The Companies Act, 2013 as passed by the Parliament and assented to by the President of India is available on the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ website at www.mca.gov.in. The Ministry has initiated the process to implement the new Act in consultation with concerned regulatory authorities, Ministry of Law & Justice and other stakeholders. The first set of draft rules has also been placed on the Ministry’s website on 9th September, 2013. The relevant Forms under such rules and remaining draft rules/forms are also being released for public comments shortly.

It has therefore been decided to enforce the provisions of the new legislation in phases. The provisions of the new Act which require statutory/regulatory consultation or functioning of new bodies or prescription of relevant rules/forms will be brought in force after the preparatory action is completed. In the first instance it has been decided to notify those provisions of the Act which do not require such preparations. Accordingly, a notification for commencement of 98 sections of the new Act has been issued by the Ministry today i.e. 12th September, 2013. The details of provisions brought in effect are available on the web-site of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Commencement of Companies Act provisions initiates phased implementation, notifying operational sections while remaining provisions await rules. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has commenced a specified set of provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 as an initial phase, placing draft rules and forms on its website and coordinating with relevant authorities and stakeholders; provisions requiring consultation, new bodies or rule making will be notified after preparatory actions and public consultation are completed.