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Update on E-Form INC – 22A Last Date Filing – Get your Company “Active Compliant”

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Update on E-Form INC – 22A Last Date Filing – Get your Company “Active Compliant”

The new e-form INC 22A, which is also known as e-Form ACTIVE (Active Company Tagging Identities and Verification), was notified as part of Companies (Incorporation) Amendment Rules, 2019.

In recent developments, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has received representations from the industry for extension of INC-22A form’s due date extension. Especially the start-up community has been facing many issues w.r.t uploading of the external profile of the registered office showing the name plate including CIN, registered address etc. Since many start-ups operate out of shared or small spaces, they are unable to put company board on buildings, thereby finding difficulty to comply with such requirements of the E-form 22.

In addition, a request letter has been submitted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICAI) to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 22nd April 2019; stating the difficulties faced by various stakeholders while filing Form INC22A-ACTIVE such as

  • The Auditors’ details not getting prefilled in certain cases.
  • Compliance by dormant companies.
  • Companies in management disputes.
  • Issues faced by corporate having a different financial year.

As confirmed by Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the deadline for these new disclosure forms has been extended till June 15th 2019; giving corporates more time to comply with a provision aimed at spotting shell companies

E-Form Active – Get your Company “Active Compliant” Now!

In a bid to strengthen Corporate Governance and ensure all Registered Companies comply with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs’ rules and regulations, the ministry has rolled out a new E-Form called E-Form ACTIVE (Active Company Tagging Identities and Verification. As per Rule 25A, this form marks a Company as “Active Compliant” in the records of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The Ministry has notified that every company that got incorporated on or before 31st December 2017 needs to file their company details and registered office particulars in the E-Form Active on their website.

However, any companies incorporated after 31st December 2017 do not need to file E-Form Active. To ease the process of filing, we hereby wish to inform our readers the details & statutory list of documents; that companies will need to submit while filing up the E-Form Active. The following list entails all details:

  • Listing status of the Company
  • Latitude and Longitude of the registered office (Personnel may take google maps help to find their registered office’s location)
  • E-mail ID and Mobile number wherein an OTP shall come.
  • Particulars of the Directors of the Company as on date [Ensure that DIN of none of the Directors is “Disqualified u/s 164(2)” or “De-activated due to non-filing of DIR-3KYC”]
  • Details of statutory auditor of the Company wherein particulars such as PAN, name, membership number of statutory auditor and period for which the auditor is appointed shall be filled in.
  • Details of cost auditor wherein particulars such as PAN, name, membership number of auditor and period for which the cost auditor is appointed shall be filled in.
  • Details of Managing Director, CEO and Company Secretary.
  • SRNs of e-Form AOC-4, AOC-4 XBRL and MGT-7 shall be filled.

Just like every other filing, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issues a due date for E-Form

Active as well which is on or before June 15th 2019. The Ministry has clarified through its notification that no fees needs to be paid provided the company does the filing within the aforementioned due date.It has also shared the categories of companies who needn’t do the filing, as listed below-

  • Companies which have been “struck off”
  • Companies that are “under process of striking off”,
  • Companies that are “under liquidation”, “amalgamated” or “dissolved”, as recorded in the register, shall not be required to file e-form ACTIVE.

Furthermore, Companies which have not filed their financial statements (e-Form AOC-4) or annual returns (e-Form MGT-7) or both will be restricted from filing e-Form ACTIVE. Hence, every Company has to first complete its pending annual filing.         

The photograph of registered office showing external building and inside office also showing therein at least one Director/KMP who has affixed his/her Digital Signature to this form shall be attached to the Form.

We wish to inform our readers about the penalty, should a company fail to file the E-Form Active by June 15th 2019?
Due to heavy rush on the website during last few days, one may not be able to complete the form filing successfully, resulting in a penalty of INR 10,000/-.

Hence it is advisable for all companies to fill the form well within the deadline date of June 15th 2019.

Few important points to remember are In the event a company doesn’t fill the form by June 15th 2019, it shall be marked as ‘Active Non-Compliant’ on or after June 16th 2019, and shall be liable for action under Sub Section (9) of Section (12) of the Companies Incorporation Act. Now one might wonder, what is Section (9) of Section (12) of the Act? Let’s take a quick look-

  • “If the Registrar has reasonable cause to believe that the company is not carrying any Business or Operations, he may cause a physical verification of the company’s registered office in the prescribed manner.”
  • “If the company is found to default in complying with the requirements of the Sub Section (1), he may prescribe without prejudice to the provisions of Sub-Section (8) {i.e. if any default is made in complying with the requirements of this section} – The company and every officer who is in default will be liable to a penalty of ONE THOUSAND Rupees for every day (during which the default continues, but not exceeding ONE LAKH Rupees).”
  • It may even initiate action for the removal of the Company Name from the Register of Companies under Chapter XVIII.”

Not just the above, Once the status of Company changes as ‘Active Non-Compliant” It will be restricted to file following forms as well:

  • Sh-7 (Increase in Authorized Capital)
  • PAS-3 (Allotment of Shares)
  • DIR-12 (Appointment and Resignation of Director (Except Cessation))
  • INC-22 (Change in Registered Office)
  • INC-28 (For purpose of Amalgamation or de-merger)

As the old adage goes, “A stitch in time saves nine.”

The Team at Kanakkupillai urges its’ readers to file their E-Form Active 22A at the earliest possible, that is, if their company has been incorporated before 31st December 2017.
In the best interest of our readers, we will share a reminder post on our website even closer to the deadline date June 15th 2019.

Until then “Keep reading & keep trending” 

Kanakkupillai

Kanakkupillai is your reliable partner for every step of your business journey in India. We offer reasonable and expert assistance to ensure legal compliance, covering business registration, tax compliance, accounting and bookkeeping, and intellectual property protection. Let us help you navigate the complex legal and regulatory requirements so you can focus on growing your business. Contact us today to learn more.