters from company law and IBC to competition law and the national financial reporting authority.
ICAI on Tuesday said it is setting up a fast-track cell to deal with cases against chartered accountants involved in incorporating shell companies in India with Chinese links and it would aim to dispose them of by the end of the year. Those found guilty can face a lifetime ban, among other actions. The apex bodies of chartered accountants and company secretaries, ICAI and ICSI, have together received around 400 complaints on the issue and necessary actions have been initiated.
The corporate affairs ministry proposed the names of Borkar & Mazumdar & Co and MM Chitale & Co for IL&FS and IFIN respectively; and GM Kapadia & Co and CNK & Associates for IL&FS Transportation Networks.
Deloitte had challenged the jurisdiction of the NCLT to ban it, saying section 140(5) of the Companies Act pertains to auditors who are still auditing the company in question while it has already resigned from the service and thus cannot be banned under the given provisions.
All four societies were under common management of the Sahara group and had collectively garnered Rs 86,673 crore, including more than Rs 47,000 crore collected by Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Ltd from nearly 4 crore depositors.
Amid allegations of dubious funding into the companies of Bharatiya Janata Party chief Nitin Gadkari, the Corporate Affairs Ministry on Thursday said it is looking into investments made in his company.
When shares in the electronic form are available with the depositories, it acts as primary evidence for those who hold the shares.
Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh said it is a major step to place the right talent for the right role.
Company will be required to seek the permission of the central Government if monthly payment made to relatives is more than Rs. 2,50,000.
Serious Fraud Investigation Office will probe the airline for instances of fund diversions and large-scale irregularities.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said the government is planning to extend the suspension of fresh insolvency proceedings for another three months, a move which will provide major relief to corporate borrowers hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the Bangalore Chamber Of Industry And Commerce (BCIC), she said the government has taken several measures, including deferment of tax payment date, to help businesses and people.
But it does not mention its views on the government demand to ban these two auditors for five years from business.
The government on Monday said it proposes to incentivise incorporation of one person companies, a move that will benefit startups and innovators.
In efforts to bolster corporate governance among listed companies, Sebi on Tuesday approved various amendments to rules governing the appointment, re-appointment and removal of independent directors, including the requirement to disclose resignation letters of such individuals. There will be a one-year cooling period for an independent director transitioning to a whole-time director in the same company/ holding/ subsidiary/ associate company or any company belonging to the promoter group. As part of the review of regulatory provisions related to independent directors, the Sebi board has cleared amendments to Sebi (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.
The Directorate of Enforcement is investigating Ringing Bells, the company which has launched smartphone for Rs 251, for alleged contravention of FEMA.
In the second phase of action against shell companies, the MCA is also trying to trace the directors of 'vanishing' companies
In a move to plug gaps in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has proposed robust norms against avoidance transactions, wrongful trading, and inordinate delays via changes to look-back period and fixed timelines for the tribunals to reject or approve plans, among other measures. The MCA has proposed that the IBC should provide the adjudicating authority with 30 days for approving or rejecting a resolution plan under Section 31. If a decision is not made on the resolution plan within that period, the adjudicating authority will record reasons in writing for the same, the ministry has proposed.