Every Company or Body Corporate falling under the applicability rules shall file e-Form NFRA-1 concerning the particulars of the auditor within 30 days of deployment of Form NFRA-1 i.e. by 31st July, 2019.
BACKGROUND:
In view of improving the quality of audit and ensure more transparency, the Central Government, pursuant to Section 132(1) of the Companies Act, 2013 constituted a body called ‘National Financial Reporting Authority’ to provide for matters relating to accounting and auditing standards under Companies Act, 2013.
The Central Government issued National Financial Reporting Authority Rules, 2018 vide notification dated 13th November, 2018 to monitor and enforce compliance with accounting standards and auditing standards, and oversee the quality of service of auditors.
1. Filing of One time Form NFRA-1: Every Company or Body Corporate falling under the applicability rules shall file e-Form NFRA-1 concerning the particulars of the auditor within 30 days of deployment of Form NFRA-1 i.e. by 31st July, 2019.
2. Filing of Form NFRA-1 by the body corporate within 15 days of appointment of an auditor.
Here, it is pertinent to note that one time NFRA-1 has to be filed by all the Companies on which these rules are applicable whereas event based NFRA-1 i.e. within 15 days of appointment of auditor has to be filed by all body corporate except Indian Companies.
REQUIRED DETAILS FOR FILING OF FORM NFRA-1:
The Form NFRA-1 is very much similar to Form ADT-1 and preliminary the following details shall be handy to fill in the online Form:
I. In case of Indian Body Corporate
- PAN of Indian authorized individual;
- PAN of body corporate;
- DIN of Director/Membership No. of CS/PAN of Manager or CEO or CFO;
- Income tax PAN of auditor/audit firm;
- Membership number of auditor/auditor firm registration number;
- In case the auditor is appointed due to casual vacancy, then membership no. of auditor or registration no. of audit firm who/which vacated the office needs to be provided in the form;
- Copy of written consent given by auditor & Copy of resolution passed by the body corporate;
- Digital Signature (DSC) of User (Director/Manager/CEO/CFO/Company Secretary).
II. In case of Foreign Body Corporate:
- Passport Number of foreign authorized individual;
- Registration number of foreign body corporate and name of provider of registration number.
ATTACHMENTS OF THE NFRA FORM 1:
1. Authorisation Letter to file the Form (Sample available online as well)
HOW TO FILE THE NFRA FORM 1:
The Form NFRA-1 is available on www.nfra.gov.in. The said form is not like any other e-Form as available on MCA portal. It has to be filled in online only. For the same, we first have to register online on NFRA portal using our mobile number and e-mail ID on which OTP shall be sent for verification. After this, some basic information about the person filing this form shall be filled in and thereafter, details of the Company shall be filled in.
Further, additional instruction to file the Form can also be referred to from the following link:
https://taxguru.in/company-law/how-register-nfra-website-submit-nfra-1-form.html
Once the Form is filed, it shall be sent to the administrator for approval/rejection. In case the form gets approved or rejected, email and SMS confirmation/rejection shall be received by the user.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs):
1. What happens in case the Companies on which these rules are applicable cease to meet the eligibility criteria?
In such event, the Company or body corporate shall continue to be governed by the Authority for a period of three years after it ceases to be listed or its paid-up capital or turnover or aggregate of loans, debentures and deposits falls below the limit stated therein. Though, on interpretation of the law, the Companies need not continue to file Form NFRA-1 and only governance from the authority shall continue.
2. When the auditor is appointed, then do we have to file NFRA-1 and ADT-1 as well?
Yes, since the government has provided no specific exemption. Further, it is pertinent to note that both the Forms are being filed to different authorities and accordingly, we can conclude that both Forms i.e. NFRA-1 and ADT-1 have to be filed.
3. Is there any fees to file this Form?
Anything with respect to the fees of the Form is not mentioned anywhere and accordingly, we can conclude that there is no fee for filing such Form.
4. Who are not required to file the Form NFRA-1?
On interpretation, we can conclude that the following are not required to file Form:
- Private Companies
- Limited Liability Partnerships
- Unlisted public Companies having paid up capital of less than Rs. 500 Crores, Annual Turnover of less than Rs. 1000 Crores or having outstanding loans, debentures and deposits, in aggregate of less than Rs. 500 Crores.
{The author i.e. Kajal Goyal is a Company Secretary in Practice at Kajal Goyal and Associates and can be reached at (M) 9999952595 and (E) cskajalgoyal@gmail.com}
Author Bio
If someone is coming under Rule 2 (private limited)
The do them need to registered if yes then how because only there are 3 option is their of rule 1
Today I saw FAQ clarifying who needs to file Form NFRA-1.
https://taxguru.in/corporate-law/faqs-filing-nfra-1-form.html
But the clarification to Q1 chart and response to Q12 is differing. The chart is saying something and the response is referring rule 3(2) again which needs clarification.
In the Query 12, it is mentioned “one time RETURN” and in the response it is written “refer to the clarifications at S.N. 1, 8 and Clause 3(2) and 3(3) of NFRA Rule 2018. NFRA – 1 form need to be filed by the Entity accordingly.”
What type of Query, what type of chart, what type of response???
Can a clarification given on a site which does not have any number, date, signing is legally valid??
Can a clarification which is on plain paper override the provisions of Act and Rules?
Can a clarification given as above valid in the court of Law?
As per my understanding, the exact answer for “Who are required to file the Form NFRA-1?” is given under “Who are not required to file the Form NFRA-1?”
Thanks for Valuable update
But in the official notification of rules of NFRA the words mentioned are “Every existing body corporate other than a company governed by these rules, shall inform the Authority within thirty days
of the commencement of these rules, in Form NFRA-1, the particulars of the auditor as on the date of commencement of these
rules.”. Can you please clarify this ?
the articles misses out many points and is primarily incorrect. Every existing body corporate other than a company governed by these rules, shall inform the Authority within thirty days of the commencement of these rules, in Form NFRA-1, the particulars of the auditor as on the date of commencement of these rules.
whereas the author has explained that all existing body corporates to inform the authority under these rules which is incorrect.