Tag Archives: MSME

REPORT ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


Form CSR – 2, notified vide GSR 107(E) on 11 February 2022, is on our desk to fill and file. If you have missed the information overflow, the last date for filing the same for the financial year ended on 31 March 2021 is 31 March 2022. I am not sure of the mechanism, but it may be an attachment of Form GNL – 2.

It seems next year onward; this will be an addendum, not the attachment, to Form AOC – 4/ AoC – 4 XBRL/ AoC – 4 NBFC (Ind AS).

Notification GSR 107(E) on 11 February 2022

We cannot wait but to prepare the data to fill for all of our valuable clients – every company covered under the provisions of sub-section (1) to section 135. Please refer to the newly inserted Rule 12(1B) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014.

List of Documents for support:

  • Copies of Audited Balance Sheet of last three financial years;
  • Form AOC – 4/ AoC – 4 XBRL/ AoC – 4 NBFC (Ind AS) filed for the financial year [referred hereinafter as AOC-4];
  • Form MGT – 7 filed for the financial year;
  • Paid Challan for Form AOC – 4/ AoC – 4 XBRL/ AoC – 4 NBFC (Ind AS) filed for the financial year [referred hereinafter as Challan];
  • Latest Board Resolution constituting CSR Committee;
  • Constitution of CSR Committee;
  • Minutes of CSR Committee Meetings held during the financial year [FY 2020-21;
  • Company Website with Compliance menu and CSR Tab thereunder;
  • Impact Assessment Report of each CSR Project;
  • CSR Ledger and CSR Bank Account Statement for the financial year;
  • Bank Statement of Unspent CSR Account for previous three financial years;
  • Annual Action Plan CSR for the last financial year; and
  • The Implementation Reports for each of the CSR Projects as on 31 March of the financial year with minutes of the CSR Committee meeting considering the same [For all projects completed during the last financial year or ongoing as on 31 March of the financial year].

Information to Fill:

The net worth, turnover, and net profit data should be the same as Form AOC – 4 filed for the financial year.

Meeting details of the CSR Committee should confirm the details from the latest Board Resolution constituting the CSR Committee and Minutes of the meeting of CSR Committee held during last Financial Year.

The Impact assessment report should be on your desk for confirmation and on the company’s website at least before you fill out the Form. The weblink should be in working condition. I am not sure if the link’s implication got broken in the future. Therefore, it is advisable to attach the report with the Form.

The set-off amount should be taken from the balance sheet or confirmed by your auditor.

The company should confirm CSR obligation with audited balance sheets of the last three financial years.

Details of each (A) Ongoing project started in previous years completed in Financial year, (B) Ongoing project started in previous years still not completed in Financial year and (C) project initiated and completed during the Financial Year:

  • Project ID;
  • Item number from Schedule VII – CSR Schedule;
  • Name of Project;
  • Local Area – Yes/No;
  • Location of the Project – State and district
  • Project duration in months;
  • Amount spent during the financial year;
  • Mode of implementation – direct or indirect;
  • Name and CSR Registration Number of the Implementation Agency;
  • Amount paid on administrative overhead
  • Amount spent on impact assessment
  • Total amount spent during the year
  • Amount spent more than the obligation;
  • Amount unspent; and
  • Amount transferred to the Scheduled Fund.

Details of Unspent Fund for the financial year:

  • Details of the amount transferred to Unspent CSR Account; and
  • Details of the amount transferred to Scheduled Funds.

Details of the amount spent in the financial year from the unspent fund of previous three financial years

  • Year-wise amount transferred to Unspent CSR Fund;
  • Year-wise balance of the amount transferred to Unspent CSR Fund;
  • Amount spent in the financial year;
  • Amount transferred to Scheduled Fund; and
  • Year-wise Remaining amount for the year.

Initial Impact assessment of CSR-2

The Form is my hate of first sight due to the complication of data required. Please get the filled Form vatted by a qualified professional, including auditors. In addition, the Form is so demanding it will be easier to transfer your social responsibility amount to the Government pet funds listed in Schedule VII.

The government is pretending to promote and protect the MSME Sector. A Company with a turnover of less than 100 Crore and investment in plant and machinery of less than 20 is an MSME company. Good numbers of MSME companies are CSR companies. These companies do not have an efficient mechanism to undertake and implement CSR projects. With the present detailed Form, we are opening gates for tax assessment like monitoring social contribution. With the implementation of burdensome Form, we are forcing MSMEs to transfer funds to certain government-sponsored funds. These funds have doubtful answerability towards constitutional auditors (CAG) and constitutional stakeholders (the parliament).

Tax terrorism must be an ancient term by now. Social services are not voluntary anymore but increasingly subject to regulatory control and reporting.

In continuation of my earlier appeals, I beg ease of doing CSR. Please believe in your people and corporate citizens. But unfortunately, the compliance, reporting, monitoring and prosecution cost will be higher than possible leakage. Therefore, society will not get benefits from being overburdened.

Small and Medium Sized Company


My law teacher told me in law class, human is a social animal. Yesterday I found, modern human is social media animal. Last two days, we received a flood of social media messages claiming change in definition of small and medium enterprises. Only a fine reader can point out misunderstanding caused by this statement.

We need to understand interplay of the Companies Act, 2013, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 and newly notified the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021.

No Government can change even a single alphabet in an Act of Parliament by way of notification of a Rule unless power is given specifically. Definition of the small companies is given in the definition clause Section 2(85) of the Companies Act, 2013:

 “Small company” means a company, other than a public company, —

(i) paid-up share capital of which does not exceed fifty lakh rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than ten crore rupees; and

(ii) turnover of which as per profit and loss account for the immediately preceding financial year does not exceed two crore rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than one hundred crore rupees:

Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to—

(A) a holding company or a subsidiary company;

(B) a company registered under Section 8; or

(C) a company or body corporate governed by any special Act.

The definition under this definition clause is applicable wherever word “small company” in the Companies Act, 2013. This definition may be amended by the Companies (Specification of definitions Details) Rules, 2014 or any amendment therein. No amendment in this general definition may be made by the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules, 2021 or its earlier version.

Rule 2(1)(t) of the Companies (Specification of definitions Details) Rules, 2014 with effect from 1 April 2021 amends the definition of Small Company saying that For the purposes of sub-clause (i) and sub-clause (ii) of clause (85) of section 2 of the Act, paid up capital and turnover of the small company shall not exceed rupees two crores and rupees twenty crores respectively.

The final definition of small company under Section 2(85) read with Rule 2(1)(t) of the Companies (Specification of definitions Details) Rules, 2014 with effect from 1 April 2021 is hereunder:

 “Small company” means a company, other than a public company, —
(i) paid-up share capital of which does not exceed two crores rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than ten crore rupees; and
(ii) turnover of which as per profit and loss account for the immediately preceding financial year does not exceed twenty crore rupees or such higher amount as may be prescribed which shall not be more than one hundred crore rupees:
Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to—
(A) a holding company or a subsidiary company;
(B) a company registered under Section 8; or
(C) a company or body corporate governed by any special Act.

Any change in the definition of small company, more than ten crore and one hundred crore respectively for paid up capital and turnover shall require an amendment to the Companies Act, 2013.

This definition in the Companies Act, 2013 is applicable for all purposes of the Companies except (a) the accounting practices therein and (b) benefits provided by the Government to MSMEs.

The Companies (Accounting Standards) 2021 deals with the presentation of company accounts.

The term enterprises mentioned in Accounting Standards and the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules is specific and restricted only to companies not any other form of enterprises. It is not applicable to all industrial undertaking, business concerns or other establishments except companies.

The Companies (Accounting Standards) 2021 defines Enterprises in Rule 2(d):

“Enterprise” means a ‘company’ as defined in clause (20) of section 2 of the Act.

Thereafter the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules 2021 defines “Small and Medium Sized Company (SMC)” not small and medium enterprises (SME). Definition of small enterprises and medium enterprises is given in the Micro, small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 as amended time to time. We have already discussed this definition in details here earlier.

The definition of “Small and Medium Sized Company (SMC)” in Rule 2(e) of the Companies (Accounting Standards) Rules 2021 is hereunder:

“Small and Medium Sized Company” (SMC) means, a company-

  • whose equity or debt securities are not listed or are not in the process of listing on any stock exchange, whether in India or outside India;
  • which is not a bank, financial institution or an insurance company;
  • whose turnover (excluding other income) does not exceed two hundred and fifty crore rupees in the immediately preceding accounting year;
  • which does not have borrowings (including public deposits) in excess of fifty crore rupees at any time during the immediately preceding accounting year; and
  • which is not a holding or subsidiary company of a company which is not a small and medium-sized company.

Explanation. – For the purposes of this clause, a company shall qualify as a Small and Medium Sized Company, if the conditions mentioned therein are satisfied as at the end of the relevant accounting period.

For different purposes a company may either be:

  • Small Company or not;
  • Small and medium sized company or not;
  • Micro enterprises or small enterprises or medium Enterprises or none of these three.

It all depends upon relevant definition for the time being in force. One company may fall in one or more or none of these categories. Simple check points are:

Small CompanySmall and Medium Sized CompanyMicro Small and Medium Enterprise
Paid up CapitalTurnoverInvestment in Plant and Machinery
TurnoverBorrowing —

The companies (Accounting Standards) Rules 2021 has limited applicability with respect to applicability of accounting standards in relation to books of account of companies. These rules come into effect from the date of publication which is 25 June 2021 not on its issue date which is 23 June 2021. Further Rule 3(2) made it clear that accounting standards notified under these rules comes into effect retrospectively from 1 April 2021.

REGISTRATION OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES


Government of India issued a comprehensive notification defining, classifying and registering, Micro, small and medium enterprises superseding four previous notifications including that of 1st June 2020. In this post, we will discuss the notification.

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MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES


Since long, we all are waiting for this change. Very few things accelerated due to the present crisis of COVID-19. A long-forgotten debate lost somewhere in history with Notification S.O. 1702(E) dated 1st June 2020 amending definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. This is not a change in the Act but a notification to give the effect a related provision. Let us discuss.

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Corporate Law – Post Election


Unless a general election is crucial there is no purpose to conduct such a huge exercise. The best part of democracy is to give the opportunity for new ideas. Without going to any political prediction we will discuss possible post-election scenario after 23rd May 2019. This may help us to be prepared for the volatility of corporate law in India.

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Return about Payment to MSME Suppliers


Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises came together to protect interests of micro, small and medium enterprises. We will discuss in this post two recent notifications issued by these ministries.

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