In India, if it is tough to begin a venture, it is even tougher to end it.
If the ministry of company affairs has its way, business ventures can be opened and closed at the click of a mouse.
Komal Anand, secretary, ministry of company affairs, said on Monday that the next phase of the e-project would include business liquidation features, allowing companies to initiate liquidation features online.
However, for that to happen, the Companies Act would need to be amended, which is expected later this year. The department has prepared the draft for the all-new Company Act, which has “about half” as many sections than the current law (660 sections).
Not getting into specifics, Anand said her department has “drawn heavily” from the recommendation of the Irani report while preparing the revised Company Act draft.
After the completion of MCA21 project, 20 RoC (Registrar of Companies) would become e-enabled, allowing companies to file compliance returns and investors to seek information online.
Now, one can register a company in a day, against several weeks it took earlier. From July, all filings will have to be in digital form.
On Monday, Mumbai RoC became the ninth circle to go live, and next in queue are Bangalore and Gwalior. The department has already digitised 30 million pages, involving records of 7 lakh companies.
MCA21 is a six-year, Rs 343-crore project, and is implemented by Tata Consultancy Services.
Anand said the second phase of the project would be “as large” as the current one (MCA21), since liquidation is very process intensive, involving judiciary. The new Company Law envisages setting up a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), a quasi-judiciary body with liquidation powers. This is expected to cut the liquidation time to three years from 12-15 years it takes currently.
Autor: Rabin Ghosh
Quelle: Daily News & Analysis, 24.04.2006
