A Critical Analysis Of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020

Pratibha Mishra, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

Ever since the Companies Act, 2013 has come into force, it has been under the critical eye of the lawmakers in India. Being one of the most complex and long-winded statutes, there’s a lot to be amended in the act, which is not feasible to be done all at once. Corporate sector is a key to prosper, aggrandize and thrive well for any developing nation due to which any reform introduced in the act is on the radar and closely scrutinized. Having such a tremendous impact on the outcome of this sector on the position held in the world by countries like India, necessary reforms are imperative to be brought at the right time to ensure the best possible opportunities are being provided to the corporate bodies. In the wake of Covid’19, when the whole world was put on hold, strong support from the Government was required to come out of the woods. Amidst the outbreak of consecutive waves of the pandemic and the nation going into complete lockdown and coming out of it, the legislature came up with the Amendment of 2020, which envisaged the ease of living and compliance for the corporates, decriminalization, and recategorization of various offences, relaxations in terms of minor procedural and technical lapses as well as other social obligations, reduction in amercements, foster business culture, helping the start-up companies to find their feet in the competitive market structure, etc. For brevity, the government, through the reforms introduced, is deemed to facilitate a more business-friendly environment in the market system, attract more investments and provide impunity to firmly establish themselves or get back on their feet after suffering heavy losses due to the pandemic. The present study aims to give the rundown of the crucial reforms brought in by the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 and analyse the intent of the legislature behind such reforms.

Keywords: Companies Act, Amendment, Decriminalization, Start-ups, Producer Companies, CSR, Reduced penalties, Security exchange.