NEW DELHI: The Centre has shifted as many as three top central government offices from Meghalaya to Assam just last month while the state is demanding more and more such institutions in Shillong, the capital of once undivided Assam and one of the first hill stations set up by the Britishers.
The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Shillong MP Vincent Pala that all the three offices of her ministry were shifted to Guwahati on June 22 last. The offices are Regional Directors (North Eastern region), Office of Registrar of Companies and Official Liquidators- all belonging to the high profile Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Altogether, there are seven Regional Directors in-charge of the respective regions, each comprising a number of states and Union Territories. They supervise the working of the offices of the Registrars of Companies and the Official Liquidators working in their regions. These offices also maintain liaison with the respective state governments and the central government in matters relating to the administration of the Companies Act and Limited Liability Partnership Act.
Certain powers of the central government under the Act have been delegated to the Regional Directors.
They have also been declared as heads of department. There is also an inspection unit attached to the office of every Regional Director for carrying out the inspection of the books of accounts of companies under Section 209A of the Companies Act.
The Registrar of Companies is a body that plays a significant role in the administration of various types of companies and limited liability partnerships in India.
Before commencing a business, one needs to register the organisation with the Registrar of Companies which is a part of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The Registrars of Companies (ROC) across India are responsible for registering all companies (private, public and one-person companies) and LLPs. These offices maintain a register of all companies and LLPs in the country, collect fees and offer access to specific details about the companies at a prescribed fee.
The Official Liquidators are officers appointed by the Central Government under Section 448 of the Companies Act, 1956 and are attached to various High Courts.
The Official Liquidators are under the administrative charge of the respective Regional Directors, who supervise their functioning on behalf of the central government.
Sitharaman also made it clear that only a Liaison office under the administrative control of the Regional Director (NE) has been set up in Shillong.
Pala wanted to know the details of the offices shifted and the number of companies getting registered in region.
She, however, did not mention any reason for shifting all these important offices from Meghalaya to Assam.
The move assumes significance since the region has as many as 1086 registered companies as of 2018-19 and the number is increasing.