Firms keep ROC in dark,face penal action

ROC officials said they have filed cases against these companies in the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) under the Companies Act seeking that they be penalised for keeping the government in the dark about their financial position. The companies are required to submit their balancesheet and annual reports to the ROC within 30-60 days of their annual general meeting (AGM). These companies have failed to do. The companies failed to adhere to norms despite repeated reminders,they said.

“We issued notices to these companies to submit their financial details but after they failed to do so within the stipulated time we approached court. We had provided an opportunity to the companies to respond within 15 days of the notice,which they did not,” said Assistant Registrar of Companies,Pune,S D Patil.

He added that there could be several reasons for the companies not keeping the government updated. “They must have been facing shortage of auditors or it could also mean some of them didn’t maintain records properly,” he said.

The defaulters are companies across sectors including the IT,real-estate and manufacturing.

Industry expert and president of the Indus Entrepreneurs Association (TIE),Vishwas Mahajan said companies not updating their financial records with the ROC reflects poorly on their legal compliance. “There is however a need to also simplify procedures for filing of income and expenditure details with the government. There are multiple government agencies that need to be kept informed. In case the companies have not updated them because of loss,that only shows their lack of confidence in coming out of the red.”

For providing the financial position of the current financial year,companies other than those against which cases were filed can submit revenue and expenditure details up to November 2012,said government officials.