Summary/ Gist of Amendments to Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014
-Insertion of a Proviso in Rule 3(1)- To mandate Accounting software having audit trail feature of every transaction
-Insertion of 2 clauses in Rule 8(5)- To add more matters to be included in Board report
Effective Date of Companies (Accounts) Amendment Rules, 2021- 1 April, 2021
Amendments in- Rule 3 and 8 Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 vide Companies (Accounts) Amendment Rules, 2021
Rule 3- Manner of Books of Account to be Kept in Electronic Mode
Existing Provisions |
Amended Provisions |
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(1) The books of account and other relevant books and papers maintained in electronic mode shall remain accessible in India so as to be usable for subsequent reference. (2) The books of account and other relevant books and papers referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be retained completely in the format in which they were originally generated, sent or received, or in a format which shall present accurately the information generated, sent or received and the information contained in the electronic records shall remain complete and unaltered. (3) The information received from branch offices shall not be altered and shall be kept in a manner where it shall depict what was originally received from the branches. (4) The information in the electronic record of the document shall be capable of being displayed in a legible form. (5) There shall be a proper system for storage, retrieval, display or printout of the electronic records as the Audit Committee, if any, or the Board may deem appropriate and such records shall not be disposed of or rendered unusable, unless permitted by law: Provided that the back-up of the books of account and other books and papers of the company maintained in electronic mode, including at a place outside India, if any, shall be kept in servers physically located in India on a periodic basis. (6) The company shall intimate to the Registrar on an annual basis at the time of filing of financial statement- (a) the name of the service provider; (b) the internet protocol address of service provider; (c) the location of the service provider (wherever applicable); (d) where the books of account and other books and papers are maintained on cloud, such address as provided by the service provider. Explanation.- For the purposes of this rule, the expression “electronic mode” includes “electronic form” as defined in clause (r) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) and also includes an electronic record as defined in clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) and “books of account ” shall have the meaning assigned to it under the Act. |
(1) The books of account and other relevant books and papers maintained in electronic mode shall remain accessible in India so as to be usable for subsequent reference. Provided that for the financial year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2021, every company which uses accounting software for maintaining its books of account, shall use only such accounting software which has a feature of recording audit trail of each and every transaction, creating an edit log of each change made in books of account along with the date when such changes were made and ensuring that the audit trail cannot be disabled. (2) The books of account and other relevant books and papers referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be retained completely in the format in which they were originally generated, sent or received, or in a format which shall present accurately the information generated, sent or received and the information contained in the electronic records shall remain complete and unaltered. (3) The information received from branch offices shall not be altered and shall be kept in a manner where it shall depict what was originally received from the branches. (4) The information in the electronic record of the document shall be capable of being displayed in a legible form. (5) There shall be a proper system for storage, retrieval, display or printout of the electronic records as the Audit Committee, if any, or the Board may deem appropriate and such records shall not be disposed of or rendered unusable, unless permitted by law: Provided that the back-up of the books of account and other books and papers of the company maintained in electronic mode, including at a place outside India, if any, shall be kept in servers physically located in India on a periodic basis. (6) The company shall intimate to the Registrar on an annual basis at the time of filing of financial statement- (a) the name of the service provider; (b) the internet protocol address of service provider; (c) the location of the service provider (wherever applicable); (d) where the books of account and other books and papers are maintained on cloud, such address as provided by the service provider. Explanation.- For the purposes of this rule, the expression “electronic mode” includes “electronic form” as defined in clause (r) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) and also includes an electronic record as defined in clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) and “books of account ” shall have the meaning assigned to it under the Act.
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Rule 8- Matters to be Included in Board’s Report
Existing Provisions |
Amended Provisions |
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(1) The Board’s Report shall be prepared based on the stand alone financial statements of the company and shall report on the highlights of performance of subsidiaries, associates and joint venture companies and their contribution to the overall performance of the company during the period under report. (2) The Report of the Board shall contain the particulars of contracts or arrangements with related parties referred to in sub-section (1) of section 188 in the Form AOC-2. (3) The report of the Board shall contain the following information and details, namely:- (A) Conservation of energy- (i) the steps taken or impact on conservation of energy; (ii) the steps taken by the company for utilising alternate sources of energy; (iii) the capital investment on energy conservation equipments; (B) Technology absorption- (i) the efforts made towards technology absorption; (ii) the benefits derived like product improvement, cost reduction, product development or import substitution; (iii) in case of imported technology (imported during the last three years reckoned from the beginning of the financial year)- (a) the details of technology imported; (b) the year of import; (c) whether the technology been fully absorbed; (d) if not fully absorbed, areas where absorption has not taken place, and the reasons thereof; and (iv) the expenditure incurred on Research and Development. (C) Foreign exchange earnings and Outgo- The Foreign Exchange earned in terms of actual inflows during the year and the Foreign Exchange outgo during the year in terms of actual outflows. Provided that the requirement of furnishing information and details under this sub-rule shall not apply to a government company engaged in producing defence equipment”. (4) Every listed company and every other public company having a paid up share capital of twenty five crore rupees or more calculated at the end of the preceding financial year shall include, in the report by its Board of directors, a statement indicating the manner in which formal annual evaluation has been made by the Board of its own performance and that of its committees and individual directors. (5) In addition to the information and details specified in sub-rule (4), the report of the Board shall also contain – (i) the financial summary or highlights; (ii) the change in the nature of business, if any; (iii) the details of directors or key managerial personnel who were appointed or have resigned during the year; (iiia) a statement regarding the opinion of the Board with regard to integrity, expertise and experience (including the proficiency) of the independent directors appointed during the year”. Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, the expression “proficiency” means the proficiency of the independent director as ascertained from the online proficiency self-assessment test conducted by the institute notified under sub-section (1) of section 150. (iv) the names of companies which have become or ceased to be its Subsidiaries, joint ventures or associate companies during the year; (v) the details relating to deposits, covered under Chapter V of the Act,- (a) accepted during the year; (b) remained unpaid or unclaimed as at the end of the year; (c) whether there has been any default in repayment of deposits or payment of interest thereon during the year and if so, number of such cases and the total amount involved- (i) at the beginning of the year; (ii) maximum during the year; (iii) at the end of the year; (vi) the details of deposits which are not in compliance with the requirements of Chapter V of the Act; (vii) the details of significant and material orders passed by the regulators or courts or tribunals impacting the going concern status and company’s operations in future; (viii) the details in respect of adequacy of internal financial controls with reference to the Financial Statements. (ix) a disclosure, as to whether maintenance of cost records as specified by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013, is required by the Company and accordingly such accounts and records are made and maintained, (x) a statement that the company has complied with provisions relating to the constitution of Internal Complaints Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (6) This rule shall not apply to One Person Company or Small Company. |
(1) The Board’s Report shall be prepared based on the stand alone financial statements of the company and shall report on the highlights of performance of subsidiaries, associates and joint venture companies and their contribution to the overall performance of the company during the period under report. (2) The Report of the Board shall contain the particulars of contracts or arrangements with related parties referred to in sub-section (1) of section 188 in the Form AOC-2. (3) The report of the Board shall contain the following information and details, namely:- (A) Conservation of energy- (i) the steps taken or impact on conservation of energy; (ii) the steps taken by the company for utilising alternate sources of energy; (iii) the capital investment on energy conservation equipments; (B) Technology absorption- (i) the efforts made towards technology absorption; (ii) the benefits derived like product improvement, cost reduction, product development or import substitution; (iii) in case of imported technology (imported during the last three years reckoned from the beginning of the financial year)- (a) the details of technology imported; (b) the year of import; (c) whether the technology been fully absorbed; (d) if not fully absorbed, areas where absorption has not taken place, and the reasons thereof; and (iv) the expenditure incurred on Research and Development. (C) Foreign exchange earnings and Outgo- The Foreign Exchange earned in terms of actual inflows during the year and the Foreign Exchange outgo during the year in terms of actual outflows. Provided that the requirement of furnishing information and details under this sub-rule shall not apply to a government company engaged in producing defence equipment”. (4) Every listed company and every other public company having a paid up share capital of twenty five crore rupees or more calculated at the end of the preceding financial year shall include, in the report by its Board of directors, a statement indicating the manner in which formal annual evaluation has been made by the Board of its own performance and that of its committees and individual directors. (5) In addition to the information and details specified in sub-rule (4), the report of the Board shall also contain – (i) the financial summary or highlights; (ii) the change in the nature of business, if any; (iii) the details of directors or key managerial personnel who were appointed or have resigned during the year; (iiia) a statement regarding the opinion of the Board with regard to integrity, expertise and experience (including the proficiency) of the independent directors appointed during the year”. Explanation.-For the purposes of this clause, the expression “proficiency” means the proficiency of the independent director as ascertained from the online proficiency self-assessment test conducted by the institute notified under sub-section (1) of section 150. (iv) the names of companies which have become or ceased to be its Subsidiaries, joint ventures or associate companies during the year; (v) the details relating to deposits, covered under Chapter V of the Act,- (a) accepted during the year; (b) remained unpaid or unclaimed as at the end of the year; (c) whether there has been any default in repayment of deposits or payment of interest thereon during the year and if so, number of such cases and the total amount involved- (i) at the beginning of the year; (ii) maximum during the year; (iii) at the end of the year; (vi) the details of deposits which are not in compliance with the requirements of Chapter V of the Act; (vii) the details of significant and material orders passed by the regulators or courts or tribunals impacting the going concern status and company’s operations in future; (viii) the details in respect of adequacy of internal financial controls with reference to the Financial Statements. (ix) a disclosure, as to whether maintenance of cost records as specified by the Central Government under sub-section (1) of section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013, is required by the Company and accordingly such accounts and records are made and maintained, (x) a statement that the company has complied with provisions relating to the constitution of Internal Complaints Committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (xi) the details of application made or any proceeding pending under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 during the year alongwith their status as at the end of the financial year. (xii) the details of difference between the amount of the valuation done at the time of one time settlement and the valuation done while taking loan from the Banks or Financial Institutions along with the reasons thereof. (6) This rule shall not apply to One Person Company or Small Company. |
Note
Bold portion in the Amended Provisions indicates respective amendments to Rule 3 and Rule 8.
Author Bio
The department was established with an undergraduate program in Mechanical engineering in 2012. The department also has its very own association named ARMS (Association for Royal Mechanical Engineering Students) which also aims at development of leadership as well as technical skills among the students