MCA21's version-3 to offer better user experience, enhanced scrutiny

From online filings and hearings to early detection of fraud e-scrutiny, and compliance management system for companies, the new MCA21 version-3 portal is expected to use artificial intelligence in a big way to improve user experience and strengthen the enforcement mechanisms.  

The new and improved version of MCA21 portal is expected to be launched by the end of this financial year. The main purpose of the portal would also be to facilitate seamless integration and data exchange among Regulators.

A revamped website with an e-book facility was launched in May this year as part of phase one of the portal.

The ministry has described version-3 of MCA21 as a data-analytics driven system. On one hand it will make filings for the companies much easier and on the other it will also enable early detection of lapses in filings.

Through an automated system the government would keep a close watch on ratios such as debt to turnover, inventory to turnover or loan to assets as early red flags.

This new version being operated by L&T Infotech would have a compliance management system or the CMS for identifying non-compliant companies and LLPs, issuing e-notices to the said defaulting entities and generating alerts for internal users of MCA.

Government is setting up a central scrutiny centre, built into this new system that would pull up companies where the system detects any suspicious activity on a list of parameters being finalised by the corporate affairs ministry.

The findings, would also help in building a risk profiling system for companies. The central scrutiny centre would be the first port of call once a warning is triggered. The matter would be handed to the concerned registrar of companies for further investigation if required. MCA would also set up a new position of Registrar of the Central Scrutiny Centre.

This Centre would scrutinise certain Straight Through Process (STP) Forms filed by the corporates on the MCA21 registry and flag the companies for more in depth scrutiny.

The portal would also be used for e-consultation on proposed amendments and draft rules. While users would post their comments and suggestions on the website, the system will also facilitate AI driven sentiment analysis, consolidation and categorisation of stakeholders’ inputs and creation of reports on the basis thereof, for reference of MCA.

The introduction of MCA21 according to experts would also push forward the role of the government as an enforcer of law, leaving clerical work such as filing of documents to artificial intelligence based automated systems.

As part of Version-3 of MCA21, a MCA LAB is being set up, which will consist of corporate law experts which would evaluate the effectiveness of the compliance management system, e-consultation module, enforcement module and suggest enhancements on an on-going basis.

In an earlier statement MCA said, “The project will have micro-services architecture with high scalability and capabilities for advanced analytics.”