As MCA updates its portal, companies unable to complete essential filings

Various unlisted companies are encountering business-related hurdles as the portal of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has failed to resolve its technical glitches, reported The Economic Times (ET).

Market experts said several of these companies were already in violation of the filing rules due to their inability to submit certain forms, thanks to the portal issues.

MCA moved to a new version of the portal, V3, from V2 last year. This is the first major filing season after the move, when companies need to use the updated version of the portal.

Companies are facing a number of compliance-related issues after the update, including disclosure of private placements, appointment of directors and creation of charge documents. Companies have not been able to complete these requirements as the portal continues to face glitches, making uploading of forms difficult, said compliance experts, the report added.

Given their inability to complete these compliance-related requirements, they now face the possibility of auditor red-flags and fines, they added.

The law dictates that auditors raise red flag to any failure in compliance as specified under the Companies Act.

To alleviate the issue, the MCA on January 23 extended the timeline for filing of 46 different forms by 15 days.

While the additional time may soften the blow and give companies the time to comply, business continuity is impacted until the portal issue is resolved, say experts.

Technology company LTIMindtree is the developer of this new MCA portal.

ET sent queries to the developer, responding to which an LTIMindtree spokesperson said: “We wish to clarify that the state-of-the-art MCA21 portal is working fine. The latest version of the portal incorporates several critical controls and validations. Users must fully adapt to them for seamless regulatory filings".

“We are working closely with MCA on a phased rollout of the latest version. The portal has registered 1.6 million filings in the last one year alone, far higher than the number for the corresponding period of last year,” the spokesperson was quoted by the report.