Supreme Court: The 3-judge bench of RF Nariman, BR Gavai and Hrishikesh Roy, JJ has held that an entry made in the books of accounts, including the balance sheet, can amount to an acknowledgement of liability within the meaning of Section 18 of the Limitation Act, 1963.
The Court referred to a number of authorities and in particular the decision in Bengal Silk Mills Co. v. Ismail Golam Hossain Ariff, 1961 SCC OnLine Cal 128, wherein it was held that though the filing of a balance sheet is by compulsion of law, the acknowledgement of a debt is not necessarily so. In fact, it is not uncommon to have an entry in a balance sheet with notes annexed to or forming part of such balance sheet, or in the auditor’s report, which must be read along with the balance sheet, indicating that such entry would not amount to an acknowledgement of debt for reasons given in the said note.
The bench explained that the filing of a balance sheet in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 is mandatory, any transgression of the same being punishable by law. However, what is of importance is that notes that are annexed to or forming part of such financial statements are expressly recognised by Section 134(7) of the Companies Act, 2013. Under Section 134, financial statements are to be approved by the Board of Directors before they are signed, and the auditor’s report, as well as a report by the Board of Directors, is to be attached to each financial statement. Equally, the auditor’s report may also enter caveats with regard to acknowledgements made in the books of accounts including the balance sheet.
The Court, hence, held that,
“… it would depend on the facts of each case as to whether an entry made in a balance sheet qua any particular creditor is unequivocal or has been entered into with caveats, which then has to be examined on a case by case basis to establish whether an acknowledgement of liability has, in fact, been made, thereby extending limitation under Section 18 of the Limitation Act.”
[Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd. v. Bishal Jaiswal, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 321, decided on 15.04.2021]
*Judgment by: Justice RF Nariman
Appearances before the Court by
For appellant: Senior Advocate Ramji Srinivasan, learned Senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant,
For respondent: Advocate Abhijeet Sinha
