ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: The Registrars of Companies of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) adjudicated 108 companies during September 2005 for violations of different legal provisions, said a statement.

The violations mainly pertained to delay in filing of annual accounts, various statutory returns and documents with the registrar of companies beyond the prescribed period including the late filing of annual returns on Forms A/B, Forms 29, Forms 21, circulars for further issue of capital, returns of allotment, statements of beneficial ownership of listed securities and notices of special resolution passed by the companies.

Out of these, 65 cases pertained to late notification of election and appointment of directors and other officers on Forms 29 by the corporate entities.

Of the 108 cases, 102 were adjudicated by the Registrars at the Company Registration Offices (CROs) in eight cities of the country. The CRO Lahore adjudicated 47 companies while CROs in Karachi and Islamabad adjudicated 17 and 18 companies respectively.

CROs at Faisalabad, Peshawar and Multan adjudicated 11, 5 and 4 companies, respectively. The Registrar of Companies at the SECP head office adjudicated six cases.

The monitoring and enforcement measures of the SECP sought to infuse a culture of corporate discipline and statutory compliance. It was envisioned that these measures would encourage transparency in the disclosure of corporate affairs and lead to the establishment of sound corporate governance practices.