Anomalies in the operations of Registrar of Companies

Almost the entire year of 2020 was under lockdown and COVID-19 restrictions, particularly in the Western Province. Government departments also functioned intermittently on a low scale. The Department of Registrar of Companies (ROC) was no exception. In fact it tried to introduce online services during this period. However, any of the phone numbers given were not answered. 

In the meantime up to a certain date manual filing of annual returns was accepted with proper receipts being issued for the related payments. However, recently ROC officials have gone back on what they did, saying all those manual returns properly filed with payments have to be filed again online with payment.

They checked and accepted the returns, issuing receipts for the payments. Can the ROC make the large number of people who filed these returns duly become the scapegoats for their failures, mistakes and inabilities? 

The ROC must understand that people filed these returns under trying conditions in a pandemic environment in order to comply with ROC annual return filing requirements. Therefore, will the Minister intervene in this matter to give redress to those who have duly filed the return with payment being accepted with the proper receipts?

ROC must not give double trouble to people who complied despite a pandemic situation. 

– S.K. Thilekaratne