How much compliance can we remove before we start removing accountability? That is the more interesting question behind the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee has backed several measures aimed at making compliance easier for smaller companies. But it also tightened some of the proposed relaxations.
One example is auditor appointment. The Bill proposed allowing prescribed classes of companies to be exempt from appointing auditors. The JPC recommended limiting that exemption to prescribed classes of private companies.
CSR saw a similar push and pull. The Bill proposed raising the CSR applicability threshold from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore and giving the government power to prescribe further thresholds. The JPC recommended removing that power to revise the threshold.
That distinction matters. Because good corporate-law reform is not simply about asking: “How many compliance requirements can we remove?”
It is also about asking: “What control was that requirement providing?”
An audit requirement may create cost. A CSR requirement may create a process. A disclosure may create paperwork. But each also creates a layer of visibility and accountability.
The Bill is still a proposal, not operative law.
So the real test will be where Parliament finally draws the line between ease of doing business and ease of being accountable.
