Company Law Essentials
Navigating incorporations, compliances, and corporate governance
Every company registered in India is governed by the Companies Act, 2013, which replaced the Companies Act, 1956. The statute covers incorporation, share capital, board composition, auditor appointment, financial reporting, related party transactions, mergers and amalgamations, and winding up. Two strands of reform are currently reshaping its operation. One, subordinate rule-making under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, is already in force. The other, a Bill before Parliament, is under committee review.
Several MCA notifications have materially eased compliance for smaller companies. A notification of 1 December 2025 raised the small company threshold to ₹10 crore of paid-up share capital and ₹100 crore of turnover, extending simplified regulatory treatment to a much wider pool of private companies. On 4 September 2025, the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016 were amended to widen Fast Track Mergers and Demergers under Section 233 to cover unlisted companies meeting prescribed thresholds, holding and subsidiary companies where the transferor is not listed, and two or more subsidiaries of the same holding company. A further Rules amendment notified on 31 December 2025, effective 31 March 2026, has replaced the annual director KYC filing under Rule 12A with an intimation once every three years.
The legislative track is longer. The Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 (Bill No. 85 of 2026) was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 23 March 2026 and immediately referred to a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee. The Bill proposes amendments to the Companies Act, 2013 and the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, with stated objectives of decriminalising procedural defaults, modernising digital governance, and facilitating ease of doing business. It has not yet become law.
This category collects our writing on company law in India. Articles cover incorporation, directors' duties, annual compliance, related party transactions, board processes, Corporate Social Responsibility, mergers, ROC filings, and the practical implications of the 2025-26 reforms for Indian corporates.
