Friday, March 28, 2014

Regulatory Compliances Under Indian Companies Act 2013 In Pipeline

The corporate environment of India all set for a big change that has brought tremendous regulatory obligations on the part of Indian companies. The hints of such change were obvious even before the recent notifications under the Indian Companies Act, 2013 (PDF) by the Ministry of corporate Affairs (MCA).

MCA has recently notified 183 sections under the Companies Act, 2013 and rules for 11 chapters under the Act. A complete list of all these notifications and the potential techno legal compliances that Indian companies may be required to follow from 01-04-2014 is available here. The same has been provided by New Delhi based corporate and ICT law firm Perry4Law.

According to Perry4Law, MCA has notified Rules for 11 chapters of the Companies Act, 2013. These include Rules for specifications and definitions, incorporation of companies, prospectus and allotment of securities, shares and debentures, registration of charges, management and administration, declaration and payment of dividend, accounts, appointment and qualification of directors, board meetings and powers, and corporate social responsibility.

As these Sections and Rules would become operational from 1st April 2014 there would be lots of regulatory compliance issues that would be involved. Similarly, it is not easy to migrate from the 1956 Act to the 2013 Act so easily. The times have changed especially due to the techno legal requirements that Indian companies cannot ignored anymore. These include cyber law due diligence (PDF) and cyber security due diligence, opined Perry4Law.

It would be in the best interest of all Indian companies to manage their regulatory issues as soon as possible. Further, it would take considerable time before the true implications of the Indian Companies Act, 2013 and the corresponding rules thereunder would be understood by the companies. Early starters would definitely be at advantageous position.