धारा 1

This Act may be called the Companies Act, 2013. It extends to the whole of India and, subject to the provisions of section 1(4), it shall come into force on the 1st day of April, 2014. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, - (a) "Act" means this Act; (b) "appointed day" means the 1st day of April, 2014; (c) "company" means a company formed and registered under this Act or under any previous company law; (d) "company law" means the Companies Act, 1956, and this Act; (e) "company law board" means the Company Law Board constituted under section 406 of the Companies Act, 1956; (f) "company secretary" means a company secretary as defined in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980; (g) "cost accountant" means a cost accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959; (h) "cost auditor" means a cost auditor as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959; (i) "cost records" means such books or records as may be prescribed under section 209; (j) "director", in relation to a company, means the whole-time director or any other director by whatever name called, who has been appointed as a director of the company and includes any person connected with the management of the company; (k) "financial year", in relation to a company, means the period ending on the 31st day of March every year; (l) "holding company", in relation to another company, means a company of which such other company is a subsidiary; (m) "independent director", in relation to a company, means a director of the company who meets the criteria of arm's length, as may be prescribed; (n) "listed company", in relation to a stock exchange, means a public company which has any of its securities listed or is being listed on such stock exchange; (o) "National Financial Reporting Authority" means the National Financial Reporting Authority established under section 132; (p) "officer in default", in relation to any contravention of the provisions of this Act, or of any rules made thereunder, means any director, manager or key managerial personnel or any person who was responsible for the conduct of the business of the company, who had failed to comply with the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder; (q) "public company", means a company which is not a private company; (r) "public financial institution" means a public financial institution as defined in section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956; (s) "public sector bank" means a public sector bank as defined in section 4A of the Companies Act, 1956; (t) "related party", in relation to a company, means a related party as defined in sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014; (u) "Registrar" means the Registrar of Companies for the district in which the registered office of the company is situated; (v) "registrar of companies" means the Registrar of Companies referred to in clause (u); (w) "secretary" means the Secretary of the Central Government; (x) "section" means a section of this Act; (y) "shareholder" means a person who is entered in the register of members of a company and includes beneficial owner; (z) "subsidiary company", in relation to another company, means a company in which the other company has control of the composition of the board of directors, and includes a subsidiary company of a subsidiary company; (aa) "whole-time director" means a director who is employed in the company for not less than twenty hours in a week or for not less than one hundred and seventy hours in a month and includes a director who is employed for not less than twenty hours in a week or for not less than one hundred and seventy hours in a month in a company which is a holding company of the company employing him.