Employee benefits won't count as CSR
The Companies Act 2013 states that for companies having a net worth of 500 crores or more, or a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more; or a net profit of Rs 5 crore or more to have a CSR spend of at least 2% of their average net profits of past three years.
While providing an indicative list of activities that are eligible for the CSR spend, the draft has proposed that contributions to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund and other Central or state government funds will continue to be eligible for CSR activities. The rules require that "CSR activities may generally be conducted as projects or programmes (that do not include normal business activities)."
Read the Times of India news report here.