New Companies Bill to make doing business easier

New Companies Bill to make doing business easier: Sachin Pilot

Source: PTI 26 Aug, 2013

The new Companies Bill has certain provisions like faster registration
through fully electronic MCA-21 and allowing firms to hold meetings through
e-governance mode, that would "facilitate ease of doing business in India",
the Parliament was informed today.

"The Companies Bill, 2013 which has been passed by the Parliament
incorporates certain important provisions...to facilitate ease of doing
business in India," Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot informed the
Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

Moreover, the Bill empowers firms to function in a manner which is
'self-regulated with disclosure/transparency' rather than
'government/regulatory approval based regime', Pilot said.

The Bill recognises concepts of 'One Person Company' and 'Small Company' to
allow new entrepreneurs to take advantage of corporate form of business, he
added.

It also permits faster mergers and acquisitions including short form of
merger and cross border mergers, time bound approvals through 'National
Company Law Tribunal' and a summary liquidation process for a class of
companies.

To a query on whether the Damodaran panel has submitted its report on
improving the business climate to the government, Pilot said: "The Chairman
of the Committee has circulated the draft report for comments, if any by
August 26, 2013,"

"The report will be submitted to the government soon thereafter," he added.

Chaired by capital market regulator Sebi's former chief M Damodaran, the
panel was set up in August 2012 amid concerns among industry and investors,
about perception of policy paralysis and lack of required economic reforms.