C-Pace Set Up To Streamline Company Strike-Off Process

To provide for a hassle-free filing, timely and process-bound striking off of companies’ names from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) Register, the Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE) has been established under Section 396(1) of the Companies Act, 2013.

As per the press release dated May 13, 2023, this move will help in centralising the strike-off process of companies, reducing the burden on the Registry, keeping the Registry clean and making available additional data to the concerned stakeholders.  In the recent past, the Ministry has taken several measures towards Ease of Doing Business and ease of exit for companies, and the launch of C-PACE is one such measure.

The Companies (Removal of Names of Companies from the Register of Companies) Amendment Rules, 2023 which came into effect on May 1, 2023, shifted the responsibility of striking off companies from Registrar of Companies (RoC) to Registrar, C-PACE. As per these rules, an application for removal of the company’s name under Section 248(2) of the Act has to be made to the Registrar, C-PACE in the prescribed form accompanied by payment of the stipulated fee. The rules also specify that the Registrar, C-PACE shall be the RoC for exercising functional jurisdiction of processing and disposal of applications.

The Centre’s office, situated at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA), Haryana, was inaugurated on May 1, 2023, and will be under the control of the Director General of Corporate Affairs.