ICAI Disciplinary Committee Reprimands CA for Filing Incomplete Balance Sheets on MCA Portal
The complaint by the Deputy Registrar of Companies, NCT of Delhi & Haryana, stated that during inspection of documents of M/s Jupiter Finvest Private Limited, it was found that Balance Sheets for the financial years ending 31.03.2011, 31.03.2012, 31.03.2013 and 31.03.2014 were filed on the MCA portal without attaching the required schedules. The Respondent, a Chartered Accountant, had certified Form 23AC as complete in each of these years.
During the disciplinary proceedings, the Respondent submitted that he had relied on forms duly filled and signed by the auditee and sent to him by mail. He admitted that due to human error, he did not check whether all required schedules were attached. He also stated that he was suffering from health issues at the relevant time, that the lapse was unintentional, and that no personal gain was derived. He later submitted the complete financials to the complainant once the omission came to notice. The Committee also considered the declaration made by the Respondent at the time of certifying Form 23AC, where he certified that all required attachments were enclosed.
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Main Issue: Whether certifying and filing Balance Sheets on the MCA portal without attaching the required schedules amounts to professional misconduct under Item (7) of Part I of the Second Schedule to the CA Act, 1949.
Disciplinary Committee’s Decision: The Committee held that, having certified Form 23AC as complete, the Respondent bore responsibility for ensuring all required attachments were filed. The omission was held to amount to professional misconduct under Item (7) of Part I, Second Schedule to the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.
Given the admission by the Respondent, lack of wrongful enrichment, health problems, and subsequent lodging of full accounts, the Committee felt that the misconduct did not merit a harsh penalty. Thus, the committee ordered the Respondent to be reprimanded under Section 218(3) read with Rule 19(1) of the 2007 Rules.
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