Company secy not required to disclose non-filing of previous year's annual return: Court

A company secretary of a private firm is not mandated to disclose non-filing of balance sheet, profit and loss account and annual return for the previous financial year in his compliance certificate, a Delhi court has said.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat acquitted a company secretary of the charges of filing fake certificate, while accepting the submissions of his advocate Sanjay Kumar Singh that the law does not provide any format for indicating the 'non-filings' by the company secretary in the compliance certificate.

Singh had told the court that accused Kapil Saluja, who was the company secretary of Infolance Software Solutions Ltd, was not "duty bound" under the provisions of Companies Act to indicate the non-filings by the firm in his compliance report.

According to the complaint filed by then Deputy Registrar of Companies NCT of Delhi and Haryana, the accused being the company secretary had not mentioned in compliance certificate for the year 2012-13 that the firm was in default in filing of the balance sheet, profit and loss account and annual return for the previous financial year 2011-12.

"The law only provides for declaration of the forms and returns as filed by the company and it does not provide any format for indicating the 'non filings'," the defence counsel had told the court.

In its order, the judge said, "In view of the above discussion and evidence on record, I am satisfied that the complainant has not proved the documents as per law being admissible evidence."