
By : Bikram singh Chandam
When minutely examined on internet, the leading financial Companies of Manipur like,- Lamjingba Nidhi, Smart, Birla Emporium, Panthoibi etc.etc. are found operating within the purview of āRegulated Deposit Schemesā of the Gazette of India, Extraordinary [Part II] Column (3) of First Schedule [Sec 2 (15)], Sl. No. 9 registered under the Companies Act 2013 (18 of 2013) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India as Regulator:
Accordingly these financial Companies are permitted to accept deposits under the āMinistry of Corporate Affairsā Government of India in the following manner,-
(i) deposits are accepted or permitted under chapter V of the Companies Act 2013 (18 of 2013): and
(ii) any scheme or arrangement under which deposits are accepted by a Company declared as a āNidhiā or a mutual benefit Society under Sec 406 of the Companies Act 2013 (18 of 2013):
However, itās rather ridiculous to find the unnecessary inclusion of Lamjingba Nidhi, Smart, Panthoibi, Birla Emporium etc.etc. in the agenda of Round 10 discussion of the State Level Consultative Committee (SLCC) Meeting for discussion of the activities of āNon Banking Financial Companies (NFBCs)ā and Unincorporated bodies for the state of Manipur: The SLCC Meeting held on 8th Decā 2019 has also made an unnecessary attempt to drag such financial Companies of Manipur under the āUnregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019ā:
Here, itās noteworthy to mention that the āBanning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019ā as the SLCC is going to bring into is totally out of its purview while dealing with the financial Companies of Manipur like,- Lamjingba Nidhi, Smart, Birla Emporium and Panthoibi et.etc. as they are all regulated deposit schemes which are governed totally under a different provision of law as mentioned in the 1st Para of this post:
The Revenue Commissioner has also been appointed as the āAppropriate Authorityā vide Finance Deptās order No. 3/366/2018/IF dated 3rd Decā 2019 for dealing with the āBanning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019ā:
However, this order can not be considered to have extended its jurisdiction over such financial Companies of Manipur which are registered under the Companies Act 3013 (18 of 2013) and governed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India as Regulator, under āRegulated Deposit Schemesā:
The relevant provisions of the āRegulated Deposit Schemesā which governed such financial Companies of Manipur are reproduced herewith for ready reference, along with SLCC agenda and Finance Deptās order:
May also refer to my earlier post made on Saturday the 14th Decā 2019 at 11.56 pm on this issue for more details:
The provisions for āBanning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act 2019ā is not reproduced as it is not relevant with the context:
Therefore, the āCompetent Authorityā may kindly make an in-depth study of the relevant provisions of the āMinistry of Corporate Affairsā Govt of India and the āCompanies Act 2013 (18 of 2013)ā for making a clarification of the matter to the public in its earliest convenience with a view to defuse misunderstandings created earlier and avert any kind of panicky situation:
Disclaimer: However, I donāt vouch for any of the Companies to be within the purview of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India and the Companies Act 2013 (18 of 2013) which do not adhere to the relevant acts & rules in their financial practice