Section 29A Of The Amended Indian Arbitration And Conciliation Act, 1996

The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act, 2015 was notified on 1st January 2016 and is deemed to have come into force on 23rd October 2015. The (amendment) Act, 2015 has introduced a new provision of concluding the arbitration proceeding within a specified time limit by adding Section 29A.

The said provision requires that an arbitral award has to be passed within a period of 12 months from the date the arbitral tribunal enters upon the reference¹. The said period can be extended further by another six months with the consent of both the parties. ² Therefore, Section 29A provides a total time frame of 18 months (12+6 months) to complete the arbitral proceedings and to pass an award. If the arbitral award is not passed by the arbitrator within the time frame of 18 months, the provision stipulates that the mandate of the arbitrators shall be terminated, unless a court of competent jurisdiction grants a further extension.³