Register of charges

The register of charges records every charge the company creates, and every modification and satisfaction, in Form CHG-7. It should match what has been registered with the ROC through CHG-1 and CHG-4.

What goes in it

• Description of the charge and the property charged
• Amount secured
• Charge holder
• Dates of creation, modification and satisfaction
• The charge ID given on registration

Mistakes that come up

• A charge satisfied with the lender but no CHG-4 filed and no entry in the register
• Charge IDs missing, so the register cannot be reconciled with the ROC's index

Keeping it electronically

Section 120 allows records to be kept in electronic form in the manner the rules prescribe. Rule 27(1) of the Companies (Management and Administration) Rules, 2014 speaks of listed companies and companies with 1,000 or more shareholders, debenture holders and other security holders; for a smaller company, whether Keel holds the register itself or a sealed copy kept beside it is for the company and its company secretary to decide. Rule 28 sets the conditions for electronic records, among them protection against unauthorised alteration, a dated backup at least once a day, records that can be reproduced in readable form, and systems that can "discern invalid and altered records" (rule 28(2)(e)); under it the board names who is responsible, where backups are kept and who has access.

How it is kept on Keel

Each entry is sealed with a fingerprint chained to the one before it, and a correction is a new entry that points at the one it corrects, so the register shows its own history. Your firm keeps preparing it in the tool it uses today; Keel imports the export. See a sealed register of members.