ROC Ernakulam Imposes Penalty on Nidhi Company for Incomplete PAS-3 Disclosures under Companies Act

Jerry Nidhi Limited ran into trouble for not sharing full details of its allottees in the PAS-3 filings, which goes against Rule 14(6) of the Companies Rules, 2014. The Registrar of Companies stepped in, used Section 450 of the Companies Act (since there was no specific penalty), and handed out a penalty of ₹10,000 to both the company and each of its officers. Along with the penalty, the company received clear instructions: fix the missing details, pay up within 90 days, and if they want to contest it, they can appeal the order within 60 days.

Fact of the Case

Jerry Nidhi Limited Submitted Form NDH-4 to the Ministry, but it got rejected. When the official looked into it, they realised the company had not included all the allottee information in its PAS-3 returns. The company admitted this lapse and asked for adjudication. Since there is no direct penalty for this specific violation, the ROC turned to Section 450 and started proceedings.

Issue

The main question was whether the company and its officers were on the hook for a penalty under Section 450 for not giving complete allottee details in their required filings.

Order

Jerry Nidhi Limited broke the rules, and since there is no set penalty, Under Section 450 applied. So, each officer and the company itself have to pay Rs 10,000. They also need to fix the filings by submitting the complete information through GNL-2, and the officers must pay their portion from personal funds. The company and the officers have 90 days to pay via the MCA portal, and if they disagree with the order, they have 60 days to appeal to the Regional Director.