In the recent order of adjudication passed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs ( MCA ) Registrar of Companies, a penalty was imposed on a private limited company and its directors for non-filing of annual returns.
This private company has been registered under the Companies Act, 2013, and the authorized capital of the company is Rs. 20 lakhs. During the inquiry, it was found that the company has not filed annual returns for 5 consecutive years, and thus the adjudicating officer reached the conclusion that the company and its directors have violated Section 92 of the Companies Act.
It was noted that the directors were supposed to file a copy of the annual returns within sixty days from the date on which the annual general meeting is held.
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The adjudicating authority had issued show- cause notice ( SCN ) dated 18-03-2024, but the company and its officers in default have failed to furnish any reply to the SCN.
The company and its directors have neither responded nor appeared, reinforcing concerns of non-compliance with Section 92 of the Companies Act, 2013. They failed to file the annual return within 60 days of the AGM for multiple years, with defaults dated 01/12/2017, 01/12/2018, 01/12/2019, 01/122020, and 01/122021. The non-compliance is ongoing, attracting penal provisions under Section 92(5) of the Companies Act.
The penalty imposed has been clearly given in the table in the order. Penalty have been levied on both the company and the directors. The penalty imposed for the Financial Year 2016-17 and 2017-18 is Rs. 4 lakhs for each FY. Similar penalties have been imposed for 3 FYs also.
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This order was issued by Seema Rath, Registrar of Companies & Adjudicating Officer
Uttar Pradesh, Kanpur.
The order also contained 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.
It was also stated that non-compliance may attract further action under Section 454(8) of the Companies Act, 2013.
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