Lok Sabha sends Corporate Law Amendment Bill 2026 to JPC

The government on Monday introduced the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha following which the House adopted a motion to send the proposed legislation to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for detailed examination.

The JPC will comprise members from both Houses of Parliament for detailed analysis and recommendations, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while proposing the motion for JPC reference. The motion was adopted with a voice vote.

The Bill seeks further amendments to the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, and the Companies Act, 2013 to facilitate ease of doing business and address the gaps identified by the Company Law Committee in its 2022 report. The proposed amendments are expected to rationalise penalties, shift several minor procedural lapses from criminal liability to monetary penalties, and streamline regulatory processes to promote ease of doing business.

Ms. Sitharaman said the Bill was aimed at promoting further ease of doing business and ease of living for corporates by decriminalising more provisions and amending certain other provisions.

When the Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha, opposition members like Manish Tewari (Congress), Saugata Roy (Trinamool Congress) and T Sumathy (DMK) opposed it claiming the legislation sought to dilute the provisions of law under which companies mandatorily have to pay 2% of their profit towards corporate social responsibility (CSR).

The Finance Minister refuted the allegations and said that the Bill has been introduced after two years of deliberations and the apprehensions of the members were unfounded as the proposed legislation seeks to amend only the criteria of net profit, not the entire clause related to CSR.

Mr. Tewari also said that since a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Corporate Affairs is already in place, the Bill should be sent to that panel rather than constituting a new JPC.

Home Minister Amit Shah, making an intervention, said that none of the opposition members talked about referring the legislation to a Parliamentary Committee, and now, when the FM has herself sought it, they were arguing as to which panel the Bill should be sent.