2020 (9) TMI 1089 - HC - Companies Law

Benefit of LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020 dated 04.03.2020 read with the subsequent modification thereto vide Circular dated 30.03.2020 - Section 460 of the Companies Act, 2013 - plea of the petitioner(s) in the present applications is that they have been denied the benefit of the Scheme only on the ground that they uploaded the forms pursuant to the order dated 06.12.2018 of this Court - HELD THAT - This, in my opinion, cannot be a valid ground for denying the benefit of the Scheme to the petitioners. The petitioner(s) cannot be denied the benefit of the Scheme as such denial would be totally arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioner(s) cannot be put in a position worse than those who never challenged the position prevailing before the announcement of the Scheme, before this Court. It is held that the petitioner(s) are entitled to the benefit of the Scheme and they shall not be denied the same only on the ground that their documents were uploaded pursuant to the order passed by this Court in the present petitions, prior to 31.10.2019 - Petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
Petitioners seeking benefit of 'LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020' for delayed filing of statutory documents.

Analysis:
1. The petitioners filed applications seeking to avail the benefit of the 'LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020' for condonation of delay in filing statutorily required documents with the Registrar. The Scheme aimed to provide a one-time relaxation in additional fees to defaulting LLPs for filing pending documents and ensuring compliance with statutory requirements.

2. The Scheme defined a "defaulting LLP" as one that had failed to file documents on the due dates specified under the LLP Act, 2008. It was applicable to defaulting LLPs for documents due until 31st October 2019, allowing them to file belated documents without additional fees and granting immunity from prosecution for defaults rectified by 30th September 2020.

3. The petitioners alleged that they faced difficulties in uploading required forms due to a glitch in the respondents' system. The Court had earlier directed the respondents to enable the petitioners to upload pending forms without additional fees, with the final fee to be determined later. Subsequently, the petitioners uploaded their forms as per the Court's order.

4. The Court held that denying the petitioners the benefit of the Scheme solely because they uploaded documents before 31st October 2019, pursuant to the Court's order, would be arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioners could not be put in a worse position than those who did not challenge the status quo before the Scheme's announcement.

5. Therefore, the Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, stating that they were entitled to the Scheme's benefits and should not be denied based on the timing of their document uploads. The applications and petitions were disposed of with directions in favor of the petitioners.