COMPANY LAW AMENDMENTS PART 4 - CS EXECUTIVE

Lesson No.8 - Accounts, Audit and Auditors Amendment No.12 The Companies (Accounts) Second Amendment Rules, 2022 (Dated 31st March, 2022) ● The date of applicability for the requirement relating to the feature of recording audit trail in the Accounting Software has been extended from 01st April 2022 to 01st April 2023. {An Audit Trail is a step by step record by which accounting, trade details or other financial data can be traced to their source.} Amendment No.13 The Companies (Accounts) Third Amendment Rules, 2022 (Dated 31st May, 2022) MCA has extended the date of filing of report on Corporate Social Responsibility in Form CSR-2 till 30th June, 2022 for the Financial Year 2020-21 and 31st March, 2023 for the Financial Year 2021-22. Miscellaneous Amendment No.14 The MCA notified the commencement date for Section 4 of the Companies (Amendment)Act, 2020 The Companies (Incorporation) Fifth Amendment Rules, 2021, (Dated July 22, 2021) The MCA has appointed September 01, 2021 as the commencement date Section 16 - Rectification of Name of Company Sec 16(1) - Central Government (Regional Director) may direct the company to change its name if - (a) In the opinion of the CG, the name of company is identical with or too nearly resembles the name of any existing company then the company shall change its name or new name, as the case may be, within a period of three months from the issue of such direction after passing an OR for the purpose in the GM;

(b) within 3 years of incorporation or registration or change of name of company

an application made by registered proprietor of a trademark that the name is identical with or too nearly resembles to a registered trademark of such proprietor under the Trademarks Act, 1999, to the CG, it may direct the company to change its name and the company shall change its name or new name, as the case may be, within a period of 3 months from the issue of such direction after passing an OR for the purpose in the GM.

Sec 16(2) - Notice to ROC within 15 days of change of name of company under sub-section

(1) along with CG’s order.

Brief Analysis:

● The time limit of compliance of directions given by the Central Government under section 16 sub-section (1) clause (b) to change the name of the company has been reduced from 6 months to 3 months.

● Further, the Central Government has been empowered to allot a new name to the company, in case of default in complying with its direction instead of imposing punishment for non-compliance for such default. [Sec16(3)]

The company is however not prevented from subsequently changing its name.

Amendment No.15

The Companies (Incorporation) Third Amendment Rules, 2022 (Dated 18th August, 2022)

According to the amendment, rule 25B is inserted in the Companies

(Incorporation) Rules, 2014, stating physical verification of the registered office of the company by the Registrar in terms of section 12(9) of the Companies Act, 2013 in presence of two witnesses of the locality.

The Registrar shall carry the documents as filed on MCA 21 in support of address of the registered office of the company for the purposes of physical verification and take a photograph of the registered office. Further a report of physical verification of the registered office of the company is also required to be in the prescribed format.