Section 1, 2, 8, 16, 23 and 26 of Companies Amendment Act 2020

Section 1 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020.

(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint:

Provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision.

Amendment to Section 2 of Companies Act 2013

2. In the Companies Act, 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), in section 2, in clause (52), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-

"Provided that such class of companies, which have listed or intend to list such class of securities, as may be prescribed in consultation with the Securities and Exchange Board, shall not be considered as listed companies.".

Amendment to Section 8 of Companies Act 2013

In section 8 of the principal Act, in sub-section (11),-

(a) the words "with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or" shall be omitted;

(b) for the words "twenty-five lakh rupees, or with both", the words "twenty-five lakh rupees" shall be substituted

Amendment to Section 16 of Companies Act 2013

In section 16 of the principal Act,-

(i) in sub-section (1), in clause (b), for the words "period of six months", the
words "period of three months" shall be substituted;

(ii) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:-

"(3) If a company is in default in complying with any direction given under sub-section (1), the Central Government shall allot a new name to the company in such manner as may be prescribed and the Registrar shall enter the new name in the register of companies in place of the old name and issue a fresh certificate of incorporation with the new name, which the company shall use thereafter:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall prevent a company from subsequently changing its name in accordance with the provisions of section 13.".

Amendment to Section 23 of Companies Act 2013

In section 23 of the principal Act, after sub-section (2) and before the Explanation, the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:-

"(3) Such class of public companies may issue such class of securities for the purposes of listing on permitted stock exchanges in permissible foreign jurisdictions or such other jurisdictions, as may be prescribed.

(4) The Central Government may, by notification, exempt any class or classes of public companies referred to in sub-section (3) from any of the provisions of this Chapter, Chapter IV, section 89, section 90 or section 127 and a copy of every such notification shall, as soon as may be after it is issued, be laid before both Houses of Parliament."

Amendment to Section 26 of Companies Act 2013

In section 26 of the principal Act, in sub-section (9),-
(a) the words "with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or" shall be omitted;

(b) for the words "three lakh rupees, or with both", the words "three lakh rupees'' shall be substituted.