Parliament today gave its nod to the Companies (Amendment) Bill that seeks to bring major amendments in the Companies Act, 2013 with the Rajya Sabha passing it by a voice vote.It was adopted by the Lok Sabha in July this year during the monsoon session.
The Bill seeks to bring about some amendments in the Companies Act, 2013.
The bill provides for more than 40 amendments to the Companies Act, 2013, which was passed during the previous united progressive alliance (UPA) regime. The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in March 2016 and then referred to the standing committee on finance.
After taking into consideration the recommendations of the panel, the cabinet had cleared a revised bill in March this year.
Under the Act, certain classes of profitable companies are required to shell out at least two per cent of their 3- year annual average net profit towards Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. In case of non-expenditure, such entities are required to provide the reasons for it to the ministry.
R Ramakrishna (BJP) said there was no provision of carrying forward the CSR funds and they should be given more time to use these funds.
The minister said the upper limit of 300 days for filing returns under the Act led to non-compliance and hence changes have been made in the law to improve timely filings.
