Centralized approval of ROC Forms
(05th February 2024)
“In
business, precision in company law forms is the bedrock of legal compliance and
corporate credibility of reality.”
SHORT SUMMARY:
MCA has issued a notification on 02nd
February 2024. Notification is relating to Central Processing Center. This
seems aimed to free up capacity at the offices of Regional Directors and
Registrar of Companies to deal with governance, penalty, scrutiny matters.
The ministry has launched the fourth center to focus
on specific areas of filing non-straight through process or non-STP
forms. List is as follows:
i.
CRC (Central
Registration Centre): For
incorporation-related matters.
ii.
CSC (Central Scrutiny
Centre): For the scrutiny of Straight Through
Process (STP) forms.
iii. C-PACE
(Centralized Processing for Accelerated Companies Exit):
For closure/strike off of companies.
iv.
CPC (Central Processing Centre): For processing of various e-forms.
KEY
TAKE AWAY FROM NOTIFICATION:
Processing and
Disposal of E-Forms: According to the
Companies (Registration of Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, the Central
Processing Centre is obligated to process and dispose of electronic forms that
are submitted when they are accompanied by the specified fee.
Jurisdictional Impact: While the Central Processing Centre is
in charge of electronic forms, the jurisdictional Registrars (with the
exception of the Registrar of the Central Processing Centre) will continue to
have authority over companies in regard to all other provisions of the
Companies Act, 2013, as well as the rules contained within it.
Effective Date: The notification is set to come into
effect from the 6th of February 2024, signifying a shift in the processing
dynamics of e-forms.
Purpose
of New Department:
Increase Scrutiny?
owing
to the fact that the responsibility of the Registrar of Companies has been
relocated to the CPC by means of this announcement. It's possible that the ROC
will shift their attention to the monitoring of companies' compliances. Due to
this, they will have a strong focus on being scrutinized.
Increase in
Adjudication Matters?
Over
the course of the two most recent years, we have witnessed an increase in the
number of adjudication orders and penalties. As a result of this change, the
load that the ROC has to bear in respect to the review of electronic forms will
be reduced. It's possible that the ROC may raise the number of adjudication
orders and put more of their attention on monitoring whether companies are
complying with the law.
From
this point forward, the company ought to exercise increased caution regarding
compliance in order to avoid incurring penalties.
Same SOP for all forms?
Now
that the CPC has taken over all of the non-STP forms, it will be easier to
develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) that is comparable for all of the
forms across the country. Earlier, there was a problem associated with the fact
that various ROCs held varying perspectives regarding the law, compliance, and
process. Now, that will be simplified, and it will be used in a manner that is
comparable across all of the states. At this point, all forms are to be
approved, resubmitted, or rejected based on the same lines and interpretation.
Professionals will be able to guide companies across the country on
similar grounds with the use of this information.
Conclusion:
Establishing
the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and developing Corporate Governance in
the country is a commendable initiative on the part of the Ministry of
Corporate Affairs. Now, the ROC ought to place a greater emphasis on the
checking of compliances, the vetting of applications, and the issuance of
notices to companies that are not complying with the terms of the Act.
Author – CS
Divesh Goyal, GOYAL DIVESH & ASSOCIATES Company Secretary in Practice from
Delhi and can be contacted at csdiveshgoyal@gmail.com).
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