Indian
Year Book
(2022-23)
Chapter – 9. Corporate
Affairs
Ø THE Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is primarily concerned with administration of the Companies Act, 2013, the Companies Act, 1956, the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 and other allied Acts and rules and regulations framed thereunder mainly for regulating the functioning of the corporate sector.
Ø The Ministry is also responsible for administering the Competition
Act, 2002, to prevent practices having adverse effect on competition, to
promote and sustain competition in markets, to protect the interests of
consumers through the Commission set up under the Act.
Central Registration
Centre
Ø The project to transform the processing of company incorporation, e-form was undertaken with one clear objective, i.e., applications for name reservation and incorporation of a company could be processed and completed within D+1 days (D=Date of Payment Confi rmation) in line with global best practices.
Ø The time taken for processing company incorporation applications has
been reduced drastically to 1-2 days for incorporation of companies.
Ease of Doing Business
Ø As part of Government of India’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiatives, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has notifi ed and deployed a new Web Form christened ‘SPICe+’ (pronounced ‘SPICePIus’)
Ø SPICe+ is an integrated Web Form. SPICe+ has two parts: Part A- for name reservation for new companies, and Part B - offering a bouquet of services, viz.-
· Incorporation
· Director Identifi cation Number (DIN) allotment
· Mandatory issue of PAN
· Mandatory issue of TAN
· Mandatory issue of EPFO registration
· Mandatory issue of ESIC registration
· Mandatory issue of Profession Tax registration (Maharashtra, Karnataka and West Bengal) Mandatory Opening of Bank Account for the Company and
· Allotment of GSTIN (if so applied for).
Ø A new and user-friendly Dashboard on the Front Offi ce has been
created for company incorporation application (SPICe+ and linked forms as
applicable).
Central Scrutiny Centre
Ø Central Scrutiny Centre (CSC) was launched in 2021. CSC will
scrutinize the STP (Straight Through Process) forms to check for any defi
ciency.
Companies Act, 2013
Ø The Companies Act, 2013 (the Act) was enacted to consolidate and amend the laws relating to companies.
Ø The Act introduced signifi cant changes related to disclosures to stakeholders, accountability of directors, auditors and key managerial personnel, investor protection and corporate governance.
Ø The quasi-judicial bodies, viz., National Company Law Tribunal and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal have also been constituted under the Act to discharge various functions
Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Code, 2016
Ø Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC/the Code) was enacted with the objective to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership fi rms and individuals in a time bound manner.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy
Board of India
Ø The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBM) was established in 2016.
Ø The IBBI has the mandate for regulation of insolvency professionals, insolvency professional agencies and information utilities besides exercising other powers and functions as envisaged under the Code.
National Company Law
Tribunal
Ø National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) were constituted for faster resolution of corporate disputes and reducing the multiplicity of agencies, thereby promoting ‘ease of doing business’ in the country.
National Company Law
Appellate Tribunal
Ø The NCLAT has been established to hear the appeals against the orders of NCLT under the Companies Act.
Limited Liability
Partnerships
Ø LLP is a form of business entity, which allows individual partners to be protected from the joint and several liabilities of partners in a partnership fi rm.
Ø The liability of partners incurred in the normal course of business does not extend to the personal assets of the partners.
Ø It is capable of entering into contracts and holding property in its own name. An LLP would be able to fulfi l the compliance norms with much greater ease, coupled with limitation of liability.
e-Governance Project
Ø The Ministry operated an end-to-end e-governance project called MCA21 for end-to-end service delivery comprising Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships with registration, incorporation, registry and other compliance related services.
Ø The project was started on the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) Model with the vision “to introduce a service-oriented approach in the design and delivery of Government services”.
Investor Education and
Protection Fund Authority
Ø Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) has been established with the objective of promoting Investor Education, Awareness and Protection.
Ø The fund is maintained under Consolidated Fund of India.
National Financial
Reporting Authority
Ø National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was constituted to protect the public interest and the interests of investors, creditors and others associated with the companies or bodies corporate.
Indian Corporate Law
Service
Ø Ministry of Corporate Affairs is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Corporate Law Service (ICLS).
Serious Fraud
Investigation Office
Ø The main function of The Serious Fraud Investigation Offi ce (SFIO) is to investigate corporate frauds of serious and complex nature.
Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs
Ø The Ministry set up the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) serves as a ‘Holistic ThinkTank’, and a ‘Capacity Building, Service Delivery Institution’ to help corporate growth, reforms through synergised knowledge management, partnerships and problem solving in a one-stop-shop mode.
Competition Commission of
India
Ø The Competition Commission of India (CCI) was established with the objective of eliminating practices having an adverse effect on competition, promoting and sustaining competition, protecting the interest of consumers and ensuring freedom of trade in India.
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