The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued Notification No. G.S.R. 476(E) dated August 05, 2024, to notify the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Amendment Rules, 2024. These amendments, which will come into effect on September 16, 2024, aim to streamline the process of adjudicating penalties under the Companies Act, 2013.
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 454 read with section 469 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014, namely: -
1. (1) These rules may be called the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Amendment Rules, 2024.
(2) They shall come into force from the 16th day of September, 2024.
2. In the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Rules, 2014,―
(i) after rule 3, the following rule shall be inserted, namely:-
"3A. Adjudication Platform.- (1) On the commencement of the Companies (Adjudication of Penalties) Amendment Rules, 2024, all proceedings (including issue of notices, filing replies or documents, evidences, holding of hearing, attendance of witnesses, passing of orders and payment of penalty) of adjudicating officer and Regional Director under these rules shall take place in electronic mode only through the e-adjudication platform developed by the Central Government for this purpose.
(2) In case the e-mail address of any person to whom a notice or summons is required to be issued under these rules is not available, the adjudicating officer shall send the notice by post at the last intimated address or address available in the records and the officer shall preserve a copy of such notice in the electronic record in the e-adjudication platform referred to in sub-rule (1):
Provided that in case no address of the person concerned is available, the notice shall be placed on the e-adjudication platform."
(ii) For the Annexure to the said rules, the following Annexure shall be substituted.
Official copy of the notification has also been attached
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