CSR Policy Amendment Rules

PUBLISHED ON: 27-09-2022

MCA has amended the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules, 2014, and the key changes are set out hereunder:

• Earlier, certain companies were exempted from forming a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee under the Companies Act, 2013 if the provisions thereunder ceased to apply to such companies for three consecutive financial years. Now, this exemption has been omitted.
• Companies having any amount in its unspent CSR account would now be mandatorily required to constitute a CSR Committee.
• In addition to the existing entities through which a company can undertake CSR activities, the following entities have now been permitted to undertake CSR activities, subject to certain conditionalities, including as set out under the income-tax laws:
  • fund or institution established for charitable purposes;
  • trust or institution wholly for public religious and/ or charitable purposes;
  • university or other educational institution existing solely for educational purposes; or
  • hospital or other institution for persons requiring medical attention, existing solely for philanthropic purposes.

The aforesaid changes were notified vide a notification dated September 20, 2022, which came into force on September 21, 2022 (available here).