If a company wishes to stop doing business, it may remove its name from the register. The Registrar of Companies (‘ROC’) has the power to remove a company’s name from the Register of Companies’ list for a number of reasons. In addition, a company may request that its name be removed from the Register of Companies by contacting the ROC.
This section of the Companies Act, 2013 (the “Act”) outlines the procedure for deleting company names from the ROC or voluntarily by the business. Dissolved companies may be more rapidly dissolved with an order to have their name stricken from public records. It’s the simplest and fastest way to wind down a business.
Request for Voluntary Dissolution of a Corporation
Companies may remove their name from the Register of Companies if they adopt a special resolution or have the approval of 75% of its members (measured in terms of paid-up capital). Once the business has fulfilled all of its duties and wishes to have its name removed from the ROC’s register, it must make an application on the following grounds:
- Since its inception, the company has failed to begin conducting business within a year of its incorporation.
- For two consecutive financial years, a company is considered dormant if it has not made an application for dormancy and has been inactive or not engaged in any activity.
- The ROC must make a public notice in the manner stipulated by the Act upon receipt of the firm’s application for the removal of the company name from the register of corporations.
Filing an application to be struck out as a company is now restricted
If, at any point within the previous three months, the corporation committed any of the following acts, the firm cannot request to have its company strike off:
Filing with the National Company Law Tribunal (‘Tribunal’) for sanctioning an arrangement or compromise, and the matter has not been resolved participation in other activities
A fine of up to Rs.1 lakh and additional penalties may be imposed on a company requesting that its name be stricken off in contravention of the restrictions listed above.
A company’s name has been taken down by the ROC
When a company and its directors meet all of these requirements, it is reasonable to believe that the company name or strike-off company name should be taken from the register of companies:
Companies that fail within one year of formation, are inactive for two consecutive financial years, and have not applied to be designated as a dormant corporation in accordance with the Act’s Section 455 are considered “dormant.”
Submissions and copies of essential documents must be submitted within 30 days after the ROC’s notification of intent to remove the company’s name from its corporate register of companies.
How to Get a Company’s Name Removed from Public Records
Publication in the Official Gazette of a ROC notice or a company application for the purpose of removing a company’s name from the register is required to inform the general public. The ROC will remove a company’s name from the Register of Companies unless a business presents a compelling reason for doing so within the indicated time limit in the notice for striking off.
An official notice of dissolution will be published in the Official Gazette after the company’s name has been struck out of its record in the Register of Companies. As soon as the notice is published in the UK’s Official Gazette, the company will be dissolved.