MCA extends the Form INC 22A (ACTIVE) deadline

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) was looking to extend the deadline for filing Form INC 22A due to the representations received from the industry associations, including startups. The deadline for filing Form INC 22A was April 25, 2019, now extended to June 15, 2019.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) introduced Form INC 22A for validating the addresses of all the registered companies under the Companies Act, 2013. As per this form, all the registered companies are required to upload a photo of the external and the internal premises of their registered offices along with the picture of one director, the one who signs the form. The photo of the external premises must display the nameplate, including CIN, registered address, e-mail and phone numbers.

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A lot of startups share offices or operate out of homes of their directors. Hence, it was impractical for them to put a company board outside such places. Considering the impracticalities and the representations received, the MCA was inclined towards extending the deadline.

These norms were introduced to prevent the creation of shell companies. These are the follow-up measures to establish the existence of registered entities. Names of thousands of shell companies were struck off due to the introduction of such norms.

Form INC 22A is also known as E-Form ACTIVE (Active Company Tagging Identities and Verification). There is no fee charged if the form is filed within the due date, but if delayed, then a penalty of Rs 10,000 has to be paid. It will be difficult for the non-compliant companies to make changes in their share capital structure or go ahead with amalgamation and merger deals if they do not comply with such norms.

The extension of the deadline to file Form INC 22A provides relief to the companies to meet the new disclosure rules.