JPC backs corporate law reforms, easier startup homecoming

New Delhi: A joint parliamentary committee has backed the government's bid to decriminalise minor corporate offences and simplify regulatory processes, while recommending an easier framework for the return of Indian startups incorporated overseas and safeguards on expanded powers for the audit regulator.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) vetting the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, presented its report on Monday. It has favoured streamlining provisions for share buyback and fast-track mergers, introducing an easier Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) mechanism and putting in place a framework to convert specified trusts into limited liability partnerships (LLPs). The corporate affairs ministry will likely present a fresh bill for such amendments only in the winter session of Parliament, expected in November-December, after factoring in the panel's recommendations.

The initial bill was introduced by finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha in late March to amend laws governing both companies and LLPs. It was then referred to the joint panel for a detailed scrutiny.


While the panel has endorsed most of the bill's provisions, it also submitted its own suggestions, on top of recommending certain modifications.

The panel has suggested that buy-back of a specified category of company's equity shares in any fiscal year must not exceed 25% of its total paid-up equity capital in that year. This limit wasn't specified in the bill.

It has, however, backed the bill's provision to enable specified companies to conduct two share buybacks in a year, with a gap of at least six months, up from just one now. The eligible category of companies would be notified later.

This provision, experts said, will likely attract investors to debt-free companies, especially private ones.

Easier homecoming

Observing that a large number of Indian promoters with offshore operations wish to return to Indian shores, the panel has called on the government to notify a comprehensive framework to facilitate reverse flipping or the redomiciliation of foreign-based entities.