Govt to clarify Companies Act soon: Pilot

Union Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot on Monday assured that his ministry will soon issue clarifications on the applicability of overlapping provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and the new Companies Act, 2013 -– of which 98 sections were notified on September 12.

Addressing the National Conference on the Companies Act, 2013, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) here, Pilot made it clear that the clarification by the Ministry would be so effective that corresponding provisions of the earlier Act have been superseded by the new Act.  The Union minister was responding to the request made by Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII.

The Minister also clarified that corporates are free to adopt CSR initiatives that have been approved by its Board and have broader social acceptance. "Only disclosures about the amount spent towards discharging CSR are required in the format prescribed," said he and urged industry to take up practical and tangible projects to create a positive impact on the community.

Pilot said while the law is replete with compliances, the intention is to reduce regulation. Responding to another observation, he denied eyeing the auditor community with suspicion but concurred that the Act has raised the stakeholders’ expectations of those discharging fiduciary responsibilities.

In one of the sessions, Kotak Mahindra Bank's chief Uday Kotak  underscored the need for ensuring balance between ownership and entrepreneurship commenting that the new company law has decidedly made a significant shift favouring the minority.

Agreeing with the theme of the new Act, Kotak opined that to ensure sharper focus, the thresholds prescribed for applicability of various provisions should be just right, and not too low, as is presently the case.