因未任命女性董事，RoC对某上市公司处以罚款

In the case of 

S. S. Forgings and Engineering Limited 公司

S. S. Forgings and Engineering Limited（以下简称“该公司”）的注册办事处位于马哈拉施特拉邦。该公司在孟买证券交易所上市。根据《2014年公司（董事任命与资格）规则》第3(i)条及《2013年公司法》第149条的规定，该公司必须任命一名女性董事。然而，该公司未能任命任何女性董事。

根据第3(i)条规定，新成立的公司须在6个月内任命女性董事。此外，董事会应尽早填补任何临时空缺，且不得晚于紧随其后的董事会会议或自空缺之日起三个月内（以较晚者为准）。但在本案中，该公司不属于上述任何类别。因此，通过协调性解读，给予该公司自财政年度开始起3个月的宽限期。

据此，因未遵守《2013年公司法》第149条的规定，该公司被处以18.5万卢比的罚款，其董事总经理被处以10万卢比的罚款。

文章：

1. 案情简介：

• S. S. Forgings and Engineering Limited（以下简称“该公司”）的注册办事处位于马哈拉施特拉邦。

• 根据该公司的财务报表，具体情况如下：
  • 实收股本：7.80亿卢比
  • 营业额：5.96万卢比

• 该公司为孟买证券交易所的上市公司。

• 作为一家上市公司，根据《2014年公司（董事任命与资格）规则》第3(i)条的规定，该公司必须强制任命一名女性董事。

• 然而，该公司未能任命任何女性董事。因此，公司注册处（RoC）向该公司发出了说明理由通知书，但未得到回应。

延伸阅读：因未按MGT-14表格向公司注册处提交决议副本，公司注册处处以巨额罚款

2. 相关法律摘录

现将公司法相关摘录重述如下，以供参考：

• 有关公司任命女性董事的规定载于《2013年公司法》第149条及《2014年公司（董事任命与资格）规则》第3条。

• 第149条：

“(1) 每家公司均应设有董事会，由个人担任董事，并应具备：

(a) 公众公司至少三名董事，私人公司至少两名董事，一人公司至少一名董事；以及

(b) 最多十五名董事：

但书规定，公司在通过特别决议后可任命超过十五名董事：

进一步规定，法律规定的特定类别公司应至少有一名女性董事。

• 《2014年公司（董事任命与资格）规则》第3条：

“下列类别的公司应至少任命一名女性董事：

(i) Every Listed Company;

(ii) Every other public company having-

(a) Paid-up share capital of one hundred crore rupees or more; or

(b) Turnover of three hundred crore rupees or more:

Provided that a company, which has been incorporated under the Act and is covered under the provision of the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 149, shall comply with such provisions within six months from the date of its incorporation:

Provided further that any intermittent vacancy of a women director shall be filled-up by

the Board at the earliest but no later than the next Board meeting or three months

from the date of such vacancy, whichever is later.

Explanation- For this rule, it is hereby clarified that the paid-up share

capital or turnover, as the case may be, as on the last date of the latest audited $financial

statements shall be taken into account.”

3. Analysis and Findings by the Hon’ble RoC

Hon’ble RoC made the following findings:

• The Company is a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Being a listed Company, it is required to appoint a woman director as per Rule 3(i) of Companies (Appointment and Qualification of Directors) Rules, 2014;

• As per the MCA Database, the company has not appointed even a single Woman Director to date. 

• Now, the issue for determination is whether the period of default shall begin from 1st April 2022 or the Company may be provided with a certain time frame to find a suitable candidate.

• As per Rule 3, a newly incorporated company is required to appoint a woman director within 6 months. Further, any intermittent vacancy shall be filled up by the board at the earliest but no later than the immediate next Board meeting or three months from the date of such vacancy, whichever is later. 

• In the given case, the matter does not fall under either of these categories. Therefore, through harmonious reading, a period of 3 months may be provided to the company from the beginning of the Financial Year to find a suitable candidate and comply with the provisions of the law. 

• Hence, the period of default in the present case is being considered from 1st July of the financial year of default.

4. Order

The Hon’ble RoC held that:

• The penalty shall be imposed on the company for non-compliance with the provisions of Section 149 of the Companies Act.

• Accordingly, the following penalty is imposed on the Company:

Conclusion:

Considering the stringent actions being taken by the RoC and the huge penalties being imposed on the company, it is mandatory for the companies to comply with provisions without any failure. RoC is imposing penalties on multiple companies on a regular basis for even a minor default.