NEW DELHI: In contrast to the government’s position, a parliamentary committee on Thursday said financial contributions to the Chief Ministers’ Relief Fund should also be treated as corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending and necessary changes should be made to the Companies Law to make this change.
The government last year said financial contributions to CMs’ relief fund for Covid-19 would not be considered as CSR spending, but corporate donations to PM Cares Fund would get CSR tag benefits.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs last year told companies to donate to state disaster management authorities to claim CSR spending.
The Parliamentary Committee on Petitions today sought to bring corporate donations to CMs’ relief funds on a par with PM Cares Fund.
“Since public health is under the state list and states have to implement relief measures, not considering voluntary corporate contributions to the CMs’ relief funds as CSR contributions even under unprecedented circumstances like Covid-19 appear discretionary. We recommend the government consider including the CMs’ relief fund in the Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, so that contributions to such funds can qualify as CSR expenditure,” said the committee.
It also told the government to ensure CSR donations are not made to flagship government projects.