The salient features of the new Companies law are: Business friendly corporate Regulation/ pro-business initiatives; e-Governance Initiatives; Good Corporate Governance and CSR; Enhanced Disclosure norms; Enhanced accountability of Management; Stricter enforcement; Audit accountability; Protection for minority shareholders; Investor protection and activism; Better framework for insolvency regulation; and Institutional structure. Other important features of the Companies Bill, 2012 are:
• The Bill has 470 clauses as against 658 Sections in the existing Companies Act, 1956. • The entire bill has been divided into 29 chapters.• Many new chapters have been introduced, viz., Registered Valuers (ch.17); Government companies (ch. 23); Companies to furnish information or statistics (ch. 25); Nidhis (ch. 26); National Company Law Tribunal & Appellate Tribunal (ch. 27); Special Courts (ch. 28).
Union Finance Minister Shri. P. Chidambaram released a booklet containing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013 in New Delhi today in the presence of Revenue Secretary, Chairperson and other members of Central Board of Excise & Customs and media. He also released a Logo of Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme, 2013 on the occasion.
CMA Suresh Chandra Mohanty, President of The Institute of Cost Accountants of India, congratulated the Honourable Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Shri Sachin Pilot ji, for passing the landmark Companies Bill 2013 in Rajya Sabha thus completing a great saga in modernizing the Corporate Legislation, which has been facing ups and downs for more than a decade.
