Govt promulgates ordinance to amend Companies Act after Cabinet nod

The government on Friday promulgated an ordinance to amend the companies law, a senior official said.

The proposal to issue an ordinance to amend the Companies Act, 2013, was cleared by the Cabinet on Thursday.

The official said the ordinance had received assent from President Ram Nath Kovind and has been promulgated.

Details about the proposed amendments could not be immediately ascertained.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the Act, has been looking at ways to promote ease of doing business as well as ensure better compliance levels.

In August, a government-appointed panel suggested various changes to the Act, including restructuring of corporate offences under the companies law and an in-house adjudication mechanism to ensure that courts get more time to deal with serious violations.

Apart from restructuring of corporate offences to relieve special courts from adjudicating routine offences, the panel has mooted "re-categorisation of 16 out of the 81 compoundable offences" under the Act.

The committee had also recommended disqualification of directors in case they have directorships beyond permissible limits and capping an independent director's remuneration.