Our Correspondent / NEW DELHI
Parliament has passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2017 with the Rajya Sabha adopting it today. The Lok Sabha had passed it earlier in the monsoon session.
Initiating the discussion, Congress leader and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram suggested a separate law for protecting the interests of the small and medium companies.
He said that the proposed amendments may be used by larger companies as well, which is not the objective of the bill.
Mr Chidambaram said that the provisions incorporated in the bill are undesirable and may have negative impact on the economy.
He also expressed concern that the bill seeks to give powers to executive which should have been allowed to remain in the purview of Parliament. He suggested to do away with the current provision of either lending loans to company directors or taking loan from them saying nowhere in the world this type of provision existed.
Mr Chidambaram also called for regulation of the joint stock companies. He insisted that the provisions of forward and insider trading must be harmonized with the SEBI provisions.
Ajay Sancheti of BJP welcomed the bill saying it invites investments leading to create more employment opportunities and boosts the country’s economic reforms. He said the bill was unanimously adopted by the Standing Committee on Finance.
He said the bill provides for stringent provisions against those who violate the law. He said the passage of the bill will lead to boost the Start-Up companies and ensure overall growth. He said the burden of compliance on small companies will come down substantially.
Welcoming the bill, Sanjay Seth of the Samajwadi Party said more changes are required in the amendments in the bill.
He demanded that the companies should utilize Corporate Social Responsibility funds in areas beyond the places where the companies are located.