In the recent order of adjudication passed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ( MCA ) Registrar of Companies, a penalty of Rs. 7.35 lakhs was imposed on a private limited company and its directors due to non-compliance with beneficial ownership disclosure under the Companies Act, 2013.
The private limited company was incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
The inquiry report under Section 208 of the Companies Act, 2013, was submitted on 11-11-2022, recommending the company’s winding up under Sections 271 and 272. The ministry approved this on 20-05-2024. The company is 99% owned by Mr. Zhenghua Li, a Chinese national.
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The adjudicating authority after going through the review of its MCA-21 filings as of 14-02-2024, showed that e-form BEN-2 had not been submitted, which indicates that the company has failed to comply with Section 90.
Despite a notice issued under Section 206(1) on the same date, the company failed to respond.
The company did not reply to 2 of the notices sent by the MCA’s office, and no one appeared on behalf of the company and directors for the hearing when an opportunity was given.
The adjudicating authority noted that the company failed to declare significant beneficial owner under Section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013.
A total penalty of Rs. 7 lakhs was imposed on both the company and its 3 directors.
The company and and its officers were directed under Section 454(3)(b) of the Companies Act, 2013, to identify all significant beneficial owners and file e-form BEN-2 within 90 days from the date of the order.
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The order also stated that the notice must pay the penalty individually via e-payment on the MCA website under “Pay Miscellaneous Fees” within 90 days, and an appeal can be filed with the Regional Director (Northern Region), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, within 60 days using Form ADJ, along with a certified copy of this order.
This order was issued by Seema Rath, Registrar of Companies & Adjudicating Officer, Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur.
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