Govt further amends Companies Act, restoring several sections.

ISLAMABAD -- The federal government has further amended the Companies Act 2017 and withdrawn several amendments inserted in the ordinance on April 30, which include clauses related to disqualification of persons who enter into plea bargain with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The amendments that have been reversed through the Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 include Section 172(m), Section 181, Section 186 and 187, Sections 279 to 282 and Section 452, besides an amendment to Section 461.

A senior official of the finance ministry said these amendments were made in April to provide ease of doing business, promote start-ups and facilitate access to finance to small and medium enterprises, with an aim to meet World Bank's ease of doing business indicators.

Most of these 121 amendments were recommended by the then chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP)'s Policy Board Khalid Mirza, who maintained that many clauses were duplication of laws and the laws had to be trimmed to reduce bureaucratic channels.

However after facing criticism from several quarters the government decided to withdraw several amendments and the new ordinance was promulgated.

These amendments include Section 172(m) that has been restored to the original. It is related to disqualification of a person from holding the office of a director of a company who has entered into plea bargain with NAB.

Section 172(m) was included in the Companies Act in 2017 to enable the SECP to pass disqualification...