Companies Bill gets Lok Sabha nod

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed Companies (Amendment) Bill 2001, that seeks to create a revival fund and a National Company Law Tribunal. Th...

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed Companies (Amendment) Bill 2001, that seeks to create a revival fund and a National Company Law Tribunal. The Bill is also expected to take effective steps for revival of sick industries and check cheap imports and illegal trade.

Winding up a debate on the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2001, the Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said the Revival and Rehabilitation Fund proposed to be created would be used for interim payment of workmen’s dues besides revival and rehabilitation of sick units. ‘It is wrong to conclude that the Bill is aimed at winding up sick units and not reviving them’, he said.

Seeking to allay apprehensions about unfair competition from China and dumping of cheap goods, he said the government is armed with anti-dumping duty which has been quite effective in checking cheap imports.

Asserting that trade between India and China has been consistently favourable towards India for the past couple of years, the Minister said smuggling, particularly along the borders with Nepal, is being checked by creating more customs centres and check posts.

Singh assured the Members that effective steps would be taken by the Government to protect the interests of the labour force, while every care has been taken to reduce delay in the process of revival. The Bill, incorporating most of the amendments suggested by the Parliamentary Standing Committee, was passed by a voice vote.

Opposing the Bill aimed at setting up a Law Tribunal to deal with sick companies, Left parties charged government with being in collusion with its representatives in declaring profit-making companies sick.

“There was not a single reference about revival in the original Bill. The Bill is just to convince the gullible that it is about revival,” CPI-M Member Ruchand Pal said.