Everything you want to know about filing of Investor Complaint eForm

Prabhat Nigam

10 Sep, 2022

Many a times the investor gets cheated by the companies because of the mismanagement and frauds committed by the company and its officials. In order to give the aggrieved investor an option to file a complaint against unjust and illegal activities committed by the company and its officials, the Registrar of Companies (RoC) has come out with Investor Complaint eForm wherein the investors can file in the grievances against the company and get them within the knowledge of RoC so that RoC can resolve the dispute and protect the interests of the investor.

This facility of filing of complaints electronically is one step ahead in providing access to justice to the aggrieved investor. The right to file a complaint against the unfair and illegal activities of the company and its management lies in the section 206(4) of the Companies Act, 2013 which allows any person to make a representation against the frauds, unlawful practices or non-compliances by the company to the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

The RoC has a right to inspect the books and call for information and make the necessary inquiries and it is vested with the powers of civil court while conducting inspection and inquiry. Further, if the RoC is convinced that there is merit in the matter, then it can submit a report to the Central Government with the supporting documents asking for further investigation in the matter.

What is an Investor Complaint eForm?

As the name suggests, this is an electronic form for the purpose of filing of complaints by any of the parties such as investors, creditors, depositors, employees, shareholders with regards to their bonds, shares, fixed deposits, debentures etc. against a company.

The parties mentioned have also been given an alternative option where they can file their complaint in a written form and submit the same directly to the office of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

The investor can file complaints in the following cases:

1. Oppression of shareholders
2. Mismanagement of affairs of the company
3. Accounting frauds
4. Serious frauds by the management
5. Removal of Director
6. Cessation of Director
7. Other complaint of similar nature

Instructions to be kept in mind while filing Investor Complaint eForm

Following are the instructions that have been given by the MCA at the time of filing of Investor Complaint eForm:

1. For every separate/independent complaint even against the same company or LLP, the complainant must file a separate form. This means for every complaint against the same company/LLP, a separate complaint form shall be filed. This helps in the effective tracking and closure of separate complaints.
2. A source of relief for the complainants is that the MCA has not prescribed any fees for filing of the complaint.

Procedure for filing

• The first step that the complainant has to do is to select the type and nature of business the company/LLP is involved in against which the aggrieved investor wants to file the complaint.
• The next step involves selecting the nature of the complaint from the given options followed by the selection of the status of the complainant from the given options along with the details of the investor or other stakeholders such as name and address.
• Then the complainant has to file the Corporate Identity Number (CIN) or Limited Liability Partnership Identity Number (LLPIN) of the company or LLP against which the complainant wants to file the complaint.
• The complainant then files in the particulars of his shares/deposits or other securities invested in the company along with the details of his complaint in a descriptive manner so that the MCA official is able to understand his grievance properly.
• The complainant is also supposed to attach his identity proof and any other document which he feels is necessary for supporting his complaint.

The Investor Complaint eForm shall be submitted to the Registrar of Companies (RoC). After successful completion of the eForm, a Service Request Number (SRN) shall be generated and future correspondence with respect to the complaint shall be done using this SRN only. Once the complaint is received by ROC, an acknowledgment email shall be delivered to the complainant.

The complainant can track the status of his complaint using the option of Track Complaint Status on MCA website. 

Instances where Investor Complaint Form is not filed

Following are the situations where an aggrieved party’s complaint will not be entertained by the MCA under Investor Complaint eForm:

1. The grievances related to the RBI registered Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) or Residuary Non-Banking Companies shall be entertained by RBI and not by MCA.
2. The grievances related to RBI registered intermediaries like stock brokers, share transfer agents, DPs, Mutual Funds etc. shall be entertained by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
3. The complaints regarding Chit Funds falling within the scope of Price Chit and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 shall be entertained by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Schemes and the companies carrying on chit fund business are also entertained by the DEA. 
4. Grievances related to Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) are lodged with SEBI and not under the eForm.
5.  In case of deficiency of services from the company, then the complaint shall be dealt by the Consumer fora.
6. Complaints related to misuse of digital signature shall be dealt under the provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000.
7. Complaints related to Real Estate Companies must be referred to Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)
8. In cases of disputes related to the title of the properties or disputes of commercial nature, the complaints can be filed with the NCLT^[1].

Conclusion

The opportunity of electronic filing of complaints is one step ahead in extending access to justice to aggrieved investors. However, it must be remembered that this is a platform for redressal of grievances so it should not be misused by the investors by filing false complaints against the company.

Read our article:MCA grants Extension and Relaxation in Certain Compliances