MCA vide its notification dated August 18, 2022 amended the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014 and called it the Companies (Incorporation) Third Amendment Rules, 2022. In the Companies (Incorporation) Rules, 2014, after rule 25A, the following rule is inserted:

25B. Physical verification of the Registered Office of the company.

(1) The Registrar, based upon the information or documents made available on MCA 21, shall visit at the address of the registered office of the company and may cause the physical verification of the said registered office for the purposes of sub-section (9) of section 12, in presence of two independent witness of the locality in which the said registered office is situated and may also seek assistance of the local police for such verification, if required.

(2) The Registrar shall carry the documents as filed on MCA 21 in support of the address of the registered office of the company for the purposes of physical verification and to check the authenticity of the same by cross verification with the copies of supporting documents of such address collected during the said physical verification, duly authenticated from the occupant of the property whereat the said registered office is situated.

(3) The Registrar shall take a photograph of the registered office of the company while causing physical verification of the same.

(4) The report of the physical verification shall be prepared in the following format as provided in the notification.

(5) Where the registered office of the company is found to be not capable of receiving and acknowledging all communications and notices, the Registrar shall send a notice to the company and all the directors of the company, of his intention to remove the name of the company from the register of companies and requesting them to send their representations along with copies of relevant documents, if any, within a period of thirty days from the date of the notice before taking further actions in accordance with the provisions of section 248 of the Act.

As a result of this amendment, the companies which do not provide genuine address of their registered office, may run the risk of their name getting struck off from the ROC records.