Inactive companies declined by 4,000 in over 3 years

The number of inactive companies have dropped by nearly 4,000 in more than three years to 1.38 lakh, Parliament was informed on Friday.

In October, 2016 the number of inactive companies was at 1,38,410 as compared to 1,42,373 as on March 31, 2014, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The number of non-functional companies stood at 1,39,373 and 1,38,691 in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively.

Inactive companies are those who were not been carrying out businesses and have not filed financial statements and annual returns during the last two fiscals.

Maharashtra has the maximum number of inactive companies at 33,598, followed by Delhi (28,066), Telangana (17,133), Tamil Nadu (15,352) and Gujarat (10,793).

In 2011, the ministry had introduced a fast-track exit mode for defunct companies to approach the Registrar of Companies (RoC) from time to time for striking off their names, Meghwal said.

A total of 2,57,913 companies have exited from the RoC as in October this year.

In a separate reply, Meghwal said that the ministry has received seven complaints in more than three years in respect of companies allegedly carrying out operations without getting registered under the Companies Act.