Companies Act: Sitharaman to meet stakeholders on Jun 21

To discuss issues related to the new Companies Act, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to meet stakeholders, including industry groupings, on June 21.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of demands from various quarters seeking relaxations and possible changes in the new Companies Act, many of whose provisions came into force from April 1 onwards.

Sources said that Sitharaman is expected to meet stakeholders to discuss issues related to implementation of Companies Act, 2013, on June 21. Industry groupings and various other stakeholders have been invited for the meeting, they added.

Sitharaman is Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Finance Ministries, besides having the independent charge of Commerce and Industry Ministry.

The Companies Act, 2013, is being implemented by the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

Little over 280 sections and related rules have been notified by the Ministry.

In recent weeks, many entities have raised concerns about certain provisions in the new companies law, including norms pertaining to related party transactions, NBFCs (Non Banking Financial Companies) and cap on the number of audits that can be carried out by an auditor.

Already, the Ministry has provided many clarifications besides relaxing certain compliance norms.

The Ministry had eased norms, saying that an independent director's previous tenure would not be counted towards the ten-year period limit, as mandated under the new law, provided that the individual is appointed afresh before March 2015.

Under the new Act, an independent director can have a maximum of two tenures of five consecutive years (a total of ten years), with a cooling-off period of three years.

Besides, the Ministry has given time till March next year for entities to comply with the requirement of insuring deposits taken from the public.