The MCA has notified the following provisions of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020 to come into force from 21 December 2020 :

1. Section 1 (Short title and commencement);
2. Section 3 amending section 8 of the Principal Act to remove imprisonment for default in complying with provisions for formation of Companies with Charitable Objects, etc.;
3. Sections 6 to 10 decriminalising defaults under section 26 (Matters to be Stated in Prospectus), section 40 (Securities to be dealt with in Stock Exchanges), section 48 (Variation of shareholders’ rights),  section 56 (Transfer and transmission of securities) and section 59 (Rectification of Register of Members), respectively, of the Principal Act;
4. Sections 12 to 17, amending section 64 (Notice to be given to registrar for alteration of share capital), section 66 (Reduction of share capital), section 68 (Power of company to purchase its own securities), section 71 (Debentures), section 86 (Punishment for contravention), section 88 (Register of Members, etc.), respectively, of the Principal Act;
5. Clauses (a) and (b) of section 18, amending section 89 (Declaration in respect of beneficial interest in any share);
6. Sections 19 to 21, amending section 90 (Register of significant beneficial owners in a company), section 92 (Annual return) and section 105 (Proxies), respectively, of the Principal Act;
7. Clause (i) of section 22, amending section 117 (Resolutions and agreements to be filed) of the Principal Act);
8. Section 24, decriminalising section 128 (Books of Account, etc.) of the Principal Act;
9. Section 26, decriminalising section 134 (Financial statement, Board’s report, etc.) of the Principal Act;
10. Sections 28 to 31, amending section 137 (Copy of financial statement to be filed with Registrar), section 140 (Removal, resignation of auditor and giving of special notice), section 143 (Powers and duties of auditors and auditing standards), section 147 (Punishment for contravention), respectively, of the Principal Act;
11. Sections 33 to 39, amending section 165 (Number of directorships), section 167 (Vacation of office of director), section 172 (Punishment), section 178 (Nomination and Remuneration Committee and Stakeholders Relationship Committee), section 184 (Disclosure of interest by Director), section 187 (Investments of company to be held in its own name) and section 188 (Related Party Transactions), respectively, of the principal Act;
12. Sections 41 to 44, amending section 204 (Secretarial audit for bigger companies), section 232 (Merger and Amalgamation of Companies), section 242 (Powers of tribunal) and section 243 (Consequence of termination or modification of certain agreements), respectively, of the Principal Act;
13. Sections 46 to 51, amending section 284 (Promoters, Directors, etc., to cooperate with Company Liquidator), section 302 (Dissolution of company by Tribunal), section 342 (Prosecution of delinquent officers and members of company), section 347 (Disposal of books and papers of company), section 348 (Information as to pending liquidations) and section 356 (Powers of Tribunal to declare dissolution of company void), respectively, of the Principal Act;
14. Section 54, amending section 392 (Punishment for contravention) of the Principal Act;
15. Section 57, amending section 405 (Power of Central Government to direct companies to furnish information or statistics) of the Principal Act;
16. Section 61, amending section 441 (Compounding of certain offences) of the Principal Act;
17. Section 63, amending section 450 (Punishment where no specific penalty or punishment is provided) of the Principal Act.

To refer to the gazette notification dated 21 December 2020, click here.