Piyush Jain
MCA in September 2017, identified 3,09,614 directors associated with the companies that had failed to file financial statements or annual returns with the MCA for a continuous period of three financial years and they were barred from accessing the online registry and their DIN was Deactivated.
After the above action there have been an outbreak of representations from industry, defaulting companies and their directors seeking an opportunity for the defaulting companies and their directors to regularise compliance.
Taking into the representations by various stakeholders, MCA has introduced “Condonation of Delay Scheme 2018 [CODS-2018] for giving an opportunity to the non-compliant, defaulting companies and directors to rectify the default and become compliant. Salient features of the scheme are as follows:
1. Condonation of Delay Scheme 2018 is applicable to all the Annual returns forms and Form ADT-1.
2. Condonation of Delay Scheme 2018 shall come into force with effect from January 01, 2018 and shall remain in force up to March 31, 2018 i.e. for a period of three months.
3. The DINs of the concerned disqualified directors shall be temporarily activated during the validity of the scheme to enable them to file the overdue documents.
4. The Defaulting Companies shall file the overdue forms by paying the statutory fees and additional late fees.
5. The Defaulting Companies after filing documents under this scheme, shall seek condonation of delay by filing form e-CODS online on the MCA21 portal.
6. The fee for filing application Form CODS shall be Rs. 30,000/-.
7. The Registrar concerned shall withdraw the prosecution(s) pending if any before the concerned Court(s) for all documents filed under the scheme. However, this scheme is without prejudice to action under section 167(2) of the Act or civil and criminal liabilities, if any, of such disqualified directors during the period they remained disqualified.
8. The e-Form CODS 2018 would be available from 20.02.2018 or an alternate date.
Author Bio
One of my client company has filed for closure of the company on May 2017. The company had no activity since inception in 2017 and no Balance sheet or ROC return filed. The company has figured in defaulters list and the MD has also been disqualified. Upon appeal the Kerala HC has given a short stay. The company Secy of the view that as we have already filed for closure, we cannot file any return anymore. What is the course open to us.