Bills aimed to strengthen bodies in Budget session

Three bills aimed at regulating the conduct of accounting professsionals and company secretaries are set to be introduced in the Budget sess...

Three bills aimed at regulating the conduct of accounting professsionals and company secretaries are set to be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament. The session would also see an amendment bill regarding the Competition Commission Act, to divest it of ‘‘judicial powers’’ and make its chairman also the CEO.

Sources said the Budget session, beginning Friday would witness three separate bills for amendments to Chartered Accountants Act 1949, the Company Secretaries Act 1980 and the Cost and Work Accountants Act 1959. These amendments are designed to make disciplinary procedures for these professions more stringent, transparent and timebound, an official source said. The company affairs ministry has redrafted the three bills, first introduced in December 2003, with inputs from the relevant parliamentary standing committee headed by B.C. Khandoori, he added.

The bills seek to establish a Prosecution Directorate with the professional bodies governing these professions. The idea is to have a system for diligent detection and reporting of misconduct and prompt penalising of erring professionals. Above the directorate would be an appellate authority.

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The existing system to cope with professional misconduct has been found to be inadequate to deal with exigencies effectively.

When contacted, a functionary of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) said the institute had already given its inputs to the House panel. It is learnt the institute had demanded its autonomy be not diluted in any manner.

The proposed amendment to the Competition Commission Act is essentialy aimed at fulfilling the Centre’s commitment to the Supreme Court, to take away civil imprisonment powers from the Commission.

The relevant bill would propose restricting the penal powers of the Commission to impose fines and other penalties.

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