ROC Imposes Penalty for Non-Filing of Financial Statements Under Section 137

The company “Lokvikas Benefit Nidhi Ltd” and its officers have been penalised by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) for non-filing of the Financial Statements for the Financial year ended 31st March 2020 under Section 137(1) of the Companies Act, 2013. The matter came up during an investigation ordered by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) vide its letter dated 10th April 2020 under Section 206(4) of the Act.

During the inquiry, the Inquiring Officer found that the company had filed its Financial Statements for the years 2017-18 and 2018-19, but had not filed the statements for 2019-20. Despite this, the company later filed Form AOC-4 for the financial year 2020-21. On scrutiny, it was discovered that while the Auditor’s Report attached in the form related to 31st March 2021, the Balance Sheet attached was actually for 31st March 2020.

The probe also found that the company filed Form AOC-4 vide SRN T79784518 for the period of 1st April 2020 to 31st March 2021, but attached the wrong financial documents. Thus, the authorities concluded that the company had not filed Financial Statements for both 2019-20 and 2020-21 properly and thus did not comply with Section 137(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, which is punishable under Section 137(3).

The Enquiring Officer made his report on 29th April 2022. Subsequently, the Directorate General of Corporate Affairs (DGCoA) and the Regional Director (Northern Region) directed the ROC office to take necessary action against the company and its officers for the default in the financial year ending 31st March 2020. Later, the ROC issued a Show Cause Notice to the company and its officers in default.

Though multiple hearing opportunities were given, neither the company nor its officers appeared before the authority nor submitted the required documents. In view of the continued non-compliance, the ROC imposed a penalty of Rs 1,79,200 on the company and Rs 50,000 each on its officer in default.