Companies need to provide PAN in annual returns: MCA

Corporates are now required to furnish Permanent Account Number (PAN) while submitting their annual returns to the government, a move that would help in sharing of information between different departments.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), which is implementing the Companies Act, 2013, has introduced the requirement by making changes to certain rules.
So far, companies were not asked to provide PAN in the electronic form used for filing annual returns.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry, a new column is being inserted for providing PAN in the MGT-7 form -- which is used for submitting the annual returns.

In this regard, the Ministry has amended the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014.
In recent months, the government has made various changes to rules pertaining to the Companies Act, 2013 apart from amending certain provisions in the main law itself.

Meanwhile, a high-level panel is looking at ways to address issues related to the new companies law.
Amid concerns expressed in various quarters about certain provisions in the Companies Act, 2013, the Ministry had set up the panel in June.
As per the terms of reference, the panel would "make recommendations to the government on issues arising from the implementation of the Companies Act, 2013".

It would also examine the recommendations received from the Bankruptcy Law Reforms committee, Committee on CSR, Law Commission and other agencies.