Spending on Corporate Social Responsibility by Companies

There is no provision for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending by companies in the present company law i.e. Companies Act, 1956. However, the new Companies Bill, 2012 has a provision of CSR under Clause 135 which states that every company having net worth of Rs. 500 crore or more, or turnover of Rs. 1000 crore or more or net profit of rupees five crore or more during any financial year, shall constitute a CSR Committee to recommend its activities for discharging CSR in such a manner that the company would spend at least 2 per cent of its average net profits of the previous three years on CSR activities. Giving this information in written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of Corporate Affairs, said that the companies will have latitude in designing project based CSR interventions. Reporting requirements etc. will be discussed with all stakeholders and defined once the Bill is enacted, the Minister said.