Govt permits direct foreign listing of Indian firms

New Delhi, March 4

Aiming further improvement in ease of doing business, the Cabinet on Wednesday approved 72 changes to the companies law with focus on decriminalisation of various provisions and permitting direct overseas listing of Indian corporates.

Reduction in penalties for certain offences as well as in timeline for rights issues, relaxation in CSR compliance requirements and creation of separate Benches at the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) are among the raft of other proposed changes in the Companies Act, 2013.

Briefing reporters, Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the priority is to “decriminalise” provisions in the Act.

There would be 72 changes resulting in amendments to 65 sections of the Act and the aim is to ensure greater ease of doing business as well as living.

Sitharaman said 23 offences would be recategorised out of 66 compoundable offences under the Act. Besides, seven compoundable offences would be omitted, she said.

According to the corporate affairs ministry, there are 52 proposals that would result in 48 amendments for greater ease of doing business for law abiding corporates by way of “removing criminality totally in respect of 35 procedural and technical defaults”. Besides, imprisonment would be removed from 11 penal provisions and quantum of penalties in respect of six defaults which had been decriminalised earlier in 2019 would be reduced. — PTI