New Delhi: During the Monsoon Session of Parliament in the midst of the Corona crisis, the Central Government is passing Amendment Bills one by one from both houses. In the same sequence, today the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, passed the Companies Amendment Bill, 2020 (Companies Amendment Bill, 2020) for changes in the company law. This amendment bill was approved by the Lok Sabha on Saturday itself. The Center said that under the new law, many compoundable activities have been decriminalized. This amendment has been done to promote Ease of Doing Business in the country. This will benefit not only big companies but also small companies doing their business.
Indian companies get exemption to list in foreign markets
The new company law provides for the exclusion of various penal provisions from the category of crime. Also, Indian Corporates have been exempted from listing directly on foreign stock exchanges. A separate chapter has been added for the rural sector producer companies to benefit the agricultural producers. Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, while replying to the discussion in the Upper House on the bill, said that the government has been coming to Parliament on the amendments, because there are still some issues in the Companies Act 2013.
Amendment has been made to 48 sections of Companies Act 2013
During the discussion, Sitharaman said that different parties keep telling their reactions and experiences. They say that the law is not able to help them yet. There are some problems in following them. Through the Amendment Bill, there is a provision for amendment of 48 sections of the Basic Law, so that many activities can be excluded from the category of crime. He said that there are currently about 124 punitive provisions under the Companies Act, while the original law had 134 such provisions. Please tell that during the discussion, members of most opposition parties were not in the house. Members of several opposition parties are not participating in the proceedings of the House to protest the suspension of eight members of the opposition for the rest of the session.
Fraud and fraudsters will be dealt with rigor
Finance Minister Sitharaman said that small companies are also under the purview of company law and they will get the benefit of removing their minor mistakes from the foreclosure category. They can only be fined for such offenses. Officers of companies will not be sent to jail. However, during the ten, he insisted that those who harm fraud (Fraud), fraud and public interest will be strictly dealt with. He said that scams, accidents in which there are no casualties and 35 such other major crimes have been classified as serious offenses like the Companies Act 2013. In the discussion on the bill, most of the members emphasized that there should be no unnecessary legal pressure on the businessmen and business ease should be promoted.
