Re-opening of accounts on court‘s or Tribunal‘s orders
Section 130 of the Companies Act, 2013 deals with re-opening of accounts on court‘s or Tribunal‘s orders. A company shall not re-open its books of account and not recast its financial statements, unless an application in this regard is made by the Central Government, the Income-tax authorities, the Securities and Exchange Board, any other statutory regulatory body or authority or any person concerned an The Act came into force on 01 Apr 2014.
(1) A company shall not re-open its books of account and not recast its financial statements, unless an application in this regard is made by the Central Government, the Income-tax authorities, the Securities and Exchange Board, any other statutory regulatory body or authority or any person concerned and an order is made by a court of competent jurisdiction or the Tribunal to the effect that--
(i) the relevant earlier accounts were prepared in a fraudulent manner; or
(ii) the affairs of the company were mismanaged during the relevant period, casting a doubt on the reliability of financial statements:
Provided that the court or the Tribunal, as the case may be, shall give notice to the Central Government, the Income-tax authorities, the Securities and Exchange Board or any other statutory regulatory body or authority concerned 1[or any other person concerned] and shall take into consideration the representations, if any, made by that Government or the authorities, Securities and Exchange Board or the body or authority concerned 1[or the other person concerned] before passing any order under this section.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in this Act the accounts so revised or re-cast under sub-section (1) shall be final.
2[(3) No order shall be made under sub-section (1) in respect of re-opening of books of account relating to a period earlier than eight financial years immediately preceding the current financial year:
Provided that where a direction has been issued by the Central Government under the proviso to sub-section (5) of section 128 for keeping of books of account for a period longer than eight years, the books of account may be ordered to be re-opened within such longer period.]
Section 130, The Companies Act, 2013 (Act 18 of 2013).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Hari Sankaran vs Union of India
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Upholding the NCLT order permitting the Central Government to reopen and recast five years of accounts of IL&FS, IFIN and ITNL, the Court held that the order under Section 130(1) and (2) suffered from no illegality because the conditions precedent in the section were satisfied on the material showing mismanagement and fraudulent accounts, and because the reopening was directed in the larger public interest to find out the real truth. It further held that there was no breach of natural justice, the erstwhile (and by then suspended) directors having in fact appeared before the Tribunal and opposed the Section 130 application, and that a subsequent RBI report could be noticed in support of the order.
On this section: This is the Supreme Court's construction of Section 130 itself: it fixes what the Tribunal must find before allowing reopening and recasting, and who is entitled to be heard on such an application.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… in the IL&FS Group seeking to implead them in the said proceedings and an order to attach their immovable/movable properties. 2.5 On the basis of the interim report and a prima facie opinion of the Institute of Chartered Accountants dated 04.12.2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filed a petition under section 130 of the Companies Act, 2018 before the NCLT praying inter alia that the books of accounts of IL&FS, IFIN and IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL) may be re-opened and recast. Vide order dated 01.01.2019 passed in Section 130 petition, the NCLT directed that the accounts of IL&FS, IFIN & ITNL for the past …
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… in the IL&FS Group seeking to implead them in the said proceedings and an order to attach their immovable/movable properties. 2.5 On the basis of the interim report and a prima facie opinion of the Institute of Chartered Accountants dated 04.12.2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filed a petition under section 130 of the Companies Act, 2018 before the NCLT praying inter alia that the books of accounts of IL&FS, IFIN and IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL) may be re-opened and recast. Vide order dated 01.01.2019 passed in Section 130 petition, the NCLT directed that the accounts of IL&FS, IFIN & ITNL for the past …
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… in the IL&FS Group seeking to implead them in the said proceedings and an order to attach their immovable/movable properties. 2.5 On the basis of the interim report and a prima facie opinion of the Institute of Chartered Accountants dated 04.12.2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs filed a petition under section 130 of the Companies Act, 2018 before the NCLT praying inter alia that the books of accounts of IL&FS, IFIN and IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL) may be re-opened and recast. Vide order dated 01.01.2019 passed in Section 130 petition, the NCLT directed that the accounts of IL&FS, IFIN & ITNL for the past …
Made under this section, and citing it
3 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
- Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Amendment Rules 2018Rule 2018
- Companies (Registration of Office and Fees) 2nd Amendment Rules 2018Rule 2018
- Commencement Notification under Section 1(3) of the Companies Act, 2013 and Notification constituting the Benches of National Company Law TribunalNotification 2016
Questions about Section 130
What have the courts held on Section 130 of the Companies Act?
Hari Sankaran vs Union of India (04 Jun 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: This is the Supreme Court's construction of Section 130 itself: it fixes what the Tribunal must find before allowing reopening and recasting, and who is entitled to be heard on such an application.
How do I find court cases under Section 130 of the Companies Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Companies Act 130, section 130 Companies Act, section 130 of the Companies Act. People searching for it also type companies act 2013 section 130. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Hari Sankaran vs Union of India (04 Jun 2019).
What should I read with Section 130 of the Companies Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 128 (Books of account, etc., to be kept by company), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 3 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Amendment Rules 2018 (2018), then Companies (Registration of Office and Fees) 2nd Amendment Rules 2018 (2018).
When did Section 130 of the Companies Act come into force?
Section 130 of the Companies Act, cited as Companies Act 130, came into force on 01 Apr 2014, having been enacted on 29 Aug 2013. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions5089 words
- 143. Powers and duties of auditors and auditing standards1867 words
- 230. Power to compromise or make arrangements with creditors and members1432 words
- 232. Merger and amalgamation of companies1416 words
- 149. Company to have Board of Directors1403 words
- 217. Procedure, powers, etc., of inspectors1390 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 14 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.