Authority: National Company Law Tribunal Chandigarh Bench (Court-I)

Order Date: 14 July 2026

Case Overview

The appeal was filed by Al-Amaan Frozen Pvt Ltd (Applicant Company) through its Director Mr. Mohammad Imran under Section 252(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Rule 87A of the NCLT Rules, 2016, seeking restoration of its name to the Register of Companies maintained by the Registrar of Companies, Chandigarh (Respondent No. 1). The Income Tax Department (Respondent No. 2) was also a party to the proceedings.

The Applicant Company was incorporated on 16 September 2008 (CIN: U15209PB2008PTC032290) with an authorized share capital of ₹2,00,000 and was engaged in manufacturing frozen food products. Its registered office was at B-9/527, Near Gaushala, Moti Bazar, Malerkotla-148023, Punjab.

The company failed to file Financial Statements and Annual Returns after the financial year 2017-18. Consequently, the Registrar of Companies struck off its name from the register on 26 February 2022 under Section 248 of the Companies Act, 2013. The company attributed this default to financial losses and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but asserted it was carrying on business at the time of striking off. It submitted evidence of land ownership at Village Himmatana, District Sangrur, Punjab, and a No Objection Certificate from the Gram Panchayat for establishing a factory.

The Registrar of Companies confirmed in its report dated 29 June 2026 that the last filed documents were for the financial year ending 31 March 2018 and that the company had not obtained dormant status under Section 455. The Income Tax Department, in its report dated 25 June 2026, confirmed that no outstanding income tax demands or proceedings were pending against the company and raised no objection to the restoration.

The Tribunal analyzed the provisions of Section 252(3), which require it to be satisfied that the company was carrying on business or in operation at the time of striking off, or that it is just to restore the name. The company undertook to file all outstanding statutory documents, including Financial Statements and Annual Returns from 2018-19 onwards, along with applicable fees, upon restoration.

Final Outcome

The Tribunal allowed the appeal (Company Appeal No. 3/Chd/Pb/2026) and ordered the restoration of the company's name to the register of the Registrar of Companies, Chandigarh, subject to the following conditions:

1. The Applicant Company must pay a cost of ₹50,000 to the Prime Minister National Relief Fund within three weeks of receiving the certified copy of the order.

2. The Registrar of Companies shall restore the original status of the company as if its name had never been struck off, changing its status from 'struck off' to 'active'.

3. The company must file all pending statutory documents (annual accounts and returns) with prescribed fees/additional fees/fines as decided by the ROC within 45 days of the restoration date.

4. The company must deliver a certified copy of this order to the ROC within 30 days of receipt.

5. The ROC may publish the order in the Official Gazette at the company's cost after compliance.

6. This order does not preclude the ROC from taking action for any other violations committed by the company before or during the struck-off period.

7. The Income Tax Department may take necessary action as per law for non-filing or belated filing of Income Tax Returns and recovery of any outstanding demand.

The restoration is confined to the violations that led to the striking off and aims to allow the company to rectify its defaults and resume operations.

Topics: Company Restoration, Regulatory Compliance