M/s Unique School App India LLP
- CitationRBI Compounding Order CA No. MUM941/2019
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
The compounding authority holds that a contravention of paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to FEMA 20, consisting of reporting receipt of foreign inward remittance towards equity beyond the thirty-day period prescribed by that paragraph, may be compounded under section 15(1) of FEMA and the Foreign Exchange (Compounding Proceedings) Rules, 2000, where the contravention is admitted in the application and the applicant has made the declarations required by the application, so that the matter is disposed of by payment of a compounding amount in lieu of adjudication under section 13. The authority holds that, in fixing the compounding amount, the penalty ceiling under section 13 (up to thrice the sum involved) is a measure against which leniency may be exercised, and that the compounding amount may be fixed at a sum below that ceiling on consideration of the relevant facts and circumstances of the case. The authority holds that the compounding order is conditional on the veracity of the applicant's declarations that it is not under enquiry, investigation or adjudication and has not appealed under sections 17 or 19, and that the order is without prejudice to other action if those declarations prove false, and is confined to contraventions of paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to FEMA 20 and does not bar other authorities from proceeding 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 Sandeep Kulkarni Assistant General Manager October 31, 2019 CA No. MUM941/2019 In the matter of M/s Unique School App India LLP 210, 2nd Floor Town Centre 1, Marol Naka, AK Road, Andheri East, Mumbai 400 059 (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 August 02, 2019, received at the Reserve Bank on August 06, 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) Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to FEMA 20: Delay in reporting receipt of foreign inward remittance towards subscription to equity
FED, MRO, CEFA, M/s Unique School App India LLP, CA No: MUM 941/2019
2 Brief details of the applicant are as follows: Date of Incorporation November 11, 2016 Its main activities are: Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 3 The applicant received foreign inward remittance from non-resident investor towards equity 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 received Date of Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to No/ inward (in INR) reporting to FEMA 20 LSF remittanc RBI e (DD-MM-YY) (DD-MM-YY) 1 23-05-17 9 ,300.00 26-11-18 1Y 5M 3D TOTAL 9 ,300.00
In terms of Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to FEMA 20, an Indian LLP receiving Foreign Direct Investment 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 reported receipt of remittance to the Reserve Bank of India on date indicated above with a delay of 1Y 5M 3D. 4 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 October 22, 2019. The applicant applied for waiver of personal hearing vide e mail dated October 30, 2019. The applicant, in the compounding application, had admitted the contravention as stated above for which compounding has been sought. It had been submitted that the contravention was not wilful and was 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. 5 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) Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to FEMA 20, due to the delay in reporting of receipt of foreign inward remittance towards equity as detailed above. The contravention relates to total amount of Rs.9,300 (Rupees Nine Thousand Three Hundred and Zero Paise Only) with a delay of 1Y 5M 3D approximately.
FED, MRO, CEFA, M/s Unique School App India LLP, CA No: MUM 941/2019
6 It has been declared in the compounding application dated August 02, 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. 7 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.698 (Rupees Six Hundred Ninety Eight and Zero Paise Only) will meet the ends of justice. 8 Accordingly, I compound the admitted contravention/s namely, the contravention/s of Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to 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. 698 (Rupees Six Hundred Ninety Eight 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.
9 The above order is passed only in respect of contraventions of Paragraph 6(1) of Schedule 9 to 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. 10 The application is disposed of accordingly. dated: October 31, 2019 Compounding Authority (Sandeep Kulkarni) Assistant General Manager
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