Cartelisation enforcement: penalties imposed across pharmaceuticals, cement and investigations referred for petroleum pricing, and sectoral probes continue.
Cartelisation enforcement led to monetary penalties against firms and turnover based penalties on association office bearers in pharmaceuticals, cumulative penalties against cement manufacturers and an industry association, and a referral of alleged coordinated petrol pricing to the Director General for investigation, with that investigation stayed; no telecom cartel investigations were reported.

Corporate fraud investigation capacity strengthened as SFIO expands market surveillance, forensic lab and completes multiple investigations detecting fraud.
A Market Research and Analysis Unit was set up to analyze media reports and conduct market surveillance; following Expert Committee recommendations an in-house forensic lab was established to bolster investigative and evidentiary capability. The office completed numerous investigations detecting widespread corporate fraud, files complaints in court without settlement power, and pursues interagency coordination and capacity building to strengthen corporate fraud response.

Auditor reporting thresholds clarified as government seeks criteria for mandatory fraud reporting while transitional measures applied.
Partial commencement of the Companies Act, 2013 led the Government to issue circulars, statutory orders and Rules amendments to provide transitional relief and resolve practical difficulties; legislative amendments will be considered if these measures are inadequate. The Government sought the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India's view on feasible criteria for thresholds requiring auditors to report frauds or suspected frauds, and confirmed protection for Independent Directors under Section 149(12) where matters did not occur with their knowledge, consent or connivance or where they acted diligently.

Corporate social responsibility disclosures require companies to report CSR spending to the ministry within the mandated post-year deadline.
Corporate Social Responsibility provisions became operative in early 2014 and impose a reporting obligation on companies to disclose CSR expenditure; the Ministry will obtain details of funds utilised under CSR only after companies submit mandatory disclosures, which are due within six months after the end of the relevant financial year, in connection with CSR spending for welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

Ease of Doing Business indicators questioned; government prioritizes regulatory simplification and e governance to improve business conditions.
Government questioned the representativeness and methodology of the Doing Business rankings, observing they focus on small and medium enterprise regulation and may misrepresent the wider business environment; concerns included indicator selection, sample size, use of rankings, and neglect of qualitative, country specific conditions. In response, the Government prioritized administrative reforms-simplifying and rationalizing rules, implementing e governance, reducing fees, and expediting departmental clearances-to improve regulatory efficiency without setting explicit ranking targets.

Amendment to Companies Act: implementation aided by removal-of-difficulties orders, rule amendments, circulars and exemptions.
The Ministry addressed implementation difficulties from commencement of the Companies Act through stakeholder consultation and announced measures including orders under Section 470 for removal of difficulties, amendments to rules, clarificatory circulars, targeted exemptions, and draft notifications placed before Parliament under Section 462 to facilitate transitional implementation.

Corporate fraud investigations prompting prosecutions and enhanced forensic and market surveillance measures to detect malfeasance early.
Investigations into alleged corporate frauds have produced reports recommending prosecutions for companies, directors and defaulting officers under company and other statutes. The Ministry has expanded investigatory capacity within the Serious Fraud Investigation Office by creating a Market Research and Analysis Unit, establishing a forensic laboratory with skilled technical personnel, and developing an Early Warning System to generate alerts for early detection of potential frauds.

Power to levy penalty limited by mechanism for lesser penalties under regulations, guiding enforcement for abuse of dominance.
Power to levy penalty is vested in the Commission for abuse of dominant position and anti-competitive agreements, linked to average turnover of the preceding three years, while a statutory provision authorises imposition of a lesser penalty and the Competition Commission of India (Lesser Penalty) Regulations, 2009 provide the guidelines for applying reduced sanctions.

Relaxation under Companies Act requires draft notifications to be laid before the legislature before class based exemptions apply.
Relaxation under the Companies Act enables specified provisions to be disapplied or applied with exceptions for particular classes of companies, conditional on draft notifications that must be laid before each House of the legislature; preparation of such notifications is under active consideration, as stated in a ministerial written response.

Corporate governance reforms: updated rules reflect best practices and administrative measures ease compliance burdens and hardships.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs administers the Companies Act 2013 and its Rules, which embody essential corporate governance elements and reflect contemporary best practices as provisions come into force; where implementation causes hardships, the Ministry issues Circulars, statutory orders and Rules to provide ease and facilitate company compliance.

Mandatory woman director requirement applies to listed companies and large public companies; registry data shows adoption levels.
Section 149 and Rule 3 require a mandatory woman director for listed companies and public companies meeting statutory capital or turnover thresholds; ministry registry data reports the count of public limited companies and the number of companies with women directors.

Market surveillance enhanced through MRAU inputs and forensic lab strengthening to support company investigations and inter-agency sharing.
The Market Research and Analysis Unit in the Serious Fraud Investigation Office conducts media analysis and market surveillance of companies, shares analytical inputs with other investigating agencies, and has been strengthened by establishment of a Forensic Laboratory plus deployment of technology and skilled technical personnel to enhance forensic and technical support for investigations.

Corporate Social Responsibility mandate requires qualifying companies to fund Schedule VII activities and prompts phased monitoring measures.
A statutory Corporate Social Responsibility obligation under the Companies Act, 2013 requires companies meeting prescribed economic thresholds to spend on activities enumerated in Schedule VII; implementation began with the Act and systematic monitoring of CSR compliance is expected to be developed after the first year of operation.

Partial commencement of company law prompts use of circulars, orders and Rule amendments before legislative changes are considered.
Partial commencement of the Companies Act 2013 has left only some provisions in force, producing operational difficulties that the Government proposes to address through circulars, statutory orders and amendments to Rules; formal amendments to the Act will be considered only if these measures prove insufficient.

Tax treatment of business trusts: listed units taxed like equity with pass-through interest and specified withholding on distributions.
A bespoke tax regime for REITs and Invits treats listed units as equity for STT and capital gains purposes; sponsor exchanges of SPV shares for units defer capital gains to unit disposal with cost and holding period carry-over, but without preferential STT-linked capital gains for sponsors. Interest from SPVs to trusts is pass-through with no SPV withholding, while trusts must withhold tax on distributed interest components to unit holders at prescribed rates. Dividends are taxed at the SPV level and exempt in trust and unit holders; trust-level capital gains are taxable but distributed capital-gain components are exempt to unit holders. Trusts must file returns and meet reporting requirements.

Competition law reform urging systemic changes, advocacy, and capacity building to strengthen enforcement and compliance.
Systemic changes are required to strengthen the Competition Act through sustained advocacy, orienting public sector undertakings to competition principles, and framing rules suited to Indian needs while using global practices as guidance. Addressing jurisdictional and technological challenges from globalised markets and balancing market forces with innovation are essential. Capacity building-via training, sensitisation of young professionals, and fostering a competition culture-and focused familiarity with substantive and procedural law, international cooperation, and investigations are proposed to energise enforcement.

Cost records and audit rules notified: four classes of companies designated for mandatory cost records and cost audit, e Forms to follow.
Notification under section 148 of the Companies Act, 2013 notifies the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, superseding eight prior rule sets and establishing a statutory framework requiring four classes of companies to maintain cost records and be subject to cost audit, with prescribed e Forms to be provided on the Ministry's portal.