Tag: Corporate Social Responsibility
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Decriminalisation of Company Law: A Welcome Change
[Arun Kumar is a 4th-year student of NLIU Bhopal] The Company Law Committee (CLC) in its November 2019 report (CLC Report) to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recommended amendments to 46 penal provisions in the Companies Act, 2013 (CA, 2013). This is in addition to the 16 offences already decriminalised by the Companies…
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Social Stock Exchange – A Breakthrough for the Impact Investing Sector
[Aditya Bhayal is a IV year student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] In this year’s Budget Presentation, the Finance Minister announced the introduction of the Social Stock Exchange (SSE) in the Indian capital market. Following this, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently set up a panel to provide recommendations on the working…
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CSR Becomes Stringent, With Penal Consequences
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) took on a different hue in India with the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013. Section 135 of the legislation introduced a requirement on large companies to spend two percent of their average profits over the preceding three years towards certain statutorily defined causes.…
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Highlights of Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019
[Vinod Kothari is a corporate and insolvency practitioner at Vinod Kothari & Co and can be reached at resolution@vinodkothari.com] The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 has been placed before the Parliament on 25 July 2019. While the Bill, 2019 is largely to enact into parliamentary law the provisions already promulgated by way of Presidential Ordinance, the Bill…
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ESG Reporting in India
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] The NSE Centre for Excellence in Corporate Governance (CECG) has issued its most recent quarterly briefing titled “Environmental and Social Reporting by Indian Companies”, which I have authored. The executive summary is as follows: Recent years have witnessed a strong focus on long-term sustainable value in companies rather than short-term profitability.…
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The Threat of Unconstitutionality to Explanation II to Section 37 of the Income Tax Act
[Priya Garg is a 5th year student at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata] Explanation II added to Section 37 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”), which became effective from 1 April 2014, runs the risk of violating Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India. This post explains the reason…
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Resolving Ambiguities in CSR Provisions
[Bunny Sehgal is an Associate at Vinod Kothari & Co. and can be reached at sehgal@vinodkothari.com] With the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013 (‘Act’), India has become one of the leading countries to mandate spending on corporate social responsibility (‘CSR’) activities through a statutory provision. Since then CSR has become a topic of interest for…
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Corporate Governance and Sustainability
[Posted by Umakanth Varottil] Professor Vikramaditya Khanna has authored the latest edition of the NSE Quarterly Briefing titled “Global Asset Managers and the Rise of Long Term Sustainable Value”. The executive summary is as follows: – The largest global asset managers (e.g., BlackRock, State Street) have stated that long term sustainable value (LTSV) is their…
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Non-Deductibility of CSR Expenditure under the Income Tax Act: Some Concerns
[Priya Garg is a 5th year student at West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS), Kolkata] The Income Tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”) allows various business expenses to be claimed as ‘deductions’ while computing taxable income under the head ‘profit and gains of business or profession’.[1] Section 37 of the IT Act is a residuary provision…
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Presenting a Critique of Green Financing in India
[Priya Garg is a 4th year student at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS)] The concept of “green banking” has two primary aspects – first, making banks and other financial institutions conduct their operations in an environment-friendly manner; second, their role of extending credit on favourable terms to eco-friendly projects. For the purpose of…