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The government is likely to notify provisions concerning the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and its appellate body (NCLAT) in phases. The timeline for such notifications, however, has not yet been decided, but experts said these might not come too soon. Till date, around 60 per cent of the Companies Act, 2013 — which has a total of 470 sections and seven schedules — has been notified and enforced. Most of the remaining provisions of the Act are related to NCLT, a body which would replace the existing Company Law Board (CLB), the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) and assume the high court’s power on clearing mergers and acquisition (M&As) and amalgamation. On May 14, the Supreme Court, in a case filed by the Madras Bar Association, upheld the constitutional validity of NCLT and NCLAT under the Companies Act, 2013. The court, however, deemed the selection process of the members of NCLT and NCLAT under the applicable provisions of the new Companies

Composition of committee different from that proposed in revised IFC; finance secy says IFC not the work of FSLRC The finance ministry has reached an agreement with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the contours of the monetary policy committee under the framework unveiled in the Budget, an official said, as the government sought to quell the controversy over the recently issued draft Indian Financial Code (IFC). The composition of the committee is different from that proposed in the revised IFC, which had put government nominees at a majority four out of seven with no veto for the RBI governor. “It has been worked out... It is different from what is proposed in the IFC,“ said the finance ministry official cited above, indicating that operative parts of the draft may have been rendered irrelevant. Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi confirmed that there had been progress independent of the IFC. “We are in discussions with RBI governor on the form and manner of the MPC (monetary p

Govt agrees to drop key amendments, including those doing away with consent clause, social impact assessment In a major climbdown, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Monday agreed to drop key amendments, including those doing away with the so-called consent clause and social impact assessment in the controversial 2015 land acquisition bill. The unexpected move by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA to meet the opposition more than halfway sets the stage for striking consensus on passage of the legislation, designed to address impediments to expanding manufacturing capacity in the country. Politically, however, this is a big setback to the BJP, particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi, since the government had, despite opposition from within and outside the party, stuck to its stand to dilute the land acquisition provisions in the existing land law. This disrupted most of the budget session of Parliament and eventually forced the government to refer the bill to a

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to leave interest rates unchanged in its monetary policy review on Tuesday, preferring to keep its powder dry until the US Federal Reserve raises borrowing costs from near-zero levels, according to bankers and economists. The central bank may also want to see how the monsoon plays out in August and September before it cuts the repurchase rate, the rate at which it lends money to commercial banks, for a fourth time this year. RBI, under governor  Raghuram Rajan , has cut the policy rate three times by a quarter of a percentage point each, to 7.25%, since the start of the year, seeking to kickstart the stalled investment cycle and bolster economic recovery. Only one of 13 bankers and economists, whose forecasts for the outcome of Tuesday’s monetary policy review were compiled by  Mint , expects a cut—by another quarter of a percentage point. The Indian central bank may prefer to hold interest rates steady until after the Federal Reserve

1.  Allahabad Bank invites applications for empanelment as Concurrent Auditors for audit year 2015-2016 by practicing CA Firms. 2.  The income on investment made through portfolio management scheme is not business income but capital gain. [CIT vs. M/s Kapur Investments Private Limited, High Court of Karnataka]. 3.  No Service Tax on packaging of fertilizer as manufacturing is not complete without packaging services. [Supreme Court: CCE, Goa vs. New Era Handling Agency]. 4.  The writ petition is not maintainable if appeal against the adjudication order is dismissed as time barred by Commissioner (A). K.V. Narayana Reddy vs. Add CIT, High Court of Andhra Pradesh. 5.  Delhi Government has reduced VAT from 12.5% to 5% on 3 items i.e. Utensils of Metals, Wax and Woods w.e.f 01.08.2015 vide notification no. 599 dated 31.07.2015. 6.  MCA has notified new versions of E-Form's i.e. Form 20B, 23AC, 21A, 23ACA, 66, 23ACA (XBRL), Form 4 LLP, FC-4, 23B, FC-1 w.e.f 01-08-2015. 7.  M