Skip to main content

Govt finds 130,000 firms without PAN

Govt finds 130,000 firms without PAN
An investigation the Ministry Affairs (MCA) more than 130,000 out of 224,000 taken did not have a permanent account number (PAN) even as they transacted crores of rupees.Sources said the probe indicated only 93,000 firms off by the Registrar of Companies had PAN, which is mandatory transaction above Rs 50,000.

The findings showed these firms did not pay taxes and made it difficult for the authorities to track their transactions, sources said. Absence of statutory filings was cited as a reason for deregistering the firms.

It is learnt that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs is now likely to examine whether all active companies have PAN or not. After the recent rounds of deregistration by RoC, 1.13 million companies remain active.The PAN issue adds to the concerns of the ministry over many banks failing to submit post demonetisation transaction details of companies which were deregistered recently.

State Bank of India (SBI), for instance, has not provided the ministry with the transaction details of companies struck off the registers, sources said.A query The government crackdown on shell companies has not stopped with deregistering 224,000 companies and disqualifying their directors.

The MCA is probing 809 listed companies which are not trace able by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), sources said.While 300,000 directors associated with the struckoff companies have already been disqualified, the number could cross 450,000 as the crackdown continues.

Around 100 disqualified directors have appealed against the government´s decision in various high courts.Also, some 70 odd companies have appealed against being deregistered.In a separate development, there wasa300 per cent jump in the number of applications for PAN post demonetis

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra had said while there were around 250,000 PAN applications per month earlier, the number rose to 750,000 after the Centre announced scrapping of highvalue currency notes last November.

The ministry has also found discrepancies in the data provided by many banks.Analysis of details sent by 13 banks reveals that about Rs 4,500 crore was deposited and withdrawn post demonetisation.

In fact, there are companies with over 100 bank accounts.One of the companies had 2,134 accounts.There were several companies with zero balance as on November 8, 2016 when demonetisation was announced, but some of them deposited funds running into crores of rupees after note ban.

In fact, there were transactions by these companies even after their names were struck off.The surveillance of shell companies could intensify with their real estate coming under the scanner.The firms could be debarred from selling and transferring such properties.The ministry has asked state governments to identify properties owned by shell companies and put them in the custody of the district collectors concerned.

While several chartered accountants suspected to be involved with the struck off companies came under scrutiny too, nothing has been found against them yet.The decision to deregister companies was taken under a special drive byatask force formed by the Prime Minister´s Office.

The task force is working with other enforcement agencies and is jointly chaired by the revenue secretary and the corporate affairs secretary
The Business Standard, New Delhi, 16th November 2017

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Budget: Startup sector gets new Fund of Funds, FM to allocate Rs 10K cr

  The Indian startup sector received a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing the establishment of a new fund of funds (FoF) in the Budget 2025. The minister unveiled a fresh FoF with an expanded scope, allocating Rs 10,000 crore. The initial fund of funds announced by the government with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore successfully catalysed commitments worth Rs 91,000 crore, the minister said.   “The renewal of the Rs 10,000 crore commitment to the Fund of Funds for alternative investment funds (AIFs) is a significant step forward for the Indian startup and investment ecosystem. The initial Rs 10,000 crore commitment catalysed Rs 91,000 crore in investments, and I fully expect this fresh infusion to attract an additional Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in capital,” said Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Funds.   Damani further added that this initiative will provide much-needed growth capital to early-stage startups, further strengthenin...

After RBI rate cut, check latest home loan interest rates of top banks for loans above Rs 75 lakh

  The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points from 6.50% to 6.25% in its monetary policy review as announced on February 7, 2025. After the RBI repo rate cut, banks such as SBI, Canara Bank, PNB, and Union Bank among others have cut their repo linked lending rates. Most other banks are also expected to cut their lending rates in line with the RBI rate cut. After banks cut their lending rates, their home loan borrowers will have to pay less interest. Normally, when a lender cuts the lending rate, borrowers get two options: Either to go for a reduction in EMIs or reduce the tenure of the loan. The second option will help the borrowers clear their home loan outstanding faster. In case, the borrower goes for reduction in EMI then the lower lending rate of the lender would mean lower Equated Monthly Installment (EMI) for borrowers.   EMI is the amount you will pay on a specific date each month till the loan is repaid in full.A repo rate-linked home ...

GST collections rise 9.9% to exceed Rs 1.96 trillion in March 2025

  Gross GST collection in March grew 9.9 per cent to over Rs 1.96 lakh crore, government data showed on Tuesday. GST revenue from domestic transactions rose 8.8 per cent to Rs 1.49 lakh crore, while revenue from imported goods was higher 13.56 per cent to Rs 46,919 crore. Total refunds during March rose 41 per cent to Rs 19,615 crore. After adjusting refunds, net GST revenue stood at over Rs 1.76 lakh crore in March 2025, a 7.3 per cent growth over the year-ago period.       - Business Standard 02 th March, 2025