This article is written by S. Simi Sthebiya Mary of sathyabama institute of science and technology an intern under legal Vidhiya.
ABSTRACT-
The 2013 Companies Act is a significant piece of legislation with far-reaching goods on all businesses with Indian objectification. The Act of 2013 points to be more encyclopaedically inclined and more in line with norms around the world. It’s anticipated that it’ll serve as a model for further contemporary legislation that encourages expansion and stricter control of India’s commercial sector. The 2013 Act was created in a trouble to strengthen tone- regulation, advance commercial governance norms, increase responsibility on the side of businesses and adjudicators, increase situations of openness, and guard the interests of investors, particularly small investors.
INTRODUCTION-
At the end of August 2013, India eventually passed its new Companies Act 2013(the” Companies Act”) after a prolonged legislative process. The Indian Parliament’s Lower House, the Lok Sabha, and Upper House, the Rajya Sabha, both passed the Companies Bill on December 18, 2012, and August 8, 2013, independently. On August 29, 2013, the President of India gave his blessing. The Companies Act of 2013 was published in the sanctioned review on August 30, 2013, by the” Ministry of Law and Justice”. It contains expansive regulations for the country’s listed and unrecorded businesses. The act has 29 Chapters, 470 Sections, 7 Schedules, 95 Delineations, and 470 subsections
KEYWORD-
Companies act, private company, public company, incorporate.
COMPANIES ACT-
There are multitudinous legal experts’ delineations of what a company is. still, the Companies Act of 2013’s Section 2(20) provides the following description of” Company”” Company means a company incorporated under this Act or under any former company law.” The main company realities that this act mentions include-
• One- person companies are a specific kind of business that only has one member.
• A private company’s minimal share capital can be set by its members at any value. The public can not readily buy shares from this type of establishment.
• intimately traded This relates to businesses where the civil or state governments hold 51 or further of the stock. also, this kind of business can vend shares to the general public. A public business must have a minimum of seven members.
The following Central government Acts are presently under the administration of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs-
• Companies act 2013
• Companies act 1956
• Competition act 2002
• Bankruptcy and ruin law 2016
• Chartered accountant 1949
IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE 2013 COMPANIES ACT-
• It first mentioned the idea of” Dormant Companies.” Companies that haven’t conducted business for two times in a row are considered dormant.
• The National Company Law Tribunal was introduced by it. In India, it’s aquasi-judicial organisation that decides controversies between businesses. The Company Law Board was replaced.
• It allows for tone- regulation of exposures and openness as opposed to a system counting on government blessing.
• For pots with net means of over toRs. 1 crore, sanctioned liquidators have the authority to make opinions.
• Merger and admixture processes have been streamlined and made more effective.
• This Act permitscross-border combinations (foreign companies combining with Indian companies or vice versa), but only with the Reserve Bank of India’s concurrence.
• A one- person business has been proposed as an idea. This new class of private company may only have one shareholder and one director. According to the 1956 Act, a private business demanded at least two shareholders and two directors.
• Public enterprises are now needed by law to have independent directors.
• Women directors are needed in a specific class of companies. Every company must have at least one director who has lived in India for at least 182 days during the former timetable time.
• The Act allows for the entrenchment of the papers of association (the operation of extralegal protections).
• The Act stipulates that board meetings must be called with at least 7 days’ notice.
• There should be a gyration of inspection enterprises and adjudicators for public enterprises. The Act also forbids adjudicators from offering the pot Date 2023-06-23 Words 835 Characters 5653 Page 1 of 2 anything other than checkups. There’s significant felonious and civil liability for an adjudicator in the event of noncompliance.
• The liabilities of a Director have been specified in this Act. The places of” Key Managerial Personnel” and” protagonist” have also been described.
• Companies are needed by the Act to produce CSR panels and CSR programs. obligatory CSR exposures have been issued for a select many businesses.
• One director should represent small possessors in listed businesses.
• During a disquisition, it’s possible to search and seize papers without a justice’s authorization. • Strict guidelines have been established for taking public deposits.
• The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA)’s establishment has been planned for. It establishes and upholds account and auditing norms and controls the conditioning of adjudicators. India is now good to join the International Forum of Independent inspection Controllers (IFIAR) as a result of the NFRA’s announcement.
• The Act gives shareholders more control by taking their concurrence for numerous significant deals.
RTI FOR PRIVATE COMPANIES-
The Ministry of HRD, a government agency, is in charge of it. Even you can obtain information under the RTI Act if the ministry of HRD can “access” information pertaining to, say, RTI for private businesses, acquiring data from private.
The Central Information Commission underlined that privatised public utility agencies also fall well within the jurisdiction of the Act and are required to provide information upon request from the citizen in what can only be described as a landmark decision in the case of Sarbajit Roy vs. DERC. This implies that private organisations that carry out ‘public’ duties are subject to the RTI Act.
STEPS FOR RECEIVING INFORMATION –
- The citizen in need of the information should first conduct research to identify the government agency that the specific private organisation is registered with.
- The Public Information Officer (PIO) who needs to be contacted can be found on the Department’s website. On the webpage, you may find the concerned PIO’s contact information.
- The actions that must be taken after this are similar to those that must be taken in the event of a typical RTI Application submitted to a public authority.
- The application must be submitted in accordance with the fees and format required by the relevant government (federal or state). The method of payment, postal order numbers, or any other necessary mandatory information must be provided along with the fee information. The concerned PIO will provide the necessary information since, in accordance with numerous state legislation, government agencies have the right to request information from private organisations.
- Applicants must also be aware that this Section does not permit access to the information that is prohibited from disclosure under Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act.
PRIVATE ENTITIES-
Section 2(a) of the Act states that a public body is considered “appropriate government” if it is formed, owned, established, significantly financed (directly or indirectly), or controlled by Administration, state governments, and union territories.
The RTI Act is applicable to all private organisations. Public information officers (PIOs) and appellate authorities (AAs) frequently block RTI requests from individuals to commercial organizations/companies under the guise that they lack sufficient funding.
RTI AGAINST A PRIVATE COMPANY-
- Examination of the work, papers, and records.
- Capturing notes, excerpts, or certified copies of records or documents.
- Obtaining material samples with certification.
- whenever you want to learn more about the company.
TO FILE AN RTI AGAINST A PRIVATE COMPANY, YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS-
- Apply for online RTI
- Apply for offline RTI
APPLY FOR ONLINE RTI-
- Visit Apply Now and select “Other RTI” as your RTI category.
- Complete the form, then click “submit.”
- Select your strategy and complete the payment
- Check the status of your RTI application.
APPLY FOR OFFLINE RTI-
- In Hindi, English, or any other official language of that region, submit an RTI application.
- Write PIO/APIO (Public Information Officer/Assistant Public Information Officer) on the application.
- Mention the name and full address of the relevant authority.
- Write down the specific information you’re looking for about a private company.
- Along with your RTI application, include the RTI fees in the form of an IPO, DD, banker’s cheque, cashier’s cheque, money order, etc. in favour of the PIO or APIO of the private corporation.
- Sign your RTI application after writing your name, email, phone number, and address.
- At the conclusion of the application, state that you are an Indian citizen.
- Send your RTI application and all necessary supporting documentation by registered mail.
- The RTI Application and associated papers should be printed out for future use.
GOUNDS FOR REJECTION IN RTI-
- The group is not a public authority, such as a cooperative society or a private corporation or institution that is not primarily funded or governed by the government.
- What is requested is ‘not information’ as that term is used in the Act: Information must be present. Information that does not meet the definition of ‘information’ includes interpretations of the law, decisions that have not been made, and explanations for decisions that have not been made.
- The requested information is exempt according to Section 8(1) or Section 9 of the law. Information that would infringe on a private party’s copyright is prohibited under Section 9.
- In accordance with Section 2(j)(ii), excerpts from the records must be provided unless doing so would take too much time. The public body cannot refuse to provide the information even if doing so would put an undue burden on its resources.
- The public body may supply the information in another format if completing the form on which the applicant has requested it would take too long. PIOs frequently offer file inspection to applicants when gathering or compiling information in a specific manner would take an inordinate amount of time.
- Information that can be found in records cannot be denied on the basis of Section 7(9). Only Sections 8 and 9 of the Act may be used to support a denial. The only exception to this rule is if withholding any information would be illegal under the terms of the Constitution, in which case it may be refused.
- Refusing to offer a collation or extracts from what is already in records would be wrong. Only when collating or extracting information will take too much time should Section 7(9) be used. The Public Information Officer could then enable an inspection or offer copy of all the records. The applicant should have the last say.
- For instance, if someone requested information that was dispersed among fifty offices and wasn’t available in a collected form, a Public Information Officer could claim that even conducting an inspection might unreasonably divert the public authority’s resources. However, the Public Information Officer should do this if information gathering can be completed in a few of hours.
CONCLUSION-
On August 29, 2013, the President of India gave his blessing. The Companies Act of 2013 was published in the sanctioned review on August 30, 2013, by the” Ministry of Law and Justice”. The new Act gives corporations registered in India more clarity and a better framework. The new legislation has been passed in order to resolve the disparity in company law between states and to ensure that laws are properly enforced. A member and everyone in attendance at an AGM has a vital informational right in the Companies Act 2013 that they can use to potentially exercise their other legal rights. Compared to related prior provisions, the new law has undergone some revisions. This right will hopefully be properly employed as and when necessary, in accordance with corporate governance, thanks to more reasonable provisions established herein and better execution of the new law.
REFERENCES-
- https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-laws/companies-act-2013/meaning-and-features-of-a-company/
- https://rtiguru.com/blog/rti-against-private-company
- https://vakilsearch.com/blog/rti-for-private-companies/
- https://www.taxmann.com/post/blog/what-is-a-company-definition-characteristics-and-latest-case-laws/
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328262628_A_CONCEPTUAL_VIEW_ON_COMPANIES_ACT_2013_WITH_SPECIAL_REFERENCE_TO_SHARE_CAPITAL
- https://taxguru.in/company-law/conceptual-view-companies-act-2013.html
- https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/indian-companies-act/
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