"Centre gives nod for action against 199 companies for CSR violations", 7 Mar 2018

The Central government has accorded permission for initiating penal action against 199 companies for non-compliance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms as required under the of the Companies Act, 2013.  These companies have violated the provisions of Section 135 read with Section 134 (3) (o) of the Act as informed by P.P. Chaudhary, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs and Law & Justice in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday.  Mr Chaudhary also stated that there is no proposal to review the state of implementation of the provisions of the existing Act related to CSR, adding that whenever violation of CSR provisions is found, action under section 134 (8) of the Act is initiated.  Under the Act, which came into effect from 1 April 2014, it is mandatory for companies with a net worth of Rs 500 crore or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore, to spend at least 2% of its average net profit for the immediately preceding three financial years on CSR activities.