Finance Ministry strikes off 2L companies from register, prohibits operation of bank accounts

The names of over two lakh companies have been struck off from the Register of Companies under Section 248 (5) of the Companies Act, thereby prohibiting the operation of the bank accounts of such companies till they are legally restored under Section 252 of the Companies Act by an order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

An official release from the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, notified that the government struck off 2,09,032 companies from the official register. Further, the existing directors and authorized signatories of such companies will now become ex directors or ex authorized signatories, the release said.

Since such 'Struck off'' companies have ceased to exist, action has been initiated to restrict the operation of bank accounts of such companies. The DFS has, through the Indian Banks Association, advised all banks that they should take immediate steps to put restrictions on bank accounts of such companies. A list of such companies, Registrar of Companies wise, has been published on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the release stated.

In addition to such struck off companies, banks have also been advised to go in for enhanced diligence while dealing with companies in general. A company even having an active status on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs but defaulting in filing of its due financial statement (s) or annual return (s) of Particular of Charges on its assets on the secured loan should be seen with suspicion as, prima facie, the company is not complying with its mandatory statutory obligations to file this vital information for availability to its stakeholders.

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