AGM due date extended by 3 Months for all companies

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs(MCA) notified the extension of time for holding Annual General Meeting (AGM) for Financial Year 2019-20 which ended on 31 March, 2020.

Due to the widespread of COVID-19 and social distancing norms and consequential restrictions linked thereto, MCA has received several representations to allow companies to hold their Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended on 31st March, 2020 beyond the statutory period provided in section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013.

In terms of power vested under the third proviso to sub-section (1) of Section 96 of the Act, the Registrar of Companies extended the time to hold AGM, other than the first AGM, for the financial year ended on March 31, 2020 for Companies within the jurisdiction of this office, which are unable to hold their AGM the provisions of sub-section(1) to Section 96 of the Act, without requiring the for such period within the due date of holding the AGM by a period of three months from the due date by which the AGM ought to have been held in accordance with companies to file applications for seeking such extension by filing the prescribed Form No. GNL-1.

The RoC clarified that the extension granted under this Order shall also cover the pending applications filed in Form No. GNL-1 for the extension of AGM for the financial year ended on 31.03.2020, which is yet to be approved.

Further, the applications filed in Form No. GNL-1 for the extension of AGM for the financial year ended on March 31, 2020, which were rejected, where the approval for extension of AGM up to 3 months from the due date of the AGM shall be deemed to have been granted without any further action on the part of the company.

The MCA notified the extension via RoC for the State of Delhi and Mumbai, and extension in the other states RoC will be notified soon.