Tribunal upholds Sebi order against Comfort Fincap

Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has upheld the order of capital market regulator Sebi against Comfort Fincap Ltd in a case related to non-compliance with the disclosure norms.
Comfort Fincap was imposed with a penalty of Rs 10 lakh by the Securities and Exchange Board of India on March 20 for failing to make yearly disclosures for nearly 13 years from 1998 to 2010.
The company had subsequently filed an appeal with SAT challenging Sebi's ruling.
In an order dated June 25, SAT said obligation to make disclosures "is mandatory".
SAT also said that penalty for not making disclosures, as per norms, for the respective year is Rs 1 lakh per day or Rs 1 crore, whichever is lower.

"In the present case, penalty at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per day for the years 1998 to 2010 would be Rs 1 crore per year, whereas, the adjudicating officer after considering all mitigating factors set out under...Sebi Act, 1992 has imposed composite penalty of Rs 10 lakh for all the years which comes to less than Rs 1 lakh per year," SAT said.
"In these circumstances, decision to impose penalty of Rs 10 lakh for all the years cannot be said to be unreasonable or excessive," it added.