MCA Levies Heavy Penalty on Nidhi Company for Attaching Incorrect Balance Sheet in Form AOC-4

In a stringent enforcement action demonstrating the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' (MCA) zero-tolerance policy toward defective statutory filings, the Registrar of Companies (ROC) Uttar Pradesh has penalized a corporate assessee for submitting flawed financial documents. The adjudication order highlights a critical compliance failure where the company uploaded mismatched financial statements—specifically attaching a previous year's balance sheet alongside the current year's auditor report in Form AOC-4.

This ruling serves as a vital reminder to all corporate entities and their directors regarding the absolute necessity of verifying attachments before completing digital submissions on the MCA-21 portal. The penalty was imposed under Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013 for a direct contravention of Section 137(1).

Background of the Corporate Assessee

The matter pertains to LOKVIKAS BENEFIT NIDHI LIMITED, a corporate entity registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 (and governed by the applicable legacy frameworks of the Companies Act, 1956). The company operates under the Corporate Identification Number (CIN) U67190UP2017PLC093239, with its registered office located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.

The regulatory scrutiny commenced when the MCA, through its communication dated 10.04.2020, instructed the initiation of an official inquiry into the affairs of the corporate assessee under Section 206(4) of the Companies Act, 2013.

The Core Violation: Defective AOC-4 Filing

During the detailed examination conducted by the Inquiring Officer (IO), a glaring discrepancy was unearthed in the company's annual filing records.

Chronology of Filing Defaults

  1. Initial Compliance: The corporate assessee had successfully submitted its financial statements for FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.
  2. The Missing Year: The company entirely failed to file its financial statements for FY 2019-20 (for the year ended 31.03.2020).
  3. The Defective Submission: Subsequently, the company attempted to file its financials for FY 2020-21 (for the year ended 31.03.2021) via Form AOC-4 using SRN T79784518.