Govt Rolled Out Reforms In 202425 To Ease Corporate Compliance For Firms, Msmes & Startups: Mos Malhotra

(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Aug 13 (KNN) Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Road Transport and Highways Harsh Malhotra, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, said the government has introduced a series of reforms in 2024–25 to simplify corporate compliance requirements, reduce operational costs, and improve ease of doing business for companies, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups.

Key measures include allowing direct listing of Indian public companies in permissible foreign jurisdictions under the Companies (Listing of Equity Shares in Permissible Jurisdictions) Rules, 2024, notified on January 24.

The move is aimed at boosting 'Brand India', broadening investor access, and providing new avenues for capital.

Regulatory changes have also streamlined corporate processes. Amendments to the Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014, effective August 1, now allow additional opportunities for directors to update their KYC details.

The Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014, were revised to introduce faceless adjudication via video conferencing, eliminating physical hearings for corporate default cases.

Further, the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016, were amended to enable mergers between foreign-incorporated holding companies and their wholly owned Indian subsidiaries to be approved by the Central Government-delegated to Regional Directors-instead of the National Company Law Tribunal, reducing processing time.

The Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE), operational since May 2023, has been empowered to process e-forms for striking off limited liability partnerships (LLPs), centralising and expediting voluntary closure procedures.

To facilitate company registration, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has deployed the integrated SPICe+ web form offering 11 services in one application, from name reservation to tax registrations and bank account opening.

A zero-fee regime is in place for companies with authorised capital up to Rs 15 lakh or with up to 20 members without share capital.

The Central Registration Centre (CRC) and Central Processing Centre (CPC) have been operationalised to handle company and LLP incorporation, while the LLP form FiLLiP is now integrated with PAN and TAN allotment.

For startups, recognition under the Startup India initiative has been fully digitised through the Startup India portal and the National Single Window System, with simplified self-certification and online guidance tools.

(KNN Bureau)

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