M/s Milano Luxury Garments Private Limited
- CitationRBI Compounding Order CA No. MUM 846/2019
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
The compounding authority holds that a contravention of the FEMA regulations may be compounded under section 15(1) of the Act, on the applicant's admission of the contravention and payment of the compounded sum, where the applicant's declarations that it is not under enquiry, investigation or adjudication and has filed no appeal under sections 17 or 19 are accepted as true, and the order is expressly made subject to the veracity of those declarations. The authority holds that the compounding order binds only in respect of the contraventions compounded, namely the delayed reporting of inward remittances under para 9(1)(A) and the delayed filing of Form FC-GPR under para 9(1)(B) of FEMA 20, and that it does not restrict any other authority from proceeding against the company for other contraventions.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
In the Reserve Bank of India Foreign Exchange Department Mumbai Regional Office Main Building, 3rd floor Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg, Fort Mumbai 400 001 Present Shri Sunil Vinayak Potphode Assistant General Manager April 12, 2019 CA No. MUM 846/2019 In the matter of M/s Milano Luxury Garments Pvt Ltd No 3 Amrutamshu, 1st Cross, 1st Main R.M.V. 2nd Stage, 3rd Block, Devasandra, Bangalore 560054 (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 February 27, 2019, received at the Reserve Bank on February 28, 2019, for compounding of contravention/s of the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (the FEMA) and the regulations issued thereunder. The contraventions 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):
FED, MRO, CEFA, M/s Milano Luxury Garments Private Limited, CA No: MUM 846/2019 a) Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20: Delay in reporting receipt of foreign inward remittance towards subscription to equity b) 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
2 Brief details of the applicant company are as follows: Date of Incorporation January 17, 2011 Its main activities are: Trading in Textile Garment Items
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 under 9(1)(A) &/or Para 8 (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
S No/ Date of Amount received Date of Para 9 (1) A Date of Para 8 LSF inward (in INR) reporting to RBI delay allotment delay remittance / refund (DD-MM-YY) (DD-MM-YY) 1 05/05/11 499,980.00 7/1/2011 0Y 0M 26D 05/05/11 0 2 05/05/11 10.00 7/1/2011 0Y 0M 26D 05/05/11 0 3 18/07/11 44,500,000.00 8/3/2011 0 15/09/11 0 TOTAL 44,999,990.00 Two Remittances out of the above were reported with a delay of 0Y 0M 26D beyond the stipulated time of 30 days. Whereas, in terms of Paragraph 9 (1) (A) of Schedule 1 to FEMA 20, an Indian company issuing shares or convertible debentures 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.
4 The company allotted equity shares/compulsorily convertible preference shares/compulsorily convertible debentures and filed FC-GPRs as indicated below:
FED, MRO, CEFA, M/s Milano Luxury Garments Private Limited, CA No: MUM 846/2019
Contravention under Para 9(1)(B) (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 Sno/ Date of Number of IP (FV+ Amount Date of Para 9 (1) LSF allotment shares premium) (FV*no of reporting (B) delay (DD-MM-YY) (in INR) shares) (DD-MM-YY) (in INR)
1 05/05/11 1 10 10 10/08/11 0Y 2M 5D 2 05/05/11 49998 10 499,980 10/08/11 0Y 2M 5D 3 15/09/11 1 10 10 14/10/11 0 4 15/09/11 4449998 10 44,499,980 14/10/11 0 TOTAL 44,999,980 The applicant filed form FC-GPRs as indicated above, out of which two form FCGPRs were reported with a delay of 0Y 2M 5D. Whereas, in terms of Paragraph 9(1) (B) of Schedule 1 to Notification No. 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. 5 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 April 03, 2019. The applicant applied for waiver of personal hearing vide e mail dated April 04, 2019. 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.
6 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: a) 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.499,990 (Rupees Four Lakh Ninety Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety and Zero Paise Only) with a delay of 0Y 0M 26D approximately.
b) 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.499,990 (Rupees Four Lakh Ninety Nine Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety and Zero Paise Only) with a delay of 0Y 2M 5D approximately.
FED, MRO, CEFA, M/s Milano Luxury Garments Private Limited, CA No: MUM 846/2019
7 It has been declared in the compounding application dated February 27, 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. 8 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.20,667 (Rupees Twenty Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Seven and Zero Paise Only) will meet the ends of justice.
9 Accordingly, I compound the admitted contravention/s namely, the contravention/s of Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20 and Para 9 (1) (B) 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. 20,667 (Rupees Twenty Thousand Six Hundred Sixty Seven 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. 10 The above order is passed only in respect of contraventions of Para 9 (1) (A) of FEMA 20 and Para 9 (1) (B) of FEMA 20 and does not restrict the right of any other authority to proceed against the Company for any other violations/contraventions noticed at any point of time. 11 The application is disposed of accordingly. dated: April 12, 2019 Compounding Authority (Sunil Vinayak Potphode) Assistant General Manager
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