Privileges and exemptions enjoyed by companies registered under old law will continue

HOW EXISTING SIKKIM COMPANIES WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE COMPANIES BILL 2012


GANGTOK, 02 Dec:Source:Sikkim Now

 The Companies Bill 2012 has worked up certain sections of the society here in Sikkim as it seeks to repeal an old law of the state. The Bill was introduced in Parliament on 18 December, passed the same day in the Lok Sabha and is expected to be passed in the Rajya Sabha in the upcoming session of Parliament. Chapter 29, Section 465 (1) clearly states that “The Companies Act, 1956 and the Registration of Companies (Sikkim) Act, 1961 shall stand repealed.”
That said, companies already registered and operating under the old law [of 1961] will continue to be valid and deemed registered. The Bill also provides, in section 465, that offices already existing for registration of companies shall continue under provisions of the new Act as far as the Act to be repealed is concerned. Clause 2 (g) of Section 465 further states that “the incorporation of companies registered under the repealed enactments (Sikkim Companies Act, 1961) shall continue to be valid…”
While earlier the Sikkim Companies Act of 1961 was only for Sikkim-based companies, an amendment was brought about in the Act in the year 2007. By this amendment, any company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 had to also apply for enlistment under the Registration of Companies Act, Sikkim 1961. In other words, companies from outside the State seeking to open a branch here but already registered in their respective headquarters had to seek registration again here. However for all purposes such companies continued to be governed under the central Act of 1956 and the enlistment under the state Act was only for the purpose of maintaining records of outside companies operating in Sikkim.
However as far as the repealing of the Sikkim Registration of Companies Act, 1961 is concerned, the new Bill provides that “…anything done or action taken including rule, notification, inspection, order or notice made or issued or any appointment or declaration made or any operation undertaken on any direction given or any proceeding taken… in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act”. In other words not only will the companies already registered under the old Act continue to be deemed registered under the new Act any action taken or directions issued under the old Act will continue to be in effect once the new Act is enacted.
Section 465 (2) (b) further states that any order, rules, regulations issued or thing done under the repealed Sikkim Act, if already in force, will continue to be in force and shall have effect as if made under the new Act. This includes any appointments made, mortgage and deeds or documents and agreements made under the old Act. It also includes resolutions passed under the old Act. The new bill also goes on to provide that no principle or rule of law, custom, privilege, restriction or exemption derived from the Sikkim Companies Act of 1961 shall be affected. At the same time, clause 2 (e) of section 462 also details that any custom, right, privilege, restriction or exemption not already in existence shall not be revised or restored in respect to the Sikkim Companies Act, 1961.
Finally and with particular reference to the Sikkim Act the new Bill provides that the above mentioned and other matters “…shall not be held to prejudice the general application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 with regard to the effect of repeal of the enactments as if the Registration of Companies (Sikkim) Act, 1961 were also a Central Act.”

INDIA: Fourteenth Finance Commission Constituted

As mandated by the Article 280 of the Constitution, the Government has constituted the Fourteenth Finance Commission consisting of Dr. Y.V.Reddy, former Governor Reserve Bank of India, as the Chairman and the following four other members, namely: - 1. Prof Abhijit Sen Member, Planning Commission Member (Part Time) 2. Ms. Sushma Nath Former Union Finance Secretary Member 3. Dr. M.Govinda Rao Director, National Institute for Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi Member 4. Dr. Sudipto Mundle Former Acting Chairman, National Statistical Commission Member             Shri Ajay Narayan Jha shall be the Secretary to the Commission. The Commission shall make its report available by the 31st October, 2014, covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st April, 2015.             The Commission shall make recommendations regarding the sharing of Union taxes, principles governing Grants-in-aid to States and transfer of resources to local bodies.             Terms of Reference and the matters that shall be taken into consideration by the Fourteenth Finance Commission in making the recommendations are as under : 1.      (i) the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds; (ii) the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the States which are in need of assistance by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under article 275 of the Constitution for purposes other than those specified in the provisos to clause (1) of that article; and (iii) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State. 2.                  The Commission shall review the state of the finances, deficit and debt levels of the Union and the States, keeping in view, in particular, the fiscal consolidation roadmap recommended by the Thirteenth Finance Commission, and suggest measures for maintaining a stable and sustainable fiscal environment consistent with equitable growth including suggestions to amend the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management Acts currently in force and while doing so, the Commission may consider the effect of the receipts and expenditure in the form of grants for creation of capital assets on the deficits; and the Commission shall also consider and recommend incentives and disincentives for States for observing the obligations laid down in the Fiscal Responsibility Budget Management Acts. 3.                  In making its recommendations, the Commission shall have regard, among other considerations, to – (i)                 the resources of the Central Government, for five years commencing on 1st April 2015, on the basis of levels of taxation and non-tax revenues likely to be reached during 2014-15; (ii)               the demands on the resources of the Central Government, in particular, on account of the expenditure on civil administration, defence, internal and border security, debt-servicing and other committed expenditure and liabilities; (iii)             the resources of the State Governments and the demands on such resources under different heads, including the impact of debt levels on resource availability in debt stressed states, for the five years commencing on 1st April 2015, on the basis of levels of taxation and non-tax revenues likely to be reached during 2014-15; (iv)             the objective of not only balancing the receipts and expenditure on revenue account of all the States and the Union, but also generating surpluses for capital investment; (v)            the taxation efforts of the Central Government and each State Government and the potential for additional resource mobilisation to improve the tax-Gross Domestic Product ratio in the case of the Union and tax-Gross State Domestic Product ratio in the case of the States; (vi)          the level of subsidies that are required, having regard to the need for sustainable and inclusive growth, and equitable sharing of subsidies between the Central Government and State Governments; (vii)        the expenditure on the non-salary component of maintenance and upkeep of capital assets and the non-wage related maintenance expenditure on plan schemes to be completed by 31st March, 2015 and the norms on the basis of which specific amounts are recommended for the maintenance of the capital assets and the manner of monitoring such expenditure; (viii)      the need for insulating the pricing of public utility services like drinking water, irrigation, power and public transport from policy fluctuations through statutory provisions; (ix) the need for making the public sector enterprises competitive and market oriented; listing and disinvestment; and relinquishing of non-priority enterprises; (x)   the need to balance management of ecology, environment and climate change consistent with sustainable economic development; and (xi) the impact of the proposed Goods and Services Tax on the finances of Centre and States and the mechanism for compensation in case of any revenue loss. 4.                  In making its recommendations on various matters, the Commission shall generally take the base of population figures as of 1971 in all cases where population is a factor for determination of devolution of taxes and duties and grants-in-aid; however, the Commission may also take into account the demographic changes that have taken place subsequent to 1971. 5.                  The Commission may review the present Public Expenditure Management systems in place including the budgeting and accounting standards and practices; the existing system of classification of receipts and expenditure; linking outlays to outputs and outcomes; best practices within the country and internationally, and make appropriate recommendations thereon. 6.                  The Commission may review the present arrangements as regards financing of Disaster Management with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005(53 of 2005), and make appropriate recommendations thereon. 7.                  The Commission shall indicate the basis on which it has arrived at its findings and make available the State-wise estimates of receipts and expenditure. 8.                  The Commission shall make its report available by the 31st October, 2014, covering a period of five years commencing on the 1st April, 2015. DSM/SS/GN

GAS Update

   


KYC registration will continue even after 31 Dec, STCS clarifies

GANGTOK, 30 Dec: State Trading Corporation of Sikkim [STCS] has been working on a war-footing to complete the registration process of Know Your Customer [KYC] of its customers. STCS plans to complete the KYC registration process by the end of January next year.
The STCS had 1.20 lakh households registered with it in 2008 but after appointment of 5 private distributors by the IOC and after area demarcation, the STCS presently has 80,000 households sourcing their LPG supplies from it.
Addressing a press conference today, the STCS Managing Director, Sonam Gyamtso Pulger mentioned that STCS being the pioneer distributor of LPG in the state, it has been doing its best for the convenience of its consumers. He informed that STCS has 80% of the customers registered with it.
The Managing Director informed that KYC was a continuing process and further appealed to its consumers not to panic regarding the deadline. He clarified that the KYC registration will continue even after 31 December, however, those who do not register till 31 December will be able to get their subsidized LPG cylinders only after March next year.
The KYC process had started on 19 October. He informed that the KYC process is going on nation-wide so the network is jammed most of the time due to which the verification process of a single applicant is taking a lot of time. STCS plans to start the new connection process from February next year after completing the KYC process of the existing consumers.
On the cap on subsidized LPG cylinders by the central government, Mr Pulger said that the concerned Ministry had decided on the quota of 6 cylinders per household and the state had no say as such on it. He further added that all distributors were also directed by the IOC to maintain the history of their consumers for the same.
“On the quota of 6 subsidized cylinders per household, the Chief Minister has already taken this matter to the Ministry of Oil and Natural Gas to increase the number of subsidized cylinders in view of the hilly terrain and geographical condition of the state,” he said.( Source:Sikkim Now)

EDITORIAL of NEW YORK TIMES

Rape in the World’s Largest Democracy
Published: December 28, 2012


The brutal gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi this month has cast a cold light on how badly India treats its women.

On Dec. 16, the 23-year-old physiotherapy student was viciously assaulted by a group of men while she was riding a bus with a male companion. The two had just seen a movie. Both she and the man were beaten with an iron rod and eventually stripped, robbed and dumped on the roadside. After three surgeries at an Indian hospital, the woman was flown to Singapore on Thursday for further treatment. She died early on Saturday after suffering what hospital officials said were “signs of severe organ failure.”

This reprehensible crime reflects an alarming trend in India, which basks in its success as a growing business and technological mecca but tolerates shocking abuse of women. Rape cases have increased at an alarming rate, roughly 25 percent in six years. New Delhi recorded 572 rapes in 2011; that total is up 17 percent this year.

And those are just the reported cases. Many victims, shamed into silence and callously disregarded by a male-dominated power structure, never go to the authorities to seek justice. Women are routinely blamed for inciting the violence against them. On Wednesday, an 18-year-old girl from Punjab who had been gang-raped in an earlier incident killed herself after police and village elders pressured her to drop the case and marry one of her attackers.

India’s news media now regularly carry horrific accounts of gang rapes, and this has begun to focus national attention on the problem. But the rape of the 23-year-old woman seemed to take the outrage to a new level, prompting tens of thousands to protest in New Delhi and elsewhere across the country. Still, political leaders were slow to react. It was days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared on television to plead for calm and to promise to make India safer for women.

Since the attack, six suspects have been arrested and the government has announced the formation of two commissions, one to identify police “lapses” and another to recommend ways to speed up sexual assault trials. Reforms are needed in the law enforcement system to make convictions more possible and punishments more convincing. And Indian leaders like Sonia Gandhi, head of the ruling Congress Party, must speak out more forcefully about bringing rapists to justice.

More broadly, India must work on changing a culture in which women are routinely devalued. Many are betrothed against their will as child brides, and many suffer cruelly, including acid attacks and burning, at the hands of husbands and family members.

India, a rising economic power and the world’s largest democracy, can never reach its full potential if half its population lives in fear of unspeakable violence.