The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) had struck off as many as 29,059 non-compliant companies in FY21 and FY22, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
Replying to an unstarred question, Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State for Corporate Affairs said that against this 3,21,325 new companies were incorporated during these two financial years.
The total number of registered companies as on March 31, 2022 is 23,26,640 and active companies are 14,37,045. Thus approximately 1.2 per cent of the total registered companies have been struck off under Section 248 (1) of the Companies Act, 2013, Singh added.
Further, as per MCA record it is observed that 97,023 companies had zero turnover during 2020-21 and 2021-22, he added.
Non-compliances, for which MCA strikes off names, include failing to commence business within one year of incorporation, not carrying on any business or operation for a period of two immediately preceding financial years and not making any application within such period for obtaining the status of a dormant company, not carrying on any business or operations as revealed after the physical verification, etc.
Action for striking off names of companies is taken by Registrars of Companies (RoCs) for the companies which have failed to file the statutory returns for a period of two immediately preceding financial years as it is presumed that the company is not carrying on business activity.
Singh, who is also Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Planning, said the government has undertaken a number of steps to provide Ease of Doing Business including decriminalisation of Sections under Companies Act 2013; lesser penalties for small companies, OPC, start-ups, Producer Companies, etc and revision of definition of listed companies.
The requirement for investing 15 per cent of amount of debentures maturing in a particular year in specified instruments has been done away with for listed companies and NBFCs when such debentures are issued on a private placement basis, he added.