Ahmedabad: Registrar of Companies (ROC), Ahmedabad, has penalised a local company and four of its directors for non-compliance in a preferential allotment, citing violation of Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2013.The case relates to private placement compliance, where companies raising funds from a select group of investors must follow strict timelines and banking controls. According to the ROC order, the company allotted 2,60,465 equity shares of face value Rs 10 each on June 2, 2022, on a preferential basis. However, the company failed to complete key statutory steps within prescribed time.According to the order, the company submitted an application on the MCA portal, stating that while the allotment was made under Section 42(5), it did not open a separate bank account for receiving share application money. The funds were instead received in the company’s regular bank account, resulting in violation of Section 42(6), which mandates a dedicated bank account for such receipts.ROC records further show that the company filed e-form on May 17, 2023, reporting that it raised Rs 2.18 crore through the allotment of 2,60,465 equity shares at a premium of Rs 73.85 per share. The filing was made with a delay of 333 days, attracting an additional offence under Section 42(8) and consequent penalty exposure under Section 42(9), which requires timely reporting to the Registrar after allotment.Governance adviser Shilpi Thapar, Consulting Company Secretary, said, “This is a routine Section 42(9) lapse, but the pattern behind it isn’t. ROC filings show enforcement moving from occasional to systemic. Companies can no longer assume such lapses go unnoticed. Liability seems personal: all four directors are named by DIN, not just the company. Section 42(10) puts ‘officers in default’ on the hook individually.”ROC Ahmedabad imposed a penalty of Rs 3.34 lakh each on the company and on each of the four directors. The noticees have been directed to rectify the defaults and pay the applicable penalty within 90 days of receipt of the order.
