MCA allows 1,270 requests from CA, CS bodies to merge user IDs
Aug 14, 2023
Synopsis
The ministry of corporate affairs in India has granted 1,270 requests from professional associations - including company secretaries and chartered accountants - to deactivate or merge duplicated user IDs in the first month of permitting the move. The move was to allow such professionals to file corporate details via the latest MCA 21 portal, which allows only individual IDs per user. Earlier versions of the software had allowed multiple IDs, leading to filing difficulties.
The ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) has entertained 1,270 requests from bodies representing company secretaries and chartered accountants for the merger or deactivation of multiple user IDs of their members in the first month of allowing such an exercise, according to the latest official data.
The move will now enable these professionals to use the latest version of the MCA21 portal for various corporate filings because, unlike its earlier avatars, the version 3 or V3 portal doesn’t entertain more than one ID per user to plug its abuse.
Amid outcry over technical glitches involving the V3 portal, the MCA had on July 12 allowed professionals like chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants to merge into one or deactivate the multiple user IDs. The existence of multiple user IDs of a professional was cited as one of the important reasons for the difficulty in corporate filings through the V3 portal.
These professionals were asked to put in their requests through self-regulatory bodies such as the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). These bodies would then examine the requests and forward them to the MCA for action wherever required.
According to the data compiled by the MCA, 1,086 requests of the ICSI and 184 of the ICAI for the merger/deactivation of user IDs of their members have been executed on the MCA21 (version 3 or V3) portal.
A record 82,628 entities, including companies and limited liability partnership (LLP) firms, were incorporated in India in the first four months of the current fiscal. Also, 1.96 million forms were filed on the V3 portal between April and July. Data also shows that 243,155 forms relating to LLPs were filed this fiscal until July 16, higher than 209,064 a year ago.
Ever since the roll out of the V3 portal for companies on January 23, there have been persistent complaints about glitches on the portal. Following a directive by finance and corporate affairs minister Nirmala Sitharaman to fix the issues at the earliest, the MCA, along with LTIMindtree—the operator of the portal—held stakeholder consultations in major cities. The ministry has also directed LTIMindtree to expeditiously resolve issues flagged by the users.
Sources had earlier said that the latest version of the MCA21 portal is geared to remove any scope of malpractice. It now requires proper validation for user registration (through permanent account number or director identification number, etc.), as part of a ‘two-factor authentication’ process. Similarly, the new system ensures that the digital signature certificate with a form is linked to the user ID and password for which it’s being used, in a bid to prevent abuse of the system, they had said.
[The Economic Times]
