New Delhi: The government is considering
issuing new corporate governance guidelines by including good
practices like tax compliance, to companies for voluntary
adoption, Corporate Affairs Minister M Veerappa Moily said
on Monday.
He said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha that the
Voluntary Guidelines for good corporate governance were old as
they were issued in 2009 and did not include tax compliance.
"These guidelines are old. We are considering issuing new
ones that may include all these," he said.
Moily said the government, however, does not propose to
introduce a corporate governance index as these are done by
credit rating agencies like Crisil and the Institute of
Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
"All over the world, no country, no government as such"
has a corporate governance index, he said adding the present
system of index being prepared by ICSI and others was working
satisfactorily.
"It is not necessary for the government, ministry to step
in," he said.
"The legal framework of the Companies Act in this country,
as in many others, requires compliance of good governance
practices by the corporates in accordance with provisions laid
down in the respective legislations," he said.
Globally, no such index has been prescribed under law, he
said adding Voluntary Guidelines for good corporate governance
have been issued by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in 2009
to encourage the use of better practices for voluntary
adoption.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 19, 2011, 14:50