Maxwell Engineering disclosed 46 late TDS payments and ESIC notice

Maxwell Engineering disclosed 46 dated late Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) payment entries and two interest-only demand-notice entries, including a 184-day delay in 2024, and said it had received an Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) notice. An auditor certificate dated October 17, 2026 reported no undisputed statutory dues or due returns pending, while historical proceedings remained possible.

What statutory compliance issues did Maxwell Engineering disclose?

Maxwell Engineering disclosed past delays and non-compliances involving employee contributions, tax deductions and statutory filings, which it attributed primarily to administrative and operational reasons. The disclosures cover Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), ESIC, TDS, profession tax and other statutory compliance matters, as well as a past failure to deduct provident-fund contributions from salary paid to promoter-directors.

Maxwell Engineering also said it had received an ESIC notice alleging non-compliance under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. The company said it had responded to the notice, but the supplied record does not disclose an outcome; it said an adverse order could result in a demand, interest, damages, penalties or other regulatory action. As of the date of the red herring prospectus, Maxwell Engineering said no penalties had been levied for the disclosed delays or defaults.

The record identifies two delayed EPF payments and two delayed ESIC payments. An EPF payment of Rs 1.78 lakh for December 2024 was paid two days late on January 17, 2025, while an EPF payment of Rs 1,000 for October 2025 was paid 28 days late on December 13, 2025. ESIC payments of Rs 11,000 for April 2023 and Rs 18,000 for April 2024 were paid 15 days and three days after their respective due dates.

Maxwell Engineering further disclosed one missed TDS deduction under Section 194C on a payment of Rs 11,000 dated March 26, 2024. The missed deduction was Rs 213.74 and was attributed to a missed entry. Its TDS return in Form 24Q for the January 31 to March 31, 2024 period, covering salary of Rs 1.57 crore and TDS of Rs 1.83 lakh, was filed one day after the May 31, 2024 deadline.

Why do Maxwell Engineering’s late TDS payments matter?

Maxwell Engineering’s TDS schedule records 46 dated late-payment entries from March 2023 through June 2026, plus two interest-only entries against demand notices. TDS is tax deducted by a payer and remitted to the government, and the disclosed schedule covers Sections 194A, 194C, 194J, 194Q, 192B, 206C and two entries labelled Section 94C.

The longest disclosed delay was 184 days for an April 2024 Section 194C payment due on May 7, 2024 and paid on November 7, 2024; the associated interest was Rs 332. Two March 2024 entries labelled Section 94C were each paid 141 days late on August 26, 2024, with interest of Rs 49 and Rs 333. The company attributed each of these three delays to administrative delay.

The pattern continued after the 2024 exceptions. Maxwell Engineering listed 27 dated late-payment entries for January through November 2025, compared with seven dated entries for calendar 2024 and 11 dated entries for January through June 2026. The 2025 entries included a 49-day delay for May 2025 TDS under Section 194C, paid on July 26, 2025 with Rs 2,160 of interest, and seven August 2025 entries with delays ranging from six to 28 days.

The interest amounts across all 48 schedule entries total Rs 13,354, based on the individual amounts Maxwell Engineering listed. The largest single interest amount was Rs 4,500 on a Section 194J payment for September 2025 that was paid eight days late on October 15, 2025. The schedule also includes Rs 180 paid on October 28, 2024 and Rs 350 paid on July 26, 2025 as interest-only payments against demand notices, both attributed to calculation errors.

What is the status of the ESIC notice and historical compliance risk?

Maxwell Engineering’s ESIC notice remains an unresolved disclosed matter because the supplied record does not state that the proceeding has been closed or decided. The company said it has responded to the notice, but also warned that ESIC or another authority could impose interest, damages, penalties or other action relating to historical delayed statutory compliance.

The distinction between current dues and historical exposure is set out in the October 17, 2026 certificate issued by JAYAM & Associates LLP, Maxwell Engineering’s statutory and peer-review auditors. The certificate confirmed that no undisputed statutory dues were outstanding and no statutory returns that had become due remained pending on that date. That confirmation does not state that past delays, demand notices or the ESIC proceeding cannot be pursued later.

Maxwell Engineering said regulatory action could require additional expenditure and divert management time and resources. The company specifically linked a potential adverse outcome to its business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and reputation, while making no quantified provision or forecast for a possible ESIC demand in the supplied pages.

The record also shows filing issues in other compliance areas. Five Registrar of Companies forms due between October 2022 and June 2025 were filed late, with additional fees ranging from Rs 300 to Rs 3,600, while an MSME Form I due on October 31, 2024 was filed on April 23, 2025 without an additional fee. Those matters are separate from the TDS schedule but show that the disclosed compliance issues extended beyond tax remittances.

What changed by October 2026?

Maxwell Engineering reported a current compliance position as of October 17, 2026, rather than an assurance that historic matters no longer carry risk. The auditor certificate says no undisputed dues were outstanding and no due statutory returns were pending, whereas the late-TDS schedule records payment delays continuing until June 2026, with the latest payments made on July 22, 2026.

The latest five dated TDS entries involved April, May and June 2026 obligations. An April 2026 Section 194C payment was made 15 days late, two May 2026 Section 194C payments were each made 30 days late, and June 2026 payments under Sections 194C and 194J were each made 15 days late. Interest for those five entries ranged from Rs 37 to Rs 93.

Maxwell Engineering said it cannot assure that future delays or penalties will not occur. The October 2026 position would therefore depend on statutory payments and returns being made on time, the ESIC matter being resolved without adverse action, and authorities not initiating or continuing action over the historical entries documented through July 2026.

Conclusion

Maxwell Engineering’s disclosure combines 46 dated TDS payment delays, two interest-only demand-notice entries and a pending ESIC compliance matter. The October 17, 2026 auditor certificate establishes that undisputed dues and due returns had been cleared by that date, but it does not remove the possibility of action on historical delays.

The next disclosed matter to watch is the outcome of the ESIC notice and whether authorities seek interest, damages or penalties for the listed past defaults. Maxwell Engineering’s June 2026 TDS obligations were paid in July 2026, so continued timely remittances after the October 2026 certificate would be required for its current compliance position to persist.