The current regulatory scenario demands the Company Secretary to be more vigilant and diligent specifically about the applicability of multiple laws and timely compliances. Briefly comment on the statement.

The Company Secretary has a vital role to play in the event of invocation of any action under the Act. The current regulatory scenario demands the Company Secretary to be more vigilant and diligent specifically about the applicability of multiple laws and timely compliances thereunder as he being a Key Managerial Person is jointly liable for any non-compliances under the applicable legislation. The role which a Company Secretary can play includes: To ensure timely compliances of the provisions of the Act to avoid any action for default or failure To represent the Company before the ROC, RD or NCLT, in the event of any action for default or failure To develop a robust internal compliance system which generates the details of compliances undertaken and any compliance lapses in a timely manner To initiate the compounding procedure in the event of any non-compliance(s) coming to light and to avoid recurrence of such non-compliances in future To ensure timely and appropriate disclosure pertaining to penalties or compounding offences or action by any authorities. Further, since the Practicing Company Secretaries are also covered under section 447 of the Companies Act, 2013, they should ensure that they are not certifying any returns or issuing any report which contains any false certification or information or omits any material information or facts, as such a failure to ensure proper verification of compliances may lead to the Practicing Company Secretary being liable to penalties under the above referred provisions as well as disciplinary proceedings under the guidelines issued by ICSI.