THE Government has decided to sell enemy shares of 20 companies held by the Custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI).
According to a notice from the Ministry of Finance, the list of companies includes: Anand Projects Limited, Bharat Nidhi Limited, Delhi Flour Mills, Mohan Meakin, Spencer & Co, Peerless General Finance & Investment, Bengal Dooars National Tea Limited and Woodbriar Estate, among others. SBI Caps is the investment banker and selling broker for the transaction.
The sales process is taking place on the basis of a Cabinet decision taken in 2018. The decision took the definition of enemy from a 1968 law, which says that « enemy » or « enemy subject » or « enemy enterprise » means a person or country who or which was an enemy, enemy subject or an enemy enterprise, as the case may be. perhaps, under the Defense of India Act and Rules, but does not include an Indian citizen. In the 2017 amendment this was replaced by « …. including his legal heir or successor, whether or not he is a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy or the enemy….. who has changed his nationality« .
A statement released after the cabinet decision said more than 6.50 million shares of 996 companies with 20,323 shareholders are in CEPI’s custody. Out of these 996 companies, 588 are functional/active companies, 139 of them are listed and the rest are unlisted. The process of selling these shares must be approved by the Alternative Mechanism (AM) under the chairmanship of the Minister of Finance, composed of the Minister of Road Transport and Highways and the Minister of the Interior. The AM will be supported by a High Level Committee (HLC) of officials co-chaired by Secretary, DIPAM and Secretary, MHA (with representatives from DEA, DLA, Corporate Affairs and CEPI) who would give its recommendations in matters of quantum. , price/price range, principles/mechanisms of share sales, etc.
Before commencing the sale of any enemy shares, CEPI will certify that the sale of the enemy shares is not contrary to any judgment, decree or order of any court, tribunal or other authority or to any law currently in force and can be eliminated by the government. The government said the move to sell enemy stocks would lead to monetization of enemy stocks that had lain dormant for decades since the Enemy Property Act came into force in 1968. With the 2017 amendment, an enabling legislative provision was created for the disposal of enemy property. The cabinet decision established a framework to prescribe the procedure and mechanism for selling enemy shares.
The Enemy Property Act, 1968, provides for continued vesting of enemy property entrusted to CEPI under the Defense of India Rules, 1962 and the Defense of India Rules, 1971 (September 27, 2017). In 2017, through an amendment to this law, see section 8A, CEPI was empowered to sell enemy property.
