Skip to main content

MCA Panel may Offer Penal Relief for Some Offences

By
FOCUS ON SERIOUS CASES UNDER COMPANIES ACT
Committee will look at decriminalising certain offences & resolving most cases without approaching courts
The government is looking to decriminalise some of the offences in the Companies Act of 2013 so that courts are freed of these cases to focus on more important ones. The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has set up a 10-member committee to review the penal provisions in the Act. The committee, to be headed by the MCA secretary, may propose decriminalisation and suggest ways in which to replace the provisions with an in-house mechanism, where a penalty could be levied in instances of default. “This would also allow the trial courts to pay more attention on offences of serious nature,” MCA said in a statement.
The committee, which has Uday Kotak, Shardul S Shroff, Sidharth Birla and Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee chairman TK Vishwanathan among its members, will submit its report with recommendations within 30 days to the government. The committee will see if existing compoundable offences in the Companies Act can be considered as ‘civil wrongs’ or ‘defaults’ where a penalty by an adjudicating officer can be levied. Only consequent to further non-compliance of the order of such authority will it be categorised as an offence that can be tried by a special court. Compoundable offences are those that are punishable with just a fine or with a fine or imprisonment or both.
The panel will look into the possibility of making several non-compoundable offences — offences punishable with imprisonment only, or punishable with imprisonment and also with a fine — compoundable where just a fine is levied.
A Welcome Move
“The committee will examine the existing mechanism of levy of penalty and suggest any improvements along with laying down the broad contours of an in-house adjudicatory mechanism where penalty may be levied in an MCA21-system driven manner, so that discretion is minimised,” the statement said. “It will also take necessary steps in formulation of draft changes in the law.” A legal expert welcomed the move. “There are certain instances under the Companies Act where a simple typographical mistake in filings could be categorised as fraud and accordingly the penalty is quite rigorous,” said Anshul Jain, partner, Luthra & Luthra. “It’s a good thing that government is liberalising certain aspects of the law.”
The government wants to see disputes resolved without having to approach the courts. “There are several offences that have fine as penalty or fine with penal provisions,” a government official said. “In certain cases of defaults, the government is planning to remove the penal provision and just impose the fine. Only consequent to further non-compliance of the order will it be categorised as an offence triable by a special court. We are looking at resolving most cases in-house without going to the courts. This would also allow the trial courts to pay more attention on offences of serious nature.”
The Economic Times, 16th July 2018, New Delhi

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New income tax slab and rates for new tax regime FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25) announced in Budget 2023

By
  Basic exemption limit has been hiked to Rs.3 lakh from Rs 2.5 currently under the new income tax regime in Budget 2023. Further, the income tax slabs in the new tax regime has been changed. According to the announcement, 5 income tax slabs will be there in FY 2023-24, from 6 income tax slabs currently. A rebate under Section 87A has been enhanced under the new tax regime; from the current income level of Rs.5 lakh to Rs.7 lakh. Thus, individuals opting for the new income tax regime and having an income up to Rs.7 lakh will not pay any taxes   The income tax slabs under the new income tax regime will now be as follows: Rs 0 to Rs 3 lakh - 0% tax rate Rs 3 lakh to 6 lakh - 5% Rs 6 lakh to 9 lakh - 10% Rs 9 lakh to Rs 12 lakh - 15% Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh - 20% Above Rs 15 lakh - 30%   The revised Income tax slabs under new tax regime for FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)   Income tax slabs under new tax regime Income tax rates under new tax regime O to Rs 3 lakh 0 Rs 3 lakh to Rs 6 lakh 5% Rs 6
Post a Comment
Read more

Jaitley plans to cut MSME tax rate to 25%

By
Income tax for companies with annual turnover up to ?50 crore has been reduced to 25% from 30% in order to make Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) companies more viable and also to encourage firms to migrate to a company format. This move will benefit 96% or 6.67 lakh of the 6.94 lakh companies filing returns of lower taxation and make MSME sector more competitive as compared with large companies. However, bigger firms have shown their disappointment since the proposal for reducing tax rates was to make Indian firms competitive globally and it is the large firms that are competing globally. The Finance Minister foregone revenue estimate of Rs 7,200 crore per annum for this for this measure. Besides, the Finance Minister refrained from removing or reducing Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), a popular demand from India Inc., but provided a higher period of 15 years for carry forward of future credit claims, instead of the existing 10-year period. “It is not practical to rem
1 comment
Read more

Don't forget to verify your income tax return in August: Here's the process

By
  An ITR return needs to be verified within 120 days of filing of tax return. Now that you have filed your income tax return, remember to verify it because your return filing process is not complete unless you do so. The CBDT has reduced the time limit of ITR verification to 30 days (from 120 days) from the date of return submission. The new rule is applicable for the returns filed online on or after 1st August 2022. E-verification is the most convenient and instant method for verifying your ITR. However, if you prefer not to e-verify, you have the option to verify it by sending a physical copy of the ITR-V. Taxpayers who filed returns by July 31, 2023 but forget to verify their tax returns, will get the following email from the tax department, as per ClearTax. If your ITR is not verified within 30 days of e-filing, it will be considered invalid, and may be liable to pay a Late Fee. Aadhaar OTP | EVC through bank account | EVC through Demat account | Sending duly signed ITR-V through s
Post a Comment
Read more