Corporate Affairs ministry fines Elanco India for non-appointment of secretary

Corporate Affairs ministry fines Elanco India for non-appointment of secretary

Orders directors of the company to pay Rs.11 lakhs

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has imposed a penalty of Rs.11,38,000 on Elanco India Private Limited vide an order under the Companies Act, 2013.

Elanco India is a registered company, which failed to appoint a whole-time Company Secretary from September 2021 till January 2022 with a delay of 122 days. This was in contravention of the provisions of the Companies Act, which prescribes a penalty of Rs.50,000 and Rs.1,000 per day for continuing offence for every director and KMI.

The rule states, "If the office of any whole time key managerial personnel is vacated, the resulting vacancy shall be filled-up by the board at a meeting within a period of six months. Thus, the appointment of the key managerial person is the collective responsibility of the entire board. A whole-time director is included in the definition of the 'Officer in Default' and the key managerial personnel, as per the Companies Act. Thus, the managing director and the whole-time directors are liable for a penalty."

Thus, the ministry's order read, "As per the signatory details available on MCA's portal, the above-mentioned individuals were officers in default during the period of the violation. The noticees' shall pay the penalty amount through MCA's portal and the proof of the payment would be produced for verification within 30 days of the receipt of the order."