55,000 shell firms struck off in 2nd phase: Chaudhary

Mumbai: The government Friday said it has struck off around 55,000 shell companies in the second phase of its efforts to curb illicit fund flows and some of the companies have been served notices and are under scrutiny.

The corporate affairs ministry has already struck off over 2.26 lakh firms for non-filing of financial statements or annual returns for a continuous period of two years or more as part of the first phase of the drive.

"So far as the shell companies are concerned, in the first phase, we have struck off around 2.26 lakh companies, which were not only non-compliant firms but also most of them were bogus. More than 400 companies were working from a one-room setup.

"In the second phase, we have already struck off around 55,000 companies, and more are on the anvil," minister of state for corporate affairs PP Chaudhary told reporters on the sidelines of the fourth edition of the annual convention of the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce here.