MCA Directs Regional Directors to Initiate Inquiry Against Those Practicing Professionals Who Certified the Particulars Furnished by Listed Companies

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has directed its Regional Directors to initiate inquiry against those practicing professionals who had certified 12 cases of wrong e-filing by certain listed companies in their e-forms. During the examination it was found that the data furnished in the e-forms were totally different as compared to the records of the company.

As per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs these are public documents and by furnishing false information to the government as well as to the other stakeholders of the company, the practicing professionals have neglected in discharging their duties and have rendered themselves liable for penal action under Companies Act, 1956 as well as professional misconduct.

If found guilty in preliminary enquiry by the Regional Director, the concerned professional institute will be informed to initiate an enquiry under their regulations. Simultaneously, the concerned professional shall be debarred to submit any document on MCA portal till final enquiry report is received from the respective professional institutes.

It may be noted that the MCA has been pushing the cause of electronic filing and approval regime. Objective is to do away with human intervention in MCA approvals to the maximum extent possible.

For this purpose, Ministry of Corporate Affairs has entrusted practicing professionals registered as members of the professional bodies namely, ICAI, ICSI & ICWAI with the responsibility of ensuring integrity of documents filed by them with MCA in electronic mode. Professionals are now to be responsible for submitting /certifying documents (to be signed digitally by them) and system would accept most of these documents online without approval by Registrar of Companies or other officers of the Ministry.

Also, the practicing professionals certify that they have verified the particulars given in the e-forms from the records of the companies and found them to be true and correct. (PTI)