e-filing of Annual Return, Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account of companies has been made mandatory from tomorrow i.e. 16th September, 2006 by the Ministry of Company Affairs. Annual Filing corner on the portal, www.mca.gov.in contains details on e-filing of the documents.
All electronic filings require Director Identification Number (DIN) to be furnished as part of the e-Forms. DIN is mandatory for all existing directors and those intending to be directors. One can apply online for DIN. Necessary information in this regard is available on Ministry’s website, www.mca.gov.in.
e-Forms are required to be signed digitally using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). It is illegal to use the DSC of any other person. Certifying Authorities (CA) have been granted license to issue DSC with a validity of one or two years under Section 24 of the Indian IT-Act 2000. One can procure Class 2 or 3 certificates from any of the certifying authorities such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), National Informatics Center (NIC), IDRBT Certifying Authority, SafeScrypt CA Services, Sify Communications Ltd., (n) Code Solutions CA, MTNL Trust Line and Customs & Central Excise.
Recognizing the problems associated with paper-based manual filing coupled with increased volumes of business, the Ministry of Company Affairs has adopted an alternative, more efficient system. This alternative approach is being implemented through the ‘MCA21’ - a major e-Governance initiative with a view to introduce efficiency and transparency in service delivery. It is an initiative to strengthen the regulatory framework and facilitate compliance of rules at minimum cost with convenience to the stakeholder. MCA21 provides for online availability of all of Ministry’s services which can be accessed anytime and anywhere. These services include name availability, name registration, company incorporation, various compliance services such as annual returns filing, various event based services like charge document registration etc. These services can be accessed online by logging onto www.mca.gov.in which is available in a 24X7 manner through the internet and also through various facilitation centers established by the Ministry. Using these, any service can be invoked online. Payment can be done electronically, status can be tracked online and communication with the Ministry can be done through email. This also provides for search of comprehensive company database including viewing of public documents online upon payment of necessary fees electronically.
BY- 57/06
(Release ID :20746)