Introduction: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has initiated a comprehensive review of rules prescribed under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. This article delves into the details of this review process, the significance of the rules under scrutiny, and the avenues for stakeholders to contribute their insights.
Analysis: The MCA, in its endeavor to ensure robust corporate governance, ease of doing business, and alignment with economic and legal developments, regularly updates rules under various statutes it administers. In line with this objective, the ministry has announced a policy for pre-legislative consultation and a comprehensive review of existing rules, as per the Budget Speech (2023-2024).
As part of this review, the MCA has invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders on specific rules prescribed under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. The rules under consideration include those related to elections, nominations, tribunals, and procedural matters governing professional bodies.
Stakeholders, including students, members of professional institutes, professionals, entities, firms, academics, investors, and others, are encouraged to participate in this consultation process. Comments can be submitted through the designated web link provided on the MCA website within 30 days from the date of upload.
The consultation process offers stakeholders an opportunity to contribute their insights and perspectives on the rules under review. It enables meaningful engagement between the government and stakeholders, fostering transparency, accountability, and regulatory effectiveness.
Conclusion: The review of rules prescribed under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980, underscores the government’s commitment to regulatory excellence and stakeholder engagement. By inviting comments from stakeholders, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs seeks to ensure that the rules are aligned with contemporary needs, promote corporate governance, and facilitate ease of compliance. Stakeholders are encouraged to actively participate in the consultation process, thereby contributing to the development of a conducive regulatory framework for the accountancy and corporate governance ecosystem in India.
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Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Notice inviting comments on the review of rules prescribed under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.
Dated:19.04.2024
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has specified various Rules under the Powers available under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 to carry out the provisions of the Acts. While prescribing these Rules, the following factors have been considered by the MCA viz:-
a. Necessity of a robust corporate governance framework,
b. Ease of doing business and ease of compliance,
c. Economic environment in the country as well as internationally.
d. Levels of various thresholds in respect of class or classes of companies for the purpose of various governance and compliance requirements,
e. Pronouncement of various Courts & other quasi-judicial bodies,
f. Legal & Technologies developments taking place across the globe,
2. Pursuant to the announcement made in para 99 & 100 of the Budget Speech (2023-2024), the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has released a policy for pre-legislative consultation and Comprehensive review of existing Rules specified under various legislations administered by it. The policy has been placed on the website of MCA.
3. In accordance with para-B.1 of such policy. It has been decided to initiate a comprehensive review of all the Rules prescribed under various legislations being administered by MCA as mentioned in para 1 above. Accordingly, comments/suggestions are invited on the following Rules from all the stakeholders:
| Sr. No. | Rules under the Chartered Accountants (CA) Act, 1949 | Rules under the Cost and Works Accountants (CWA) Act, 1959 | Rules under the Company Secretaries (CS) Act. 1959. |
| i | The CA (Election to the Council) Rules, 2006 | The CWA (Election to the Council) Rules, 2006 | The CS (Election to the Council) Rules, 2006 |
| ii | The CA (Nomination of Members to the Council) Rules, 2006 |
The CWA (Nomination of Members to the Council) Rules, 2006 | The CS (Nomination of Members to the Council) Rules. 2006 |
| iii | The CA (Election Tribunal) Rules, 2006. | The CWA (Election Tribunal) Rules, 2006, | The CS (Election Tribunal) Rules, 2006, |
| iv | The Appellate Authority
(Allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and members and the manner of meeting expenditure of the Authority) Rules, 2006 |
The Appellate Authority
(Allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and members and the manner of meeting expenditure of the Authority) Rules, 2006 |
The Appellate Authority (Allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and members and the manner of meeting expenditure of the Authority) Rules, 2006 |
| v | The CA (Procedures of Meetings of Quality Review Board, and Terms and Conditions of Service and allowances of the Chairperson and members of the Board) Rules, 2006 | The CWA (Procedures of Meetings of Quality Review Board, and Terms and Conditions of Service and allowances of the Chairperson and members of the Board) Rules, 2006 | The CS (Procedures of Meetings of Quality Review Board, and Terms and Conditions of Service and allowances of the Chairperson and members of the Board) Rules, 2006 |
4. For providing comments, please follow the process as under:
a. Visit MCA’s website, www.mca.gov.in; E-consultation Tab or click on the URL: https://www.mca.gov.in/content/mca/global/en/econsultation.html
b. Select “Public Comments”;
c. From the drop-down menu, select “comments on Rules”;
d. Provide your Name, and Email ID;
e. Select the stakeholder category, namely, –
i. Students of Professional Institutes;
ii. Members of Professional Institutes;
iii. Professionals;
iv. Professional Agency;
v. Professional Entity;
vi. Proprietorship firms;
vii. Partnership firms;
viii. Academics;
ix. Investors;
x. Others.
5. Select the rules, you wish to make a comment upon, from the drop down menu, as under:
i. The Chartered Accountants (Election to the Council) Rules, 2006
ii. The Chartered Accountants (Nomination of Members to the Council) Rules, 2006
iii. The Chartered Accountants (Election Tribunal) Rules, 2006,
iv. The Appellate Authority (Allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and members and the manner of meeting expenditure of the Authority) Rules, 2006,
v. The Chartered Accountants (Procedures of Meetings of Quality Review Board, and Terms and Conditions of Service and allowances of the Chairperson and members of the Board) Rules, 2006,
vi. The Cost and Works Accountants (Election to the Council) Rules, 2006,
vii. The Cost and Works Accountants (Election Tribunal) Rules, 2006,
viii. The Cost and Works Accountants (Nomination of Members to the Council) Rules, 2006,
ix. The Cost and Works Accountants (Procedure of Meeting of Quality Review Board and Terms and Conditions of Service and Allowances of the Chairperson and Members of the Board Rules, 2006,
x. The Appellate Authority (Allowances Payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of Chairperson and Members and the Manner of Meeting Expenditure of the Authority) Rules, 2006,
6. Please note that the selected rules can be found by clicking the pdf icon right next to the “select rules” option.
7. Select the kind of comments you wish to make, namely,
a. General Comments; or
b. Specific Comments.
8. If you have selected “General Comments”, please select one of the following options:
a. Inconsistency, if any, between the provisions within any rules (intra-rules);
b. Inconsistency, if any, between the provisions in different rules (inter-rules);
c. Inconsistency, if any, between the provisions in any with those in the rules;
d. Inconsistency, if any, between the provisions in any rules with those in the Code;
e. Inconsistency, if any, between the provisions in any rules with those in any other law;
f. Any difficulty in implementation of any of the provisions in any rules;
g. Any provision that should have been provided in any rules, but has not been provided;
h. Any provision that has been provided in any rules, but should not have been provided.
and then write comments in the “Write Comment” box.
9. If you have selected “Specific Comments”, please select rules number and then sub-rules number, and write comments in the “Write Comment” box, under the selected rules / sub-rules number.
10. You can make comments on more than one rules, or more than one rules/sub rules number, by clicking on more comments and repeating the process outlined above from point 6 onward.
11. Click ‘Submit’, after entering the image text in the box provided on the portal, if you have no more comments to make.
12. Comments should be sent only through the web link created for the purpose, and should not be sent separately through e-mail or hard copy. It is requested that comments/suggestions may be submitted on the Rules within 30 days from the date of upload.
(Randhir Kumar)
Under Secretary to Govt. of India
