It has been an important compliance aspect of the Companies Act of 2013 affecting the companies in India for E-filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). In fact, as envisioned, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) encourages companies to file certain e-forms through its MCA21 company registry to ensure transparency, the number of violations, and the chances of loss of corporate records. These form filings play a very important role not only in keeping the records of corporate bodies current and accurate but also in the oversight of compliance, health, and governance of the bodies.
E-filing of forms encompasses a wide scope of business operations and transactions such as filing annual returns, financial reports, minutes of meetings, changes of the management, and changes in the capital structure, including raising capital, acquisitions, and change of address, among others. Each of these activities has corresponding e-forms, such as MGT-7 for annual returns and AOC-4 for financial statements, which have to be filed with the RoC by the companies within the prescribed limit so that no penalties are imposed.
What is an SRN?
An SRN is short for Service Request Number. It stands for that identification number that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, India issues when a person or any company submits an e-form or places any service request on the MCA21 portal. It is more or less a transaction reference ID through which users can keep track of submissions and payments and other requests to the Registrar of Companies.
In addition to the SRN, the MCA system further produces the filing of an e-form or making a payment, which can be used to retrieve the status of processing and delivery of payment and to perform further actions if needed. The SRN acts as proof of submission and is used to resolve problems that may crop up during the filing process.
To put it all in a nutshell, the SRN is that all-important tracking system in the digital system of the MCA, which helps the filers as well as the MCA record every single activity with regard to corporate compliance in an organized manner.
How to Cancel an Approved SRN?
Certain conditions are needed to be followed to cancel an approved Service Request Number (SRN) deleted from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal. It is understood that fill-up SRN can usually be coincidentally cancelled only in situations wherein the fill-up was wrong, done impulsively or where it has been allowed to do so by the MCA in specific cases.
Important notes to remember:
- First of all, it must be noted that all or many SRNs cannot be cancelled once approved and put into circulation, in particular those regarding filings such as incorporation and amendments already addressed and approved by the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
- Any such SRNs which are for erroneous transaction(s) per application, include but not limited to, any applications which have been submitted and still pending processing of such applications may be cancellable. Other than this, cancellation of SRNs which are tied with some of the other e-forms which require resubmission is also possible, tucking in the filling under a new SRN.
The following are included in the process of cancelling an approved SRN by the Registrar of Companies (ROC) –
- Visit the portal – An application for initiating the process of cancelling an approved SRN can be made either through the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) portal, that is, the official website www.mca.gov.in or by contacting the respective Registrar help desk or office where the registered office of the company is situated.
- Make a formal request – An evaluation of the possibility of such cancellation is the first step of the process of SRN cancellation. In the first place, it needs to be noted that all sanctioned SRNs do not qualify for cancellation, especially those that are heavy on filings like incorporation, change in directorship, and approvals that have already received clearance from the registrar of companies or RoC. Generally, those SRNs related to the filing of a duplicate, payments made in error, or where the filing is resubmitted are considered cancellable. This process exhibits that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs strives hard to maintain the quality of data, hence preventing misuse of information and developing an accurate record of the corporate actions that ensued. A formal request is required to be made in the form of an application for cancellation, along with the required documents supporting the application. The application must include the relevant and necessary information such as the details like date of filing, number, type of form, etc., of the SRN to be cancelled, the reason for cancellation, and other documents as required.
- Provide further documentation – Once the eligibility assessment has been carried out, the entity is to send a formal application to the Registrar of Companies (RoC) / MCA Helpdesk requesting to withdraw their application. Application letter stating the reasons why this application for withdrawal is being made, and all the attachments involved should be included with that request. Normal documents include the evidence of erroneous payments or payments made in excess and in some cases, a declaration or guarantee. The application letter is supposed to be signed by either the Director or the Company Secretary. This would help in presenting the company’s desire to outmanoeuvre the already filed SRN application. The MCA would further seek a form or clarification of some paperwork before they could process the cancellation request. Some common examples of supportive documentation include payment receipts, proof that the return filing is a duplicate, and a letter explaining the mistake.
- Evaluation, Verification and Scrutiny of the documents by MCA – Once the application is received, MCA will evaluate the application. It would take a considerable amount of time, usually 15-20 days, due to the fact that it is also a confirmation and approval process from RoC many times. You can contact the MCA help desk through SRN and any acknowledgement number that is given or generated in case of a cancellation request. The applicant would then have to wait for communication from the RoC, who has full authority to either accept or reject the application for cancellation submitted by the applicant. That is the reason why such procedures would take some time, primarily if the concerned bodies need to investigate the matter more. The ROC can further request a board resolution urging cancellation or more details about the falsehood. It should be relatively easy for organizations to furnish more information and track the status of their application.
- Notification of Approval – Once the cancellation has been approved by the authorities concerned, the RoC will communicate its acceptance and, if applicable, shall proceed with refunding any excess funds paid. For instance, refund policies may be clear or could differ with the degree of the form submitted and the practices of the RoC. Several weeks can elapse before refund processing, and therefore, the companies closing their business must keep copies of all related correspondence as well as proof of the closure of the business for record purposes. Immediately after the SRN is successfully cancelled, the MCA will send the confirmation to the user. In some qualifying situations, for example, a refund process may be initiated in case of duplicate payment by MCA. Most of the time, however, the processing period will vary, and sometimes, processing refunds might take several weeks, depending on the method through which payment is made, together with processing times included therein. Thus, it’s always advisable to keep a copy of the cancellation confirmation in case there are further inquiries later on.
Documents Required for Cancelling an Approved SRN
When an application is filed with the RoC in India to cancel an already allotted SRN, it would be construed that some additional papers are needed to be attached along with the application. Additional papers required would be different depending upon the cause of cancellation and type of e-form already filed.
The most common and important documents include:
- A formal request letter shall be addressed to the RoC stating reasons for applying for cancellation. It has to be signed by someone authorized to sign the letter on behalf of the entity, which could be the director or the secretary of the company. It must also contain details such as SRN, form number, filing date, and the reasons for striking off the same, which may include duplicate filing or submission of a wrong form.
- For certain types of documents, an affidavit or indemnity bond might be required by the RoC so that it could confirm that the petition is valid and that the company holds the RoC free and harmless against any legal or monetary liability that may arise because of cancellation. This usually requires it to be notarized and signed by a company authorized representative.
- An undertaking or declaration duly signed by the Director of the company.
- A copy of the ROC challan that is requested to be cancelled.
- Any additional documents are as prescribed or called upon by the Registrar.
Conclusion
The e-filing system has revolutionized and improved business compliance by substituting orthodox paper-based filing with a fully digital mode of process. Its effects included reducing processing time, increasing accuracy, and instilling accountability- all positive consequences for the mechanism of compliance enforcement, which calls for stronger organizational level and regulatory enforcement actions. Some other salient features of MCA21 are the online payment of fees, tracking submission status, and promptly correcting errors.
Ultimately, with the electronic lodging of forms with the RoC, corporate compliance is assured and bound to make India a more business-friendly and clean place. This strategy not only hones the route of regulatory delivery but is indeed in line with the country’s vision of Digital India, which is that there shall be the use of technology for the running of businesses.
Although the reversal of the approval of an SRN already filed with the RoC has its shortcomings since alteration or refiling of previously filed documents is a must, there is a step-by-step mechanism put in place by the MCA for the filing of e-forms and the payment processes. However, problems may be required in cases where a firm offers misleading or unintentionally wrong information or makes a duplicate request and other related problems need its cancellation of the SRN. Under certain conditions, the company may request a cancellation, but that is not easy. There are quite a number of rules and sanctions in place so that there is compliance with rules and laws as well as accurate information at any time.
The process of cancellation of Service Request Number (SRN) by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) cancels all the problems caused by wrong or multiple submissions, but this process requires carefulness and precision. It is incumbent upon each organisation to ensure that all relevant details are provided and meet the requirements established by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) without fail. There are management strategies that can facilitate or promote this combination – availing structures for open dialogue and prudent record keeping. This is why there are specific reasons that allow the SRN to be cancelled in order to protect the cleanliness of the regulatory database, such as enhancing the security and removing any chances of tampering with corporate information; this is what the online filing system of the MCA is for. It not only strengthens the monitoring by regulators, but it also evokes incentives for compliance and deters the incidence of mismanagement in business corporations in India.
