Over 2 lakh directors barred from board posts

The Central government on Tuesday cancelled the registration of more than two lakh companies for not filing tax returns and completing other formalities related to compliance. The move comes amid stepped up efforts to tackle the black money menace.

The names of 2,09,032 companies have been struck off from the Register of Companies under Section 248 (5) of the Act. The existing Directors and Authorised Signatories of such struck off companies will now become ex Directors or ex Authorized Signatories, a notification from finance ministry said on Tuesday.

These individuals will therefore not be able to operate bank accounts of such companies till such companies are legally restored under Section 252 of the Companies Act by an order of the National Company Law Tribunal, the notification said.

The RoC is an office under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and mainly looks after company registration in India: It completes reporting and regulation of companies, their directors and shareholders.

This number is expected to surge in the coming months, and the crackdown against these directors will commence in a few days.

The Department of Financial Services has, through the Indian Banks Association, advised all Banks that they should take immediate steps to put restrictions on bank accounts of such struck off companies. A list of such companies, Registrar of Companies wise, has been published on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

In addition to such struck off companies, Banks have also been advised to go in for enhanced diligence while dealing with companies in general. A company even having an active status on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs but defaulting in filing of its due Financial Statement (s) or Annual Return (s) of Particular of Charges on its assets on the secured loan should be seen with suspicion as, prima facie, the company is not complying with its mandatory statutory obligations to file this vital information for availability to its stakeholders.

OneIndia News