MCA Penalty for Late Filing of One-Time Form DPT-3 on Outstanding Receipts and Loans

The Registrar of Companies, Hyderabad has passed an adjudication order under Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013 against DIGILOGIC SYSTEMS LIMITED and its officer in default for failure to file the mandated one-time return in Form DPT-3 within the prescribed time. The violation was treated as a default under Section 450 of the Companies Act, 2013, resulting in monetary penalties.

This order is an important reminder for companies to strictly adhere to reporting timelines for outstanding receipts of money or loans that are not treated as deposits under the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014.

Statutory Background

The adjudication revolves around the interplay of the following provisions:

  • Section 73 of the Companies Act, 2013
  • Rule 16A(3) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014
  • Section 450 of the Companies Act, 2013
  • Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013
  • Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014

Under Section 73 read with Rule 16A(3), every company was required to submit a one-time return in Form DPT-3 disclosing:

  • Outstanding receipts of money
  • Loans outstanding
  • Amounts not classified as deposits

for the period from 01.01.2014 to 31.03.2019, and this disclosure had to be made within 90 days from 31.03.2019.

Nature of Default and Applicable Penalty

Since there is no specific penalty prescribed in the Act for this particular type of non-compliance, the general penalty under Section 450 applies.

Section 450 penalty framework
If a company or any officer of a company or any other person contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, or any condition, limitation or restriction subject to which any approval, sanction, consent, confirmation, recognition, direction or exemption in relation to any matter has been accorded, given or granted, and for which no penalty or punishment is provided elsewhere in this Act, the company and every officer of the company who is in default or such other person shall be liable to a penalty of ten thousand rupees, and in case of continuing contravention, with a further penalty of one thousand rupees for each day after the first during which the contravention continues, subject to a maximum of two lakh rupees in case of a company and fifty thousand rupees in case of an officer who is in default or any other person.

This general penalty clause was invoked by the ROC against DIGILOGIC SYSTEMS LIMITED and its officer in default.

Appointment of Adjudicating Authority

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, via Gazette notification number S.O. 698(E) dated 10/02/2026, appointed the Registrar of Companies, Hyderabad, as Adjudicating Officer under Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013.

The Adjudicating Officer derives authority from:

  • Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013
  • Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014

to inquire into violations and impose penalties wherever warranted under the Act.

Company and Officer Details

Company

  • Name: DIGILOGIC SYSTEMS LIMITED
  • CIN: U62099TG2011PLC077933
  • Registered Office:
    #102, 1ST FLOOR, DSL ABACUS TECH PARK,
    UPPAL KALSA VILLAGE, UPPAL MANDAL,
    NA RANGAREDDY, RANGAREDDI,
    TELANGANA, INDIA – 500039

Officer in Default

  • Name: MADHUSUDHAN VARMA JETTY
  • DIN: 02247769

These entities were treated as noticees in the adjudication proceedings.

Factual Matrix of the Case

One-Time Form DPT-3 Requirement

In line with the requirement introduced under Rule 16A(3) of the Companies (Acceptance of Deposits) Rules, 2014, DIGILOGIC SYSTEMS LIMITED was obligated to file a one-time Form DPT-3 disclosing:

  • Outstanding receipts of money or
  • Loans that were not treated as deposits

for the period from 01.01.2014 to 31.03.2019, within 90 days from 31.03.2019.

This effectively meant the due date fell within the statutory window commencing from 31.03.2019 plus 90 days.

Nature of Non-Compliance

The key non-compliance identified:

  1. Failure to file Form DPT-3 (one-time return) within the prescribed period as per Section 73 read with Rule 16A(3).
  2. The assessee company did not file the return even after the original due date had elapsed.