Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday introduced the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha adopted a motion to send the bill to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination. The bill seeks further amendments to the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, and the Companies Act, 2013.

The move comes as the second leg of the Budget session of Parliament resumes. Alongside the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, the Finance Minister is also slated to move the Finance Bill, 2026, which outlines the financial proposals of the Central Government for the 2026-27 fiscal year, for consideration.

The government is likely to table the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2024 in Parliament in the current session, as it aims to streamline corporate operations and enhance governance norms, official sources told FE. The amendments are likely to touch upon easing the borrowing process of listed companies, incorporate a mechanism to enable courts to enforce a compromise/arrangement for dissenting creditors, streamline auditing process of companies, and relax the procedure of shifting registered offices among states, the sources said. FE had reported earlier that the corporate affairs ministry may allow companies to hold AGMs/EGMs through electronic mode on a permanent basis, and ease the requirement of raising capital in distressed companies, through amendment in the Companies Act, citing an official. These proposals will also be part of the current set of amendments.

Companies will get an additional time of two months beyond September to conduct their annual general meetings for the fiscal year ended March 2021. The corporate affairs ministry has asked Registrars of Companies (RoCs) to give two more months to companies for holding their Annual General Meetings (AGMs). Under the companies law, corporates are required to hold AGMs within six months from the end of a financial year. For the fiscal year ended March 2021, AGMs were to be conducted by September 30 and now that deadline has been extended. The ministry has advised RoCs to accord approval for extending time by two months beyond the due date by which companies are required to conduct AGMs for 2020-21, according to a communication dated September 23.

The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has extended the deadline for the Companies Fresh Start Scheme (CFSS) and the LLP Settlement Scheme till the end of the year. Both the schemes, aimed at improving compliance with regulatory filings, were ending on Wednesday. The MCA had introduced the schemes in March that provided companies and LLPs with an opportunity to make good on any delays in filings and reduced the burden of additional fees to enable them to be fully compliant with the law. The ministry also extended the deadline till December 31, for the scheme on relaxation of time for filing forms in relation to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act. Companies are required to file with the MCA the creation or modification of charges, which is when a company puts up its assets as security for a loan. Starting from June, this scheme was also ending on Wednesday. Effective from April 1, the CFSS and the modified scheme for LLPs protected firms from penal proceedings by the Registrar of Companies, provided they made good on filing defaults, apart from the one-time waiver of additional late fees.

In an effort to provide greater ease of doing business, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has extended the duration of several schemes till the end of the year 2020 in the wake of continued disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic in certain parts of the country. Nirmala Sitharaman’s Office said that the Companies Fresh Start Scheme 2020, which was introduced by the MCA and was valid from 1 April 2020 to 30 September 2020, has now been extended. The scheme aimed to enable companies to clear their previous defaults. In addition, the scheme for relaxation of time for filing forms related to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013, and the time for conducting EGMs through video conference or other audio-visual means has also been extended till December-end. The LLP Settlement Scheme 2020, has also been extended till the end of 2020, which was aimed at enabling the LLPs to settle their previous defaults. It is to be noted that the LLP Settlement Scheme 2020 is a one-time relaxation provided to LLPs which have defaulted in filing the statutory documents within the required due dates. The LLPs which opt for this scheme are not required to pay additional fees. A large number of LLPs have defaulted leading to the electronic registry not being updated. Meanwhile, all companies are required to follow statutory compliances such as annual returns, financial statements, and all the other necessary forms, documents, and statements annually. Non–compliance of the same results in the imposition of penalties and fines and if the company fails to adhere to the compliances, it is labeled as a defaulting company.

The Central Government’s final tranche of COVID-19 economic packages included numerous reforms for the corporate sector, to facilitate self-reliance and ease of living for domestic corporations. These recommendations originally constituted the Cabinet-approved “Companies Amendment Bill, 2020”, tabled in the Lok Sabha session of March 2020. The Government is now expediting these amendments, by promulgating an ordinance, as an economic measure. The announcement only highlights some aspects of the Bill, perhaps intentionally illustrative in nature, but the expectation is the entirety of the Bill may be given full effect as an ordinance. Direct listing in foreign jurisdictions India does not currently permit direct listing on foreign stock exchanges by domestic corporations and, reciprocally, neither are foreign companies allowed to directly list their equity shares on Indian stock exchanges. Depository receipts are the only permissible method for Indian companies to raise capital abroad.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has allowed companies to hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) through video conference or other audio visual means during the calendar year 2020. The move comes on account of the need for continuous adherence to social distancing norms and restrictions placed on movement of persons due to Covid-19 induced lockdown. The measure has been taken to facilitate companies conduct their ordinary and special business through AGMs conducted by leveraging the Digital India platforms. The framework provided in the earlier circulars for holding of extraordinary general meeting (EGM) would be applicable mutatis mutandis for conduct of AGMs during 2020, based on the classification of companies which are required to: (i) provide the facility of e-voting or have opted for the same, and (ii) those companies which are not required to provide such a facility, an official release said.

The government is considering a fresh ordinance to amend the Companies Act to decriminalise several offences, apart from allowing Indian companies to directly list overseas. The ministry of corporate affairs has begun discussions on fast-tracking the amendments and may approach the Union Cabinet shortly, sources told TOI. The government had introduced a Bill to amend the law during the last session of Parliament, but it could not be cleared. The move comes days after the Cabinet recommended promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to disallow fresh filings for up to 12 months. “Companies need more flexibility on compliance due to Covid-19. The government is keen to ensure that there are fewer complications in case of non-compliance,” a government source told TOI. The Bill to decriminalise the Companies Act followed recommendations by a committee headed by corporate affairs secretary Injeti Srinivas and several industry representatives.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) allowed companies whose financial year ended in December, to hold their first Annual General Meeting (AGMs) within the first nine months of their current fiscal or September 30, without it being viewed as a violation under the Companies Act. The relaxation was given on account of many such companies requesting leniency on the AGM rules owing to the social distancing norms and the lockdown resulting from the Covid-19 outbreak, the ministry said in a circular released on Monday.

After the government allowed companies to hold various meetings through Video Conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM), it has now allowed shareholders to cast their votes through remote e-voting systems. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs said that members holding shares in physical form and who have not registered their mail ID with the company can cast votes through a remote e-voting system in the Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM). In a circular, MCA said that the companies will have to announce through a public notice how the shareholders can take part and vote in the meeting. Prior to this, the MCA had earlier allowed the Board of directors to hold meetings through Video Conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) up to 30 June 2020.

It is perhaps the various reports of CSR fraud that the government had in mind when it recently made certain amendments to Section 135 of the Companies Act, which pertains to CSR provisions. Indeed, Economic Times had reported, in 2015, how some companies were hiring charitable societies/trusts for a commission, to channel mandatory CSR spends into promoters’ accounts. But, the new draft CSR Rules released by the corporate affairs ministry for public consultation will likely do more harm than good. In a bid to to beat down fraud by companies, these could bring back red tapism that the government had earlier tried to avoid by giving companies significant freedom in undertaking social responsibility projects. The new rules vest oversight of CSR projects with the Board, and mandate an additional 5% expenditure for impact assessment, over and above the 5% mandated for carrying out administrative functions of CSR initiatives. But, they also forbid companies from dealing with any organisation/concern other than those that are registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act and have received government approval. This, the government believes, will stop a mushrooming of rubber-stamp charitable organisations. However, such organisations are the exception rather than the norm, especially among those that are routinely preferred by big companies. Also, firms were mostly doing due diligence to select bona fide societies/trusts; it is not like the government has systems in place to screen out shell NGOs if these have backing from members of the political class. While CSR was an unnecessary tax to being with, what the government is proposing only makes the bad worse.

Taking precautionary steps in the light of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has relaxed the requirement of holding board meetings with physical presence of directors for activities including approval of financial statements and the board’s report. The corporate affairs ministry has issued a notification to allow companies to hold such board meetings through video-conferencing till June 30. Companies will have to follow all requirements laid out under rules for holding board meetings via video conferencing such as recording of these proceedings, ensuring availability of proper equipment among others. Existing company rules do not allow certain matters to be dealt with in a meeting through video conferencing or other audio-visual means. These include the approval of the prospectus, annual financial statements, board’s report, matters relating to amalgamation, merger, demerger, acquisition and takeover and the audit committee meetings for consideration of accounts. For all other matters, board meetings can be done through video conferencing. A director attending a meeting via video conferencing or other audio-visual means is to be counted for the purpose of quorum. Detailed rules are laid down for the manner in which such video conferencing must be held.

The rapid spread of the Covid-19 infection has prompted the Centre to allow companies to hold their board meetings through video conferencing or other audio-visual means, till June 30. It has, in principle, decided to relax the current stipulation that board meetings be held with the physical presence of directors, official sources said. A formal rule change for this purpose will soon be issued. Under the existing Companies Act, companies are required to hold ‘physical’ meetings of their directors for the approval of financial statements, board's report etc.

Decriminalising offences, allowing direct overseas listing of companies, relaxing CSR norms and setting up National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) benches are among the proposals in the latest bill to amend the companies law. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Various provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 would be amended for decriminalising defaults that "lack any element of fraud or do not involve larger public interest", according to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill. Apart from allowing direct listing of Indian companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions, the bill seeks to empower the central government to exclude certain classes of companies from the definition of 'listed company', mainly for listing of debt securities. The exclusion would be done only after consultations with markets regulator Sebi. Companies that have CSR obligations up to Rs 50 lakh would not be required to set up a committee in this regard. Also, entities that have spent in excess of their CSR obligation in a particular fiscal would be permitted to set off that excess amount in the coming financial years. Other proposals include setting up of NCLAT benches and allowing payment of adequate remuneration to non-executive directors in case of inadequate profits. The latter would be done by aligning the same with the provisions for remuneration to executive directors in such cases. Lesser penalties for small and one person companies as well as reduction in timelines for applying for rights issues have been proposed in the bill. The government also proposes to provide greater ease of living to corporates through certain amendments, as per the statement.

India’s capital-starved start-ups, unicorns and small firms will now have greater access to overseas capital, with the Cabinet approving a proposal for direct listing of Indian companies abroad. Besides this, seen as another step towards fuller capital account convertibility, the Cabinet also cleared 72 amendments to the Companies Act, covering as many as 65 sections to decriminalise various offences and facilitate the ease of doing business. Firms that have a spending obligation of less than Rs 50 lakh under CSR would no longer have to constitute CSR committees. “We will recategorise 23 offences out of 66 compoundable offences. And these 23 offences will be dealt under an in-house adjudicating framework. We are also doing away with 7 compoundable offences and limiting 11 compoundable offences to just penalty (by removing imprisonment). Also, five offences would be dealt with under an alternative framework,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said after the Cabinet meeting. Around 15,000 companies which have CSR obligation of Rs 50 lakh or less will be exempt from the requirement of setting up CSR panels. Around 20,000 companies have to meet CSR obligations every year and the annual CSR spend is estimated at Rs 15,000 crore. The top 5,000 firms account for almost 80% of the total CSR spend.

The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has launched a one-time amnesty scheme for Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) companies that have failed to file the requisite statutory documents such as annual statements, change in directors, etc. The move is aimed at promoting ease of doing business as well as to cleanse the system. it provides these companies a one-time relaxation in payment of additional fees and immunity from prosecution. “As part of government’s constant efforts to promote ease of doing business it has been decided to give a one-time relaxation in additional fees to defaulting LLPs to make good their default by filing pending documents and to serve as a compliant LLP in future,” MCA said in a circular. The scheme, LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020, allows for a one-time condonation of delay in filing statutorily required documents with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), it added. On the rationale behind such a scheme, an official source said it has been noticed that many LLPs defaulted in filing various forms. Presently, on non-filing of these forms, LLPs can file such documents on payment of additional fee for Rs 100 for every day of such delay.

Continuing efforts to further improve ease of doing business, the government will introduce an integrated electronic form for incorporating new companies from February 15, wherein EPFO and ESIC registration numbers will also be allotted at the same time. The corporate affairs ministry would introduce the form -- SPICe+ -- to offer 10 services. Currently, the ministry has the electronic form SPICe (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically) and that would be replaced with SPICe+. The 10 services offered through the new form would help in "saving as many procedures, time and cost for starting a business in India," the ministry said in a public notice. The labour ministry, Department of Revenue in the finance ministry and the Maharashtra government would also be offering certain services through the form.

A high-level panel has recommended reclassifying 46 offences under the Companies Act, that are treated as criminal offence, as civil wrongdoings and suggested steep cut in penalties for six offences. If accepted, the recommendations will reduce the number of compoundable offences under the Companies Act that attract criminal penalties by around 70%. These suggestions could become part of the amendments set for the Companies Act that the government proposes to table in the current session of Parliament as part of its bid to reassure investors and industry. The panel, which submitted its report to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday, has also suggested reducing timelines for speeding up rights issues and empowering the government to exclude certain class of companies from the definition of ‘listed company’ for listing of debt securities.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has given a window for non-compliant companies to update their KYC details, including that of directors, so that they can file financial and other information under the Companies Act without attracting penal action by various authorities including the taxman. The move is aimed at breaking a deadlock as companies which haven’t furnished prescribed information of their directors and other KYC details have virtually been barred from updating their registration and accounting details with the Registrar of Companies. In February this year, the MCA issued Companies (Incorporation) Amendment Rules, 2019 and Companies (Registration offices and Fees) Amendment Rules, 2019 under which a company incorporated on or before December 31, 2017 has to file its particulars and that of its registered office, in the e-form ACTIVE.

The government on Wednesday said it has constituted the company law committee for examining and making recommendations on various provisions and issues related to implementation of the Companies Act. The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) said, in line with the government’s objective of promoting ease of living by providing ease of doing business to corporates, fostering improved corporate compliance for stakeholders and to address emerging issues impacting working of corporates, it has been decided to constitute the to examine and offer suggestions to government on provisions and issues pertaining to the Companies Act, 2013 and Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008. The 11-member committee, which will be chaired by MCA secretary Injeti Srinivas, includes Uday kotak, Shardul Shroff and Ajay Bahl among others. “The committee shall submit its recommendations in phases and subject-wise to the government from time to time as may be decided by the chairperson of the committee.