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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Feb. 16

THE Union Cabinet has given its nod for introducing a Bill to amend the Companies Act, 1956, to enable corporates to use e-filing facilities.

For the successful implementation of MCA-21, the e-governance project of the Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA), the Ministry had approached the Cabinet for introducing limited amendments to the Act through a Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2006.

The Bill would be introduced in the new session of Parliament.

The Ministry had in the last week of January sought Cabinet approval for the promulgation of an ordinance to amend the Companies Act, 1956, for this purpose. However, the ordinance could secure Presidential assent with the Parliament session being announced.

Currently, the Companies Act does not provide for online filing of statutory documents with the Registrar of Companies. MCA-21 envisages electronic filing of these documents, including registration and records of a company, adaptation of all statutory forms for electronic filing, scanning and digitisation of permanent records, annual returns and balance sheets. This necessitated an amendment to the Act, the Ministry said. The project commenced in March 2005 with the signing of a contract agreement with the operator Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. The project cost is estimated at Rs 345 crore. The project would enable corporates to register a company and file statutory documents easily. It would also make it easy for the public to access relevant records and get quicker redressal of their grievances.

It also provides for digital signatures to ensure the security of electronic forms and documents in conformance with the Information Technology Act, the electronic payment of all statutory charges and access to the services from Internet.

More Stories on : E-Governance | Company Law

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