Establishment of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (Section 211 of the Companies Act, 2013) :
Section 211 of the Companies Act, 2013 provides for the establishment of Serious Fraud Investigation Office as under:
(i) Setting up of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) [Section 211 (1)]: The Central Government shall, by notification, establish an office to be called the Serious Fraud Investigation Office to investigate frauds relating to a company.
(ii) Continuation of earlier SFIO: Until the SFIO as mentioned above is established, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office set-up by the Central Government in terms of the Government of India Resolution No. 45011/16/2003-Adm-I, dated 2nd July, 2003 shall be deemed to be the Serious Fraud Investigation Office for the purpose of this section.
(iii) Composition of SFIO [Section 211 (2)]: The SFIO shall be:
(a) Headed by a Director, and
(b) Consist of such number of experts from the following fields to be appointed by the Central Government from amongst persons of ability, integrity and experience in, —
(1) banking;
(2) corporate affairs;
(3) taxation;
(4) forensic audit;
(5) capital market;
(6) information technology;
(7) law; or
(8) such other fields as may be prescribed.
(iv) The Central Government shall, by notification, appoint a Director in the SFIO, who shall be an officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India having knowledge and experience in dealing with matters relating to corporate affairs [Section 211 (3)].
(v) The Central Government may appoint such experts and other officers and employees in the SFIO as it considers necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions under this Act [Section 211 (4)].
According to the Companies (Inspection, Investigation and Inquiry) Rules, 2014, the Central Government may appoint persons having expertise in the fields of investigations, cyber forensics, financial accounting, management accounting, cost accounting and any other fields as may be necessary for the efficient discharge of Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) functions under the Act.
(vi) Terms and conditions of service: The terms and conditions of service of Director, experts, and other officers and employees of the SFIO shall be such as may be prescribed [Section 211 (5)].
The terms and conditions of service of the above mentioned officers have been laid down in the Companies (Inspections, Investigations and Inquiry) Rules, 2014.