Customs Tariff Heading replaces Central Excise references, amending cost records and audit rules with retrospective effect.
The amendment replaces references to the Central Excise Tariff Act Heading and the abbreviation CETA Heading with the Customs Tariff Act Heading and CTA Heading in rule 2 (clause (aa)), rule 3, and Forms CRA-2, CRA-3 and CRA-4 of the Companies (cost records and audit) Rules, 2014, with the substitutions deemed effective from 1 July 2017.

Judicial appointment: former judge named member of national appellate tribunal under companies law with fixed pay and fixed-term tenure.
The Central Government appointed Justice (Retd.) A. I. S. Cheema as Judicial Member of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal under section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 and attendant service rules, specifying placement in the prescribed pay matrix with a fixed pay, an effective commencement date, and a tenure limited to three years or until the prescribed age limit, whichever is earlier.

Judicial appointment: Former Justice named as Judicial Member under companies law with a fixed-term tenure and age limit.
The Central Government appoints Justice (Retd.) Shri Bansi Lal Bhat as a Judicial Member of the national company law appellate tribunal pursuant to powers under the Companies Act and associated member qualification rules. The appointment commences on 17 October 2017, carries a specified fixed pay level in the Pay Matrix, and is for a tenure of three years or until the appointee reaches the maximum age of sixty-seven years, whichever occurs earlier.

Companies cost rules now define Indian Accounting Standards and replace CRA I/CRA 3 with detailed cost recording and audit forms.
Amendment inserts a definition of Indian Accounting Standards into the Companies (cost records and audit) Rules, 2014 and substitutes Forms CRA-I and CRA-3 (Annexure) with comprehensive prescriptions for cost record keeping, valuation, allocation and cost audit reporting across material, labour, utilities, overheads, finance costs and other cost elements; the definition and substituted forms are deemed effective from 1 April 2016.

Special Court designation for corporate offences ensures accelerated criminal trials for offences punishable by imprisonment of specified duration.
The Central Government, with concurrence of the High Court, designates the LIX Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City, as Special Court under Section 435(1) of the Companies Act to provide expedited trials for corporate offences carrying imprisonment of two years or more, thereby conferring jurisdiction to hear such matters in the State of Karnataka.

Companies XBRL rules amended to prescribe a detailed XBRL annexure for cost audit and compliance reporting in CRA forms.
Amendment substitutes Annexure III of the Companies (Filing of Documents and Forms in Extensible Business Reporting Language) Rules, 2015 with a detailed XBRL annexure prescribing the element set, labels, link roles, axes, domains, typed defaults and presentation schema for cost audit and compliance disclosures (CRA 2/CRA 3 forms), covering company identifiers, product/service schedules, cost components, related party transactions, reconciliation of indirect taxes, notes and compliance report items; the rules commence on publication in the Official Gazette.

Appointment of IEPF Authority members: Chairperson and members appointed under Companies Act framework with terms and reimbursement provisions.
The Central Government appoints a Chairperson and specified Members to the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority, substituting entries for serials 1-4 and inserting a new serial 7, with certain appointees holding ex officio status. The term of office for members at serials 4-7 is governed by the Authority's rules and those members are entitled to reimbursement of actual expenditure incurred for attending meetings under the applicable meeting expense provision.

Companies (Accounts) Amendment mandates a new electronic AOC-4 form for standardized financial statement and disclosure filings.
The amendment replaces Form AOC-4 in the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 with a prescribed electronic Form No. AOC-4 under section 137, mandating standardized disclosure fields across balance sheet and profit and loss schedules, CSR reporting, related party transactions and auditor's report particulars, and specifying required attachments, digital signature and practicing professional certification for filing with the Registrar.

Companies must file financial statements in e-form AOC-4 XBRL if listed, large capital, turnover, or Ind AS.
Mandates that the specified classes of companies file financial statements and related documents with the Registrar in e form AOC 4 XBRL; listed companies and their Indian subsidiaries, companies above prescribed paid up capital and turnover thresholds, and companies required to prepare accounts under Indian Accounting Standards must file using the notified taxonomies. Entities using Accounting Standards, 2006 use Annexure II taxonomy; Ind AS preparers use Annexure II A. NBFCs, housing finance companies and companies in banking and insurance are exempt. Annexure I (Form AOC 4 XBRL) and Annexure II A taxonomy are substituted/inserted.

Designation of Special Court: specific trial forum assigned exclusive jurisdiction for serious company offences, excluding certain districts.
The Central Government designates specified trial forums as Special Court under the Companies Act to provide speedy trials of serious company law offences; the designation concentrates jurisdiction in those courts while expressly excluding certain districts from their territorial competence.

Delegation of powers under the Companies Act: central government delegates specified functions to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board, subject to revocation.
The Central Government delegates to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India the powers and functions vested in it under section 247 of the Companies Act, 2013, subject to a condition that the Central Government may revoke the delegation or exercise those powers itself if it deems such action necessary in the public interest, and the delegation takes effect from publication in the Official Gazette.

Valuer recognition: valuers must be registered and members of recognised organisations under the corporate valuation framework.
The Order amends the Companies Act valuation provision to require that a valuer be qualified, registered and be a member of an organisation recognised in the prescribed manner, on prescribed terms and conditions, thereby enabling regulation through recognition of existing valuation bodies and clarifying institutional affiliation for registration.

Commencement of section 247: government notification appoints its entry into force on the specified effective date.
The Central Government, invoking its power under sub section (3) of section 1 of the Companies Act, 2013, issued a notification appointing 18 October 2017 as the date on which section 247 of the Act shall come into force, thereby administratively bringing that provision into effect by formal ministerial declaration.

Valuer registration and recognition regime imposes qualification, conduct, reporting and disciplinary obligations for valuation practice.
These rules create a regulatory regime requiring registration of valuers and recognition of valuers organisations, setting eligibility, education, experience and valuation-examination requirements, application procedures and fees, and conditions of registration limiting practice to specified asset classes, record-keeping and disclosure obligations. Valuations must follow notified valuation standards or recognised standards pending notification, with detailed report content and mandatory disclosure of inputs and conflicts. Recognised organisations must adopt governance, training, monitoring, grievance and disciplinary arrangements, convert to section 8 companies where required, maintain public registers, and cooperate with authority inspections and sanctions; enforcement includes show-cause procedures, suspension or cancellation and remedies under the Companies Act.

Transfer of shares to IEPF deemed transmission; companies must follow transmission procedure and convert physical shares to demat.
Rule 6 treats transfers of shares to the IEPF Authority as deemed transmissions, requiring companies to follow transmission procedure, issue new share certificates for physical holdings with notation for transfer to IEPF, record particulars in Form SH-I, and convert certificates to DEMAT for transfer. Amounts payable are to be remitted into the Authority's specified Punjab National Bank account and the Authority must report company noncompliance to the Central Government. Rule 7 requires companies depositing amounts to nominate and display a Nodal Officer and allows the Authority to reject Form IEPF-5 for failure to furnish documents after providing the claimant an opportunity to respond.

Subsidiary company definition commencement: Government notifies the proviso to clause 87 of section 2 comes into force.
Central Government, using the power under subsection (3) of section 1 of the Companies Act, issued a notification appointing the date on which the proviso to clause (87) of section 2 - defining "subsidiary company" - shall come into force, thereby making that definitional proviso operational for corporate law purposes.

Restriction on subsidiary layers limits holding company tiers while exempting banks, insurers, government firms and imposing filing and penalty duties.
The rules limit most Indian companies to two tiers of subsidiaries, excluding one layer of wholly owned subsidiaries from the count and allowing foreign acquisitions that result in deeper foreign-law subsidiary chains. Exemptions include banks, systemically important NBFCs, insurance companies, and Government companies. Existing non-exempt companies exceeding allowed layers must file Form CRL-1, must not add further layers, and if they reduce layers must not later exceed the higher of the reduced position or the permitted maximum; breaches attract fines and continuing daily penalties.

Membership nomination amended: term extended and specific nominee appointed under Companies Act provision for corporate oversight.
The notification amends a Companies Act instrument by substituting the nominated member entry to name Shri Sanjay Gupta as the professional body nominee and by replacing the previously specified tenure with a longer term, thereby extending the appointment period for that nominated seat.

Companies accepting deposits: Specified IFSC public and qualifying private companies may accept deposits up to 100% of capital.
The amendment allows a Specified IFSC Public company and private companies to accept from members monies up to 100% of the aggregate of paid-up share capital, free reserves and securities premium, subject to filing details in Form DPT-3; it defines Specified IFSC Public company and exempts certain private companies (start-ups for five years; companies meeting non-associate, borrowing-threshold and non-default conditions) from the maximum deposit limit.

Delegation of statutory powers to Regional Directors allows local exercise subject to central government revocation and oversight.
Delegation of statutory authority to specified Regional Directors authorises those offices to exercise the Central Government's functions under sub section (2) of section 66 of the Companies Act, 2013 by virtue of the power conferred under section 458, subject to the Central Government's power to revoke the delegation or itself exercise the powers; the notification takes effect from its Gazette publication and records a later substitution altering the list of Regional Directors.