By IANS,
New Delhi : India will register its first limited liability partnership firm April 1, fulfilling a long-drawn demand of professionals like chartered accountants and lawyers, Corporate Affairs Minister P.C. Gupta said here Thursday.
“Limited liability partnership (LLP) bills have been passed. The first LLP will be registered on April 1 this year,” said Gupta on the margins of a meeting with captains of Indian industry, organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).
India at present allows either sole proprietorships and partnership firms, which are not legal entities, or the formation of companies. The demand for limited liability companies was made since in sole proprietorships and partnership firms, the members are jointly and severally liable for the loses and to the creditors.
The minister said that the Indian LLP system has been devised after close monitoring of different systems across the world. “We have studied LLP in Britain and other parts of the world and borrowed best practices. I am confident we will do well,” added Gupta.
The minister also said that the process of constituting the Competition Commission, an independent authority to protect the interest of consumers and promote competition, has been completed.
“To start with, a chairperson and four-five members will start work from April,” said Gupta about the institution, which will function on the lines of anti-trust agencies in the west to prevent and take action against cartels and other monopolistic practices.
It was, however, not clear how the commission’s role will be different from that of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC).