In reference to Impact Assessment of CSR Activities, answer the following: Can a company prescribe the frequency at which impact assessment is to be carried out for the project(s)?

As per Rule 8(3) of Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Rules if average CSR obligation of a company for immediately preceding three financial years is ₹10 crore or more and it has CSR projects which have outlays of ₹1 crore or more and which have been completed not less than one year, impact assessment is to be done for such projects. Rule 8(3) of CSR Rules is silent about the maximum timeline within which impact assessment is to be done by companies for such completed projects and it also does not say that impact assessment is to be done in the immediate next financial year in which the above-referred projects get completed. Moreover, the timeline within which a CSR project will have its impact may vary from project to project. Rule 8(3) of CSR Rules prescribes one year as a minimum benchmark post completion of project after which impact assessment should be done for that project. However, for some projects longer post completion period may be needed, for the impact assessment to be effective. Hence, it is the responsibility of the company to get the impact assessment done within a reasonable period of time considering the nature of project. Accordingly, a company may prescribe the frequency at which impact assessment is to be carried out for the completed project(s).