AstraZeneca Pharma India Faces ROC Penalty Over Delayed MD Appointment Filing
New Delhi: The Registrar of Companies (ROC), Bengaluru, has imposed a penalty of Rs 1.88 lakh on AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited and Rs 50000 each on its former officers held responsible for a delay in filing Form MR-2 for the 2023 appointment of Dr Sanjeev Kumar Panchal as managing director.
AstraZeneca Pharma India informed that the company received an order dated September 17, 2026, from the Registrar of Companies (‘ROC’), whereby a penalty has been imposed on the company and its erstwhile officers, pertaining to a delay in filing Form MR-2 in connection with the appointment of Dr Sanjeev Kumar Panchal as Managing Director of the company in the year 2023.
According to the company, Panchal’s appointment took effect on January 1, 2023, but the required Form MR-2 was filed after the prescribed deadline. He served as managing director until June 30, 2025.
The company said it had explained to the ROC that Panchal’s Director Identification Number (DIN) was incorrectly shown as inactive on the MCA portal because of an alleged failure to file DIR-3 KYC. AstraZeneca Pharma India maintained that the KYC filing requirement did not apply at the time. It said the DIN was activated in August 2023 after sustained follow-up, allowing it to complete the required filings.
The ROC issued the penalty order under Section 454 of the Companies Act, 2013, for a violation of Section 201 of the Act read with Rule 7(3) of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration) Rules, 2014. The filing specifies a penalty of ₹1.88 lakh for the company and ₹50,000 per former officer held responsible; it does not state how many officers were penalised.
