Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2015

The MCA has issued the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2015. The amendments among other matters provide that the companies may accept deposits without deposit insurance contract till the 31 March, 2016 or till the availability  of a deposit insurance product, whichever is earlier. It also specifies that Pre-April 2014 Share application money won’t be held as deposits if Company either allot shares or returns Share Application money by June 1, 2015

Government of India

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Notification

New  Delhi, dated  the 31st  March, 2015

G.S.R. 241(E). – In exercise of the powers conferred by sections 73 and 76 read with sub-section (1) of section 469 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, namely:-

1. (1) These rules may be called the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Amendment Rules, 2015.

(2) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014,-

(1) in rule 2, in sub-rule (1), in clause (c),-

(a) in sub-clause (vii), in Explanation (a), the follow1ng proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

“Provided that unless otherwise required under the Companies Act,1956 (1 of 1956) or the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) or rules or regulations made thereunder to allot any share, stock, bond, or debenture within a specified period, if a company receives any amount by way of subscriptions to any shares, stock, bonds or debentures before the 1st April, 2014 and disclosed in the balance sheet for the financial year ending on or before the 31st March, 2014 against which the allotment is pending on the 31st March, 2015, the company shall, by the 1st June 2015, either return such amounts to the persons from whom these were received or allot shares, stock, bonds or debentures or comply with these rules.”(b)     In sub-clause (xii), in item (b),

(A)  for the words “consideration for property”, the words “consideration  for an immovable property” shall be substituted;

(B)  for the words “against the property”, the words “against such property” shall be substituted;

(c) in sub-clause (xii), in the Explanation, for the words “referred  to in the first proviso”, the words “referred to in the proviso” shall be substituted;

(2) In rule 3, after sub-rule (7), the following sub-rule shall be inserted, namely:-

“(8) Every eligible company shall obtain, at least once in a year, credit rating for deposits accepted by it in the manner specified herein below and a copy of the rating shall be sent to the Registrar of Companies alongwith the return of deposits in Form DPT-3;

(3) in rule 5, in sub-rule (1), for the proviso, the following proviso shall be substituted, namely:-

“Provided that the companies may accept deposits without deposit insurance contract till the 31st March, 2016 or till the availability of a deposit insurance product, whichever is earlier.”

(4) in Annexure, for Form “DPT-3” the following form shall be substituted, namely:-

[File No 1/8/2013-CL-VI]

Amardeep Singh Bhatia
Secretary to the Government of India

Note. – The principal rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 256(E), dated the 31^st March, 2014 and were subsequently amended vide number G.S.R. 386(E), dated the 6th June, 2014.