Govt plans to rationalise filing framework under companies law

The corporate affairs ministry is planning to rationalise the filing framework, including the consolidation of forms, under the Companies Law after gathering stakeholders’ inputs. The Companies Act, 2013, is being implemented by the ministry.

Through the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), the ministry is undertaking a structured multi-city stakeholder consultation on improving the corporate compliance architecture.

“The consultation specifically seeks stakeholder inputs on the rationalisation of the MCA filing framework under the Companies Act, 2013, including the consolidation of forms, transition to a data-centric architecture, expansion of Straight Through Processing (STP), and the adoption of an interaction-based, pre-filled filing interface (MCA21 Version 3),” the ministry said in a note.

Among other priorities, the efforts are aimed at mapping high-impact reform opportunities from incorporation of companies to exit, and tap automation potential through intelligent system integration, pre-filling, and reuse of registry data.

Stakeholders can submit their comments till May 15.

Separately, the ministry is undertaking a comprehensive review of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014.

“These amendments are aimed at streamlining the process of incorporation of companies, reducing compliance burden on stakeholders, and further advancing the objective of facilitating Ease of Doing Business,” the ministry said in a public note while seeking comments from stakeholders till May 9.

According to the ministry, the amendments seek to simplify procedures, reduce the number of forms and duplicate filings, enable wider use of electronic communication, align with other regulatory frameworks (such as GST and IBC), and clarify grey areas like liability of deceased subscribers and documentation for registered office.

GST and IBC refer to Goods and Services Tax, and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.