Company Law

Tupperware files for bankruptcy as its colourful containers lose relevance

The company listed $500 million-$1 billion in estimated assets and $1 billion-$10 billion in estimated liabilities

NCLAT issues notice to IIHL on RCap plea seeking interest on payment

The NCLAT on Friday issued a notice to IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) over a plea filed by lenders of Reliance Capital seeking interest on the payment for the extended period. A three-member bench led by Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan directed the Hinduja Group firm, IIHL to file reply within two weeks. The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was hearing the petition from Committee of Creditors (CoC) of RCap. The lenders have sought modification in the order passed by the Mumbai Bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had on July 23, directed IIHL to deposit the equity component of Rs 2,750 crore in the CoC escrow accounts. It has requested the appellate tribunal to direct IIHL to "allow interest on the Upfront Cash Amount till August 8, 2024" and also " allow interest on debt component of Upfront Cash Amount from August 8, 2024 till Transfer Date which is the date of payment of Upfront Cash Amount" of Rs 9,660 crore. Mauritius-based IIHL ..

Wheels India records strong net profit of Rs 25cr in Q1 due to cost control

Leading manufacturer of wheels for trucks, tractors and passenger vehicles Wheels India Ltd has reported a net profit of Rs 25.37 crore for the April-June 2024 quarter, thanks to cost control measures and change in the product mix, a top official of the company has said. The city-based company had recorded a net profit of Rs 13.22 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. "A change in the product mix, increased focus on cost control and some improvement in the CV (commercial vehicles) business has contributed to the strong profit in Q1," Wheels India Ltd MD Srivats Ram said. Total revenues during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,088.20 crore, as against Rs 1,133.02 crore in the same quarter last year. Wheels India has earmarked Rs 225 crore as capital expenditure for the current financial year towards taking up expansion of the cast aluminium and machining for windmill castings businesses. The company is planning to increase the production capacity of aluminium wheels fr

Biz integrity critical to ensuring investor confidence: NCLAT Chairperson

Emphasising that business integrity is extremely important for economic growth, appellate tribunal NCLAT's Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan on Tuesday said companies have the first responsibility of preparing a set of accounts that can be trusted. He asserted that constant vigil needs to be exercised so that each element of the transparency and governance chain works properly and to its best capacity. The chairman of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) was speaking at the international conference on 'Transparent Financial Reporting and Audit Quality - Pillars of Corporate Governance', organised by the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) in the national capital. "Companies have the first responsibility of preparing a set of accounts that can be trusted. In several cases, weak accounting practices have led to financial scandals. If record keeping is not proper, financial results are not accurate, the entire business environment suffers," Bhushan said. If th

Lack of full Bench takes a toll on SAT's functioning and efficiency

Industry players fear that if the Bench is not restored soon, it could hamper the fundraising and expansion plans of companies with pending litigation

Centre says over 106,000 companies voluntarily exited in last five years

More than 1 lakh firms voluntarily exited under the companies law in nearly five years, the government said on Monday. Besides, many companies have sought voluntary liquidation under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). "From FY 2018-19 to FY 2023-24 (up to 30th November, 2023) 1,06,561 companies have exited voluntarily under section 248(2) of the Companies Act, 2013. "From FY 2018-19 to FY 2023-24 (up to 30th September 2023) final reports of 1,168 companies have been submitted by liquidators under section 59 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code), of which final dissolution orders have been passed by NCLT in 633 cases during the said period," Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh told the Lok Sabha. Section 248(2) of the Companies Act pertains to voluntary exit of companies while Section 59 of the IBC relates to voluntary liquidation of companies. In the last five years, Singh said the time taken for voluntary exit under Section 248(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 has

HZL will need approval to create separate business entities: Govt

In a meeting held on September 29, HZL's board had asked the company to explore corporate restructuring and create three separate legal entities for Zinc and lead, silver, and recycling biz

Govt slaps penalty on four firms that failed to hire female directors

The action has been taken against three private and one Maharashtra govt company. The development sheds light on the govt's emphasis on having more female leaders in company boardrooms

Govt allows direct overseas listing of firms; notifies under companies law

In a significant move, the government has permitted Indian companies to list on foreign exchanges, subject to certain conditions. The corporate affairs ministry has notified the relevant section under the companies law in this regard. Currently, overseas listings by local listed entities are carried out through American Depository Receipts (ADRs) and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 (29 of 2020), the Central Government hereby appoints the 30th day of October 2023 as the date on which the provisions of section 5 of the said Act shall come into force," the ministry said in a notification on October 30. The rules for direct overseas listing of Indian companies are yet to be notified. Section 5 allows certain classes of public companies to list their securities on permitted stock exchanges in permissible foreign jurisdictions or such other jurisdictions, as may be prescribed.

NCLAT sets aside NCLT order rejecting insolvency plea against Uniworth

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal on Monday set aside the order of the Kolkata bench of NCLT, which had rejected the plea of Asset Reconstruction Company to initiate insolvency proceedings against Uniworth Textiles Ltd (UTL), and remanded the matter back to hear it again. A two-member NCLAT bench comprising justices Rakesh Kumar Jain and Naresh Salecha said the NCLT had erred in rejecting the application filed under Section 7 of the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code by Asset Reconstruction Company on the ground of limitation. "The appeal therefore succeeds and the impugned order dated March 17, 2020 is set aside. The case is remanded back to the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT) for decision on the merit of the application in accordance with the law," said NCLAT in its 36-page order. It had directed both parties to appear before the NCLT on July 28, 2023. Meanwhile, NCLAT also clarified it is not expressing any opinion regarding the merits of the case and the same needs to be ...

Spotify, 7 other firms call on European regulators to crack down on Apple

Audio streaming platform Spotify and 7 other European companies are calling on European Commission to take "swift and decisive action" against Apple over 'anti-competitive' and 'unfair' practices

Meta's Indian employees go all out on Twitter after lay-off email

The number of layoffs in India could not be confirmed

Mobility solutions provider Automovill raises Rs 2.15 cr in funding

Company offers services for car owner, has presence in 20 cities and caters to 150,000 customers

15 new judicial and technical members appointed for NCLT benches

The tribunal has a total sanctioned strength of 63 members and 28 benches

MCA planning to shift all company forms to new portal by December

Currently only nine forms are to be filled on the new version, ministry officials cite surge in company submissions on version 3

Ministry of Corporate Affairs improves the ease of running a company

Over the past two years the government has moved to decriminalise key provisions and simplified statutory requirements in the Companies Act

Govt revises definition of small cos; reduced compliance burden for firms

The government has revised the paid-up capital and turnover thresholds for small companies that will help reduce the compliance burden on more entities. The latest decision by the corporate affairs ministry, which is implementing the companies law, has again revised the definition of small companies and is aimed at further improving the ease of doing business. With the amendments to certain rules, the threshold for small companies' paid-up capital has been increased to "not exceeding Rs 4 crore" from "not exceeding Rs 2 crore". Similarly, the turnover threshold has been revised to "not exceeding Rs 40 crore" from "not exceeding Rs 20 crore", the ministry said in a release on Friday. The revisions will allow more entities to come under the category of small companies. According to the ministry, small companies are exempted from the requirement to prepare cash flow statement as part of financial statement and can file an abridged annual return. They will not be required to have the

JSW Paints likely to contest CCI's order on Asian Paints in NCLAT

This move by JSW Paints comes after CCI disposed off JSW Paints plea which stated that Asian Paints blocked its entry in the decorative paints segment

Govt extends tenure of the Company Law Committee by one year

The government has extended the tenure of the Company Law Committee, which was constituted in 2019, by one year. The term of the panel which was set up by the corporate affairs ministry in September 2019, was extended last year also. The committee has the mandate for examining and making recommendations to the government on various issues related to implementation of the Companies Act and Limited Liability Partnership Act. "...the tenure of the company law committee is hereby further extended by one year i.e till 16.09.2023," the ministry said in an order dated September 5. Currently, an 11-member committee is chaired by corporate affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj. The committee was constituted as part of the government's efforts to promote ease of living by providing ease of doing business to law abiding corporates, to foster improved corporate compliance for stakeholders at large and to address emerging issues having an impact on the working of companies. Last year, the ministry ha

MCA tweaks rules about company deposits, enhances statutory auditors' role

The new rules, according to experts, will widen the responsibility of directors to the statutory auditors. They came into effect on August 29