Centre sets norms for verifying company premises

The Companies (Incorporation) Third Amendment Rules brought out by the ministry said that the new rules will be effective from 18 August. As per this, the Registrar of Companies (RoC) concerned should visit the address of the registered office of the company for verification in the presence of two independent witness from the locality. The RoC could also seek the assistance of the local police if needed, the rules said.

The idea is to cross check the details of the registered office submitted by the company in the MCA21 compliance portal. The RoC also has to give a report of the physical verification giving details of the visit and of the premises.

In cases the registered office could not receive and acknowledge communications and notices from the authority, the RoC will send a notice to the company and its directors stating the intention to remove the name of the company from the register of companies. Company officials will get thirty days to respond to such notice, the rules said.

The government has been taking steps to weed out defunct companies from the records so that the database becomes manageable. Removing companies that cannot be traced at the physical address reported by the company will help in weeding out shell companies which in some cases are involved in financial irregularities. Identifying and removing companies that exist only in paper has been a key element of the government’s efforts against generation and laundering of black money.

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