CAG says 1400 foreign cos did not file balance sheet, Form 52

New Delhi, Jan 11 (UNI) As many as 1,400 of the total 1,840 foreign companies did not file their balance sheet and Form 52 for which a minimum fee of Rs 1.40 crore and additional fee of Rs 5.60 crore were recoverable during 2004-05, according to the latest Comptroller and Auditor General report.

Every foreign company is required to submit Form 52 indicating its place of business in India and file three copies of the balance sheet within 9 months from the close of the financial year to the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Delhi, under the Companies Act, 1956.

However, CAG in its report for 2004-05 noted that analysis of the computerised database of RoC, Delhi, revealed that this had not been done.

Test check of files of 121 foreign companies audited manually showed that neither balance sheet nor Form 52 were filed in 401 cases resulting in non recovery of Rs 1.83 crore in fees and additional fees.

It was noticed that the department had filed default notices to only 10 companies under the Act till March 31, 2005.

Prosecutions were launched against three defaulting companies during 2000-01 to 2004-05 and no technical scrutiny or inspection under the Act "had ever been conducted".

The CAG has recommended instituting of a suitable mechnaism by the Ministry to monitor discharge of dues by foreign companies.

In its response, the Ministry of Company Affairs stated that the fees and additional fees would be collected when the defaulting companies came forward to file documents. As a large number of companies had closed shop without informing the RoC, identification of these companies were being taken up on a priority basis, it added.

UNI