RBI issues master direction on mortgage guarantee companies

The RBI has issued master direction on mortgage guarantee companies. These directions provide a framework for the registration and operation of mortgage guarantee companies in India. These directions are required to be complied by every mortgage guarantee companies undertaking the business of mortgage guarantee.

  • RBI made the move keeping in consideration the public interest attached. It also mentioned that the same was important for the purpose of enabling the Bank to regulate the financial system to the advantage of the country and to prevent the affairs of any Mortgage Guarantee Company from being conducted in a manner detrimental to the interest of investors or in any manner prejudicial to the interest of such MGCs and in exercise of the powers conferred under section 45JA of Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (Act 2 of 1934).

https://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/notification/PDFs/50MD10112016537AC3FCB829448F9CD0D985CE864A48.PDF

MCA filed 11,082 prosecutions for non-filling of statement of accounts by Companies as per the Union Minister for State for Finance & Corporate Affairs

  • Under the provisions of the Companies Act the MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) through Registrar of Companies can file prosecution against such Companies which have not filed Financial Statements on a regular basis and there are 11,082 numbers of prosecutions filed by the MCA during the said period for non-filing of financial statements, as per Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for State for Finance & Corporate Affairs. This was stated by him in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 2nd December.
  • As per the provisions of the Act, the Registrar of Companies has power to remove the name of such companies from the Register of Companies who fail to comply to the requirement of filing the Financial Statements or Annual Returns for a continuous period of two immediately preceding financial years, unless they have not applied for the status of obtaining Dormant, under section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013.
  • Informing the House, the Hon'ble Minister stated that the terms "Ghost Directors" and "Shell Companies" are not defined in the Companies Act, 2013 and that during the Financial Years 2017-18 and 2018-19, ROCs had removed/struck off 3,38,963 companies u/s 248 of the Companies Act, 2013 including real estate companies for failing to file Financial Statements or Annual Returns for a continuous period of two or more financial years.
  • Following which, the MCA stated that they deactivated 19,40,313 Director Identification Numbers (DINs) in the MCA21 Database due to non-filing of Know Your Client (KYC), as on 28.11.2019. The Hon'ble Minister further clarified that the MCA21 Database does not contain information regarding the employment details of directors / DIN holders.

IBBI has amended CIRP norms dated 27th November, 2019 prescribing manner of voting by authorised representatives of financial creditors

  • IBBI (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India) has made amendment to the IBBI (Insolvency Resolution process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016. A new Regulation 25A has been inserted in the regulations allowing authorized representative to cast his vote in respect of each financial creditor or on behalf of financial creditors he represents.
  • Another new regulation 40B has also been introduced to ease out the process of filing, which provides a list of forms along with their timelines to be referred to during the procedure of filing by Insolvency Professionals. Further minor Amendments were made in Regulations 26, 37, 38 and the Form B.

https://www.ibbi.gov.in/uploads/legalframwork/537884ae9b0b31a41355a0a07677769f.pdf

Corporate Affairs Ministry Launches Independent Director's Databank

  • The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, with the objective of strengthening the institution of Independent Directors under the Companies Act, launched on December 06, 2019, the Independent Director's Databank in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules made thereunder.
  • The Databank, which was launched by Shri Injeti Srinivas, Secretary Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is an initiative of the Ministry to provide an easy to access & navigate platform for the registration of existing Independent Directors as well as individuals aspiring to become independent directors.
  • The Databank also provides for a wide array of e-learning courses on various topics including the Companies Act, Securities laws, basic accountancy, board practices, board ethics and board effectiveness. A number of value-added services are expected to be rolled out through the portal for capacity building of Independent Directors. As per the notified rules, all existing Independent Directors are required to register themselves in the databank within 3 months from 01 December 2019.
  • The Independent Directors are also required to pass a basic online proficiency self-assessment test which will be available from March 2020 onwards within 12 months thereafter. In order to provide sufficient practice to individuals, a number of online mock Tests have also been made available in the system. The real test can be taken online through a simple scheduling process. The real test would be remotely proctored.

Originally published December 06, 2019

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