Sebi slaps Rs 20 lakh penalty on HRB Floriculture

Markets regulator Sebi today imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on HRB Floriculture for failing to comply with shareholding disclosure norms within the stipulated time period.
In an order, the watchdog noted that the firm violated SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations and SCR (Securities Contracts Regulation) Act.
Under SAST Regulations, the holdings of promoters or persons having control over the company as on March 31 have to be disclosed to stock exchange within 30 days of the end of a financial year.
According to the regulator, the annual disclosures for period from March 1998 to March 2011, required to be made within 30 days from the end of each financial year were made with substantial delay on January 30, 2012.

Sebi also noted that the disclosures required to be filed within 21 days after the close of each quarter ended June 2006 to September 2011, were filed by the firm on January 30, 2012.
"Hence, by making substantial delay in filing the required quarterly disclosures, noticee (HRB Floriculture) has violated... the SCR Act," Sebi said.
For the violations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 lakh on HRB Floriculture.
In a separate order, the regulator also imposed a fine of Rs 7 lakh on Luharuka Media and Infra -- formerly known as Splash Media and Infra -- for disclosure lapses.