Companies Must Pay Late Filing Fees Despite Administrative Circular as Statutory 30-Day Window Under Section 137 Prevails

HC ruled against petitioner companies seeking refund of additional fees charged for delayed financial statement filing. Companies held AGM on 29.10.2019 within statutory period but failed to submit financial statements within mandatory 30-day window per Section 137 of Companies Act. Court determined that administrative circular dated 29.10.2019 extending filing deadline to 30.11.2019 cannot override statutory timeframes. Circular only applied to companies with ROC-approved AGM extensions beyond September 30. Penalty imposed from 30.10.2019 was upheld as legally valid since administrative directives cannot amend statutory provisions. Court emphasized that Section 403 mandates penalties of minimum Rs.100/day for late filings without discretionary waiver options. .....

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