Failure to furnish mandatory particulars in Form PAS-3 invites regulatory action under Rule 12(2) and Section 450
Marthandam People Development Nidhi Limited, a company based in Tamil Nadu, faced legal trouble when the Ministry of Corporate Affairs noticed a mistake in their paperwork. When the company filed a form to report the allotment of shares (Form PAS-3) in August 2019, they failed to list the occupations of the people receiving those shares. Under Indian company rules, specifically Rule 12(2), businesses are required to include details like names, addresses, and occupations for all share recipients.
The company tried to defend itself by claiming that the members in question simply didn’t have jobs, so they left the section blank. However, the government rejected this excuse because the company had failed to list occupations for any of the allottees, leading the Registrar of Companies to officially rule that they had broken the law and must pay a penalty.
Issue Of the Case
Whether the failure to list the occupation of any allottees in the list attached to Form PAS-3 constitutes a contravention of Rule 12(2) of the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014, thereby attracting penalties under Section 450 of the Companies Act, 2013?
Income Tax Penalty proceeding initiated with prior approval of additional commissioner Valid: HC
Decision of the ROC Chennai
The Adjudicating Officer ruled that Marthandam People Development Nidhi Limited and its leaders were legally responsible for the error because they failed to provide occupations for any of the people on their list. As a result, the company and two specific officers, Dharmaiyan Sibi and Balakrishnan Sobhidanandan, were each ordered to pay a penalty of ₹10,000. To settle the matter, the individuals must pay these fines from their own personal money within 90 days and fix the original paperwork error to comply with the law.