The Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS) has directed multi-state cooperative societies to immediately file their annual returns for the financial year 2025-26, warning of financial penalties and a five-year disqualification for board members in case of non-compliance.
In a notice, the Ministry of Cooperation said several multi-state cooperative societies had failed to submit their annual returns within the prescribed six-month deadline under Section 120 of the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002, as amended in 2023.
The list accompanying the notice names 1,276 multi-state cooperative societies that are required to comply with the statutory filing requirement.
Under Section 104(1) and (3) of the Act, violations may attract a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh. In case of a continuing breach, an additional fine of up to Rs 10,000 per day may be imposed after conviction for the initial breach.
More significantly, Section 43(2)(e) provides that board members of a society failing to file annual returns within the stipulated period shall be ineligible for election to the board for five years.
The CRCS has directed the defaulting societies to submit their returns online through the official portal, www.crcs.gov.in, immediately.
