PSUs dont submit accounts for as long as 26 yrs

The corporate affairs ministry has decided to act tough with public sector undertakings that have not prepared and...

The corporate affairs ministry has decided to act tough with public sector undertakings (PSUs) that have not prepared and submitted their financial statements with the registrar of companies. As many as 658 state-run PSUs have piled up 2,539 accounts,with some pending for as long as 26 years.

Such delinquency may be indication of a bigger problem brewing in these PSUs and has left the ministry worried,government sources said. In most cases,the pending period ranges from three years to 15 years. The ministry has now asked all state and Centrally-run PSUs to comply with the Companies Act,1956,and prepare and furnish account details as per the Act at the earliest,a ministry source said.

According to data available with the government,the poorest compliance is in north-eastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh where there are five working state-run firms and two non-working PSUs with a total of 33 accounts pending for the last 11 years. Similarly,in Assam ,there are 51 PSUs and there are 347 accounts pending for 24 years. Tamil Nadu is the only state where pendency is minimum. It has 75 PSUs of which 20 have not prepared their accounts for one to seven years.

The move comes after the Thirteenth Finance Commission report suggested that the ministry should closely monitor the compliance of state and central PSUs with their statutory obligations. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) too has been pursuing the matter with states for years now and the response has not been encouraging. It has separately taken up the issue with the Thirteenth Finance Commission and the Planning Commission.

Some in the government also fear there may be some foul play by the top brass in these companies. Because of the non-compliance,there is little accountability for the thousands of crores of rupees the government sets aside for these PSUs. CAG sources also said there are hundreds of non-working PSUs (sick,out of operation) not complying with the Companies Act.