The Registrar of Companies (ROC), Pune, in an order dated March 11, 2026, imposed penalties on Steam Equipments Limited and its officers for incorrect disclosure in statutory filings under the Companies Act, 2013.
The case concerns the submission of the financial statements for FY 2024–25 via Form AOC-4 XBRL, in which the company inadvertently reported the Annual General Meeting (AGM) date as September 30, 2025, instead of the actual date, September 27, 2025. Thereafter, the error was determined at the time of an internal review and voluntarily reported via the company through Form GNL-1.
From the order, the same mistake comprises a breach of Rule 8(3) of the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, which puts obligations on both the authorised signatory and the certifying professional to ensure precision of e-form contents and attachments. As no penalty is specified for these defaults, action was opted u/s 450 of the Companies Act, 2013.
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As the adjudicating officer considered that the error was accidental and without any mala fide intent, it was outlined that precision in regulatory filings is important. As per that, Rs 10,000 was charged as a penalty on Mr Rasheed Syed, Director, and Mr Ejaz Akhter, the Chartered Accountant who certified the form.
Also, ROC asked the company to submit a rectified e-form without revising previously filed attachments. The penalties need to be filed in 90 days via the MCA portal, and if the same is not done, then it leads to legal consequences.
The same order specifies that minor clerical errors in compliance filings can draw penalties, supporting the significance of diligence by companies and professionals.
ROC Pune Order
