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FACC Solutions Pvt Ltd

Reserve Bank Of India28 February 2020

Ratio decidendi

The rule this decision rests on

The compounding authority holds that a contravention of para 9(1)(A) of FEMA 20 is established where an Indian company reports receipt of foreign inward remittance towards subscription to equity, compulsorily convertible preference shares or compulsorily convertible debentures later than thirty days from the date of receipt of the consideration, and that such a contravention may be compounded under the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000 upon payment of the sum fixed. The authority holds that a contravention of para 9(1)(B) of FEMA 20 is established where an Indian company submits Form FC-GPR to the Reserve Bank later than thirty days from the date of issue of shares to a non-resident, and that such a contravention is compoundable on the same footing. The authority holds that a contravention of para 8 of FEMA 20 is established where an Indian company neither issues shares nor refunds the amount to the non-resident investor within 180 days of receipt of the inward remittance, and that such a contravention is compoundable on the same footing. The authority holds that, in fixing the compounding amount below the statutory maximum of up to thrice the sum involved under section 13 of FEMA, it may take a lenient view having regard to the relevant facts and circumstances of the case, including the applicant's admission of the contraventions and its submission that they were not wilful, provided the applicant's declarations of truth and of the absence of any pending enquiry, investigation, adjudication or appeal are accepted, subject to the order being without prejudice to other action if those declarations prove false.

Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.

Judgment

As delivered

Reserve Bank of IndiaForeign Exchange DepartmentMumbai Regional OfficeMain Building, 3rd floorShahid Bhagat Singh Marg, FortMumbai 400 001

CA No. MUM 996/2019 In the matter of M/s FACC Solutions Pvt Ltd L5, Suyog Nagar Off Senapati Bapat Road Pune 411 016 (Applicant) In exercise of the powers conferred under section 15(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and the Regulations/Rules/Notifications/Orders made thereunder, I pass the following

Order 1 The applicant has filed the compounding application dated September 11, 2019, received at the Reserve Bank on November 11, 2019, for compounding of contravention/s of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (the FEMA) and the regulations issued thereunder. The contravention/s sought to be compounded are in respect of the following (Regulations/ paras under Schedule 1 to Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations 2000, notified vide Notification No. FEMA 20/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 and as amended from time to time (hereinafter referred to as FEMA 20):

(i) Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20: Delay in reporting receipt of foreign inward remittance towards subscription to equity (ii) Para 9 (1) (B) of FEMA 20: Delay in filing Form FC GPR to Reserve Bank after issue of shares to person resident outside India (iii) Para 8 of FEMA 20: Neither the equity instruments were issued, nor the money refunded to the foreign investor within 180 days from the receipt of the inward remittance

2 Brief details of the applicant company are as follows: Date of Incorporation May 20, 2011 Its main activities are: Aircraft parts manufacturing and designing

3 The applicant received foreign inward remittances from non-resident investors towards equity shares / compulsorily convertible preference shares/ compulsorily convertible debentures and it reported the same to the Reserve Bank on dates as indicated below.

Delay in reporting Foreign Direct Investment &/or delay in allotting the shares/ refunding the amount (whereas, "Y" represents delay in number of years, "M" represents delay in number of months and "D" represents delay in number of days, and LSF stands for : Late Submission Fees

Sr. Date of Amount Date of Delay in Date of Delay in No/ inward received reporting reporting allotment/ allotment LSF remittance (in INR) to RBI Foreign refund or refund (DD-MM-YY) (DD-MM-YY) Investment (DD-MM-YY)

1 01-10-11 0 02-12-11 0Y 0M 0D 02-09-11 4,08,000.00 1 01-10-11 0 12-06-12 0Y 3M 02-09-11 6,412.50 13D 2 04-10-11 0Y 0M 17D 02-12-11 0Y 0M 0D 17-08-11 1,20,000.00 2 04-10-11 0Y 0M 17D 12-06-12 0Y 3M 17-08-11 2,587.52 28D 3 16-01-12 0Y 3M 21D 02-12-11 0Y 0M 0D 25-08-11 1,20,000.00 3 16-01-12 0Y 3M 21D 12-06-12 0Y 3M 25-08-11 5,405.87 20D 4 22-09-15 0Y 1M 20D 30-08-15 0Y 0M 0D 02-07-15 56,17,930.00 5 22-09-15 0Y 1M 1D 30-08-15 0Y 0M 0D 21-07-15 53,16,190.00 5 13-03-17 0 17-02-17 0Y 0M 0D 13-02-17 86,86,417.50 TOTAL 2,02,82,943.00

In terms of Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20, an Indian company issuing equity shares/ compulsorily convertible debentures/compulsorily convertible preference shares in accordance with these Regulations should report to the Reserve Bank of India as per the prescribed procedure not later than 30 days from the date of receipt of the amount of consideration. However the applicant company reported receipt of remittances to the Reserve Bank of India on dates indicated above in 6 out of 9 total remittances with a delay ranging from 0Y 0M 17D to 0Y 3M 21D.

4 In respect of remittances amounting to Rs.14,406/- (Rupees Fourteen Thousand Four Hundred Six and Zero Paise Only), indicated in the table above the company allotted shares/ refunded the amount after 180 days from the date of receipt of investment. Whereas in terms of para 8 of FEMA 20, an Indian company is required to issue shares or refund the amount within 180 days from the date of receipt of inward remittance. The period of delay under this para ranges from 0Y 3M 13D to 0Y 3M 28D.

5 The company allotted equity shares/compulsorily convertible preference shares/compulsorily convertible debentures and filed FC-GPRs as indicated below:

Delay in filing Form FCGPR (whereas, "Y" represents delay in number of years, "M" represents delay in number of months and "D" represents delay in number of days, LSF stands for : Late Submission Fees, IP stands for Issue Price and FV stands for Face Value

Sr. Date of Number of IP (FV+ Amount (IP*no Date of Delay in no/ allotment shares premium) of shares) reporting filing LSF (DD-MM-YY) (in INR) (in INR) (DD-MM-YY) FCGPR

1 02-12-11 40800 10.00 02-01-12 0 4,08,000.00 1 02-12-11 12000 10.00 02-01-12 0 1,20,000.00 1 02-12-11 12000 10.00 02-01-12 0 1,20,000.00 2 30-08-15 1093412 10.00 28-01-16 0Y 3M 1,09,34,120.00 28D 3 17-02-17 868641 10.00 06-12-17 0Y 8M 86,86,410.00 19D TOTAL 2,02,68,530.00

The applicant filed form FC-GPRs as indicated above with a delay ranging from 0Y 3M 28D to 0Y 8M 19D. Whereas, in terms of Para 9(1) (B) of FEMA 20, an Indian company issuing shares in accordance with these Regulations has to submit to RBI a report in Form FC-GPR along with documents prescribed therein within 30 days from the date of issue of shares to Non Resident.

6 The applicant was given an opportunity for personal hearing, for further submission in person and/or for producing documents, if any, in support of the application vide e-mail dated February 18, 2020. The applicant applied for waiver of personal hearing vide e mail dated February 20, 2020. The applicant, in the compounding application, had admitted the contraventions as stated above for which compounding has been sought. It had been submitted that the contraventions were not wilful and were unintentional. The application for compounding is, therefore, being considered on the basis of the averments made in the application as well as other documents and submissions made in this context by the applicant.

7 I have given my careful consideration to the documents on record and thereafter. Accordingly, I hold that the applicant has contravened the following FEMA provisions issued in terms of: (i) Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20, due to the delay in reporting of receipt of foreign inward remittance towards subscription towards shares as detailed above. The contravention relates to total amount of Rs.1,11,82,112/- (Rupees One Crore Eleven Lakh Eighty Two Thousand One Hundred Twelve and Zero Paise Only) and with a delay ranging from minimum 0Y 0M 17D to maximum 0Y 3M 21D approximately.

(ii) Para 9 (1) (B) of FEMA 20, due to the delay in submission of Form FC-GPR to the Reserve Bank after issue of shares to persons resident outside India and the contravention relates to total amount of Rs.1,96,20,530/- (Rupees One Crore Ninety Six Lakh Twenty Thousand Five Hundred Thirty and Zero Paise Only) and with a delay ranging from minimum 0Y 3M 28D to maximum 0Y 8M 19D approximately.

(iii) Para 8 of FEMA 20, since the shares were neither issued nor the amount was refunded to the person resident outside India within the prescribed time from the date of receipt of the inward remittance. The contravention relates to total amount of Rs.14,406/- (Rupees Fourteen Thousand Four Hundred Six and Zero Paise Only) and with a delay ranging from minimum 0Y 3M 13D to maximum 0Y 3M 28D approximately.

8 It has been declared in the compounding application dated September 11, 2019 that the particulars given by the applicant in the application are true and correct to the best of their/his/her knowledge and belief. It has also been declared in a declaration attached to the compounding application that the applicant was not under any enquiry/investigation/adjudication by any agency as on the date of the application and has, in this regard, not informed of initiation of any such enquiry/investigation/ adjudication proceedings against it/him/her thereafter. It has further been declared that the applicant has not filed any appeal under section 17 or section 19 of FEMA, 1999. Accordingly, the above contraventions which are being compounded in this Order are subject to the veracity of the above declarations made by the applicant and this order is without prejudice to any other action which may be taken by any authority under the extant laws if the said declarations are subsequently discovered to be false and/or incorrect.

9 In terms of Section 13 of the FEMA, any person contravening any provision of the Act shall be liable to a penalty up to thrice the sum involved in such contravention upon adjudication. However, taking into account the relevant facts and circumstances of the case as stated in the foregoing paragraphs, I am persuaded to take a lenient view on the amount for which the contraventions are to be compounded and I consider that an amount of Rs.45,100/- (Rupees Forty Five Thousand One Hundred and Zero Paise Only) will meet the ends of justice.

10 Accordingly, I compound the admitted contravention/s namely, the contravention/s of Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20, Para 9 (1) (B) of FEMA 20 and Para 8 of FEMA 20, by the applicant, on the facts discussed above in terms of the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000 on payment of an amount of Rs. 45,100/- (Rupees Forty Five Thousand One Hundred and Zero Paise Only) which shall be deposited by the applicant with the Reserve Bank of India, Foreign Exchange Department, Mumbai Regional Office, Main Building, 3rd floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort, Mumbai-400001 by a demand draft drawn in favour of the "Reserve Bank of India" and payable at Mumbai within a period of 15 days from the date of this order. In case of failure to deposit the compounded amount within the above-mentioned period, Rule 10 of the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000 dated May 3, 2000 shall apply.

11 The above order is passed only in respect of contraventions of Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20, Para 9 (1) (B) of FEMA 20 and Para 8 of FEMA 20 and does not restrict the rights of any other authority to proceed against the Company for any other violations/contraventions noticed at any point of time.

12 The application is disposed of accordingly. Sd/- (Aviral Jain) Chief General Manager and Compounding Authority Dated: February 28, 2020

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