September 2021
On September 23, 2021, the Registrar of Companies (“ROC”) granted an automatic extension of 2 months for holding Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) for Financial Year (“FY”) 2020-21.
What is AGM extension: As per section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013, every company is required to hold its first AGM within 9 months from the end of its first FY and subsequent AGMs within 6 months from the end of every FY. If any company is unable to hold its subsequent AGM on or before the due date i.e. September 30, it can apply for extension of a maximum of 3 months in form GNL-1 with concerned ROC.
Automatic AGM 2021 extension: Pursuant to representations made by many stakeholders, each ROC has issued a separate notification granting automatic extension by extending the AGM date for FY 2020-21 from September 30, 2021 to November 30, 2021. There is no requirement for filing form GNL-1. However, this extension is not applicable for first AGM of a company. The ROCs have also clarified that the notification covers all pending and rejected forms GNL-1, and the extension will be deemed to have been granted without any further action by the company.
Video Conferencing (“VC”): As per law, companies are not allowed to convene their general meetings through VC. However, by a General Circular 20/2020 dated May 5, 2020, the MCA allowed companies to convene their AGM for FY 2019-20 through VC. In continuation of General Circular 20/2020, the MCA issued a General Circular 2/2021 on January 13, 2021 and allowed the companies to convene their AGM through VC for FY 2020-21 as well.
By:
Jaya Moorjani