Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 Notified

The Companies (Amendment) Bill was passed
by the Rajya Sabha earlier this month. We had discussed
the broad nature of the changes introduced.
Now, the amendment has become law
in the form of the Companies
(Amendment) Act, 2015
as it has received the assent of the President and
has been notified in the Official Gazette .

Update – May 29, 2015: As some of you have pointed out in the comments, the notification states that the Act has been “published for general information”. Moreover, section 1(2) provides that it shall come into effect on a date or dates appointed by the Central Government.

Update – June 3, 2015: The Central Government has notified May 29, 2015 as the date on which the provisions of sections 1 to 12 and 15 to 23 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 shall come into force. The notification is available here.

(Hat tip: Abhishek Dubey)

About the author

Umakanth Varottil

Umakanth Varottil is a Professor at the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore. He specializes in corporate law and governance, mergers and acquisitions and cross-border investments. Prior to his foray into academia, Umakanth was a partner at a pre-eminent law firm in India.

8 comments

  • Hi Umakanth, the amendments have not been notified yet. The gazette publication is merely for "general information". The amendments shall be effective from the appointed date(s) notified by the Central Government.

  • Naskar Sir,
    In my view the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 is yet to be effective, though it has been notified in the Gazette. And for that an another notification is required with regard to appointed date as mentioned in Section 1(2) of the said amendment Act. Kindly Guide me.
    Regards,
    Sumit Jaiswal

  • Thanks for the comments. I had a similar doubt on whether the provisions are yet effective. But, the fact that the notification states that it is "hereby published for general information" suggests that another notification is required to make the amendment effective.

  • Generally most Acts will come into force, or become legally enforceable in a manner as prescribed in the Act itself. Either it would come into effect from the date of assent by the President (mostly in case of Ordinances which is later approved by the Parliament), or a specific date is mentioned in the Act itself (mostly in case of Finance Bills) or on a date as per the wish of the Central or the State Government as the case may be. In case the commencement of the Act is as made as per the wish of the government, a separate Gazette notification is made, which is mostly accompanied by the Rules or subordinate legislation in another gazette notification.

    Relevant extract of the commencement provision of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015
    "1(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification
    in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

  • Dear Umakanth,

    Don't you think it is incorrect to state that "Sections 1 to 12 and 15 to 23 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015 shall come into force" on May 29, 2015, since the same has not been published in an Official Gazette yet?

    Section 1(2) of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015, clearly states that "it shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette.."

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't this mean the aforementioned sections of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2015, are still not in force?

  • @Anonymous. Although the Government has notified May 29, 2015 to be the date from which the relevant amendments will be effective, it appears the notification is yet to be published in the Official Gazette. If that is the case, then technically as you mention the amendments are not yet effective. But, what is pending is only a procedural requirement, which once satisfied will make the provisions effective from May 29, 2015. In that sense, the only imponderable that could arise is if the publication in the Official Gazette does not occur at all.

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