Introduction
Strike off means temporary closure of Companies following the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 that is a substitute to winding up of the company where the company can get the company revived for a period of twenty years from the date of strike off of the company.
According to Section 248(1)(c) of Companies Act 2013, struck off many companies in 2017, 2018 and then again in the year 2019. There have been three tranches of striking off done by various Registrar of Companies (ROC) having jurisdictions till date.
Who can file appeal for Revival of companies?
The following are the persons who can file appeal for Revival of Companies:
- By any person aggrieved by the order of Registrar can file appeal within 3 years from date of order of Registrar.
- By Registrar on being satisfied that the name of the Company has been struck off from the registrar of companies either inadvertently or on the basis of incorrect information furnished by the company or its Directors can file appeal within 3 years.
- By Company, or any member or creditor or workman aggrieved by company having its name strike off from the registrar of companies can appeal file within 20 years from the date of publication of notice of strike off in the Official Gazette.
Grounds for Revival
The following are the grounds on which the Revival of Companies is done by NCLT:
- In case the Company is having any immovable property.
- In case the Company has all done other compliances with Income tax, GST, Provident fund and the like authorities apart from ROC.
- In case there are active transactions in the bank statements of the Company evidencing the Company to be an ongoing one.
- In case the Company is renewing any license on an annual basis, which is required to be taken like FSSAI license, Excise etc.
- Any other documents depending upon the circumstances and case to case basis.
The basic moto is that there should be some document showing that it is in the public interest to revive the Company and the Company is an ongoing one.
The procedure for the revival of the Company
The application to the NCLT shall be made in Form NCLT- 9 accompanied by a demand draft of Rs. 1,000 payable to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The following documents are to be accompanied by the said application:
- An affidavit verifying FORM NCLT-9.
- Striking off order passed by the ROC.
- Certificate of incorporation.
- Memorandum of association.
- Copy of the latest audited financial statements since the financial year in which the said audited financial statements have not been filed with the ROC.
- Bank statements.
- Copy of the board resolution authorizing the filing of the application.
A copy of the petition is to be sent to the ROC within 14 days before the date of hearing in the NCLT. If the NCLT orders for the revival of the name of the company in the ROC, the company shall:
- File a certified copy of the order in e-form INC-28 within 30 days, and
- File pending annual financial statements and annual reports to the ROC.
Conclusion:
The provision of striking off companies acts as a means to ensure shell companies do not operate and companies do not get shut down with the intention to defraud creditors. The possibility of revival of a struck-off company ultimately depends on the evidence put forth by the applicant, which evidences the aforementioned criteria. If you have any doubt regarding this, you can contact company suggestion.
