Company and Its Director Penalised For Not Maintaining Registered Office

The Registrar of Companies (ROC), Delhi and Haryana, has levied a penalty on a company for not having a proper registered office, violating section 12 of the Companies Act.

When a letter was sent to the address of the Company, Shakti Bhog Snacks Limited, the addressee refused to receive it, saying that the company did not exist at such address. This was a clear violation of Section 12(1) of the Companies Act, which requires every company to maintain a proper registered office that is able to receive and acknowledge communications and notices sent to the address.

However, Shakti Bhog Snacks Limited had not maintained any registered office, which means that the company was non-existent. Therefore, the ROC had issued a show cause notice to the company and its officers on 30.11.2017. The director had replied to the notice, but their response was not satisfactory to the Registrar.

Later, the company and its directors were issued a “Notice of Inquiry” dated 12.03.2018, to appear personally or through the authorised representative on 19.03.2018. However, on the day of the hearing, no one appeared from the company. Even though the company was given one more opportunity for a hearing on 28.05.2018, but again, no one from the company appeared.

Therefore, the ROC imposed a penalty under section 12(8) of the Act against the company along with its directors for the default between 26.12.2016 to 15.05.2018. The actual amount of penalty under this section is Rs 1 lakh each. However, the penalty amount was reduced to half as it was a small company. The final penalty levied on the company and its four directors was Rs 50,000 each.

The company is required to pay the penalty amount within 90 days through online mode using the MCA website. It is also directed to correct the default immediately and file an e-form to register the details of the new registered office. The company can also file an appeal before the Regional Director within 60 days in Form ADJ.