“In case of the Companies Act, 1956, (this provision) existed only with respect to public companies. This has now been expanded to all companies under the 2013 Act. Hence, it would be appropriate to say that, to the extent the disqualification relates to non-compliance by private companies, the law was introduced only with effect from financial year 2014-15 and not earlier.”

Nabeel Ahmed
Partner, Grant Thornton India LLP

This article appeared in Live Mint on 20th September, 2017.