General Circular No. 14/2020
F. No. 2/112020-CL-V
Government of India
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
5th Floor. 'A' Wing, Shastri Bhawan,
Dr. R. P. Road, New Delhi-110001
Dated: 8 April, 2020
To
All Regional Directors,
All Registrar of Companies,
All Stakeholders.
Subject: Clarification on passing of ordinary and special resolutions by companies under the Companies Act, 2013 and rules made thereunder on account of the threat posed by Covid-19.
Sir/Madam,
Several representations have been received in the Ministry for providing relaxations in the provisions of Companies Act, 2013 (the Act) or rules made thereunder to allow companies to pass ordinary and special resolutions of urgent nature, in view of the difficulties faced by the stakeholders on account of the threat posed by Covid-19. The issues raised in the said representations have been examined considering the overall situation at present.
2. The Act does not contain any specific provision for allowing conduct of members' meetings through video conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM). It has been noted that section 108 of the Act and rules made thereunder provide for relevant companies to allow e-voting (including remote e-voling) in case of general meetings convened by them. Section 110 of the Act, on the other hand, allows the companies to pass resolutions (except items of ordinary business and items where any person has a right to be heard) through postal ballot (which includes electronic ballot and electronic voting under section 108). In view of the current extraordinary circumstances due to the pandemic caused by COVID19 prevailing in the country, requiring social distancing, companies are requested to take all decisions of urgent nature requiring the approval of members, other than items of ordinary business or business where any person has a right to be heard, through the mechanism of postal ballot/e-voting in accordance with the provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder, without holding a general meeting, which requires physical presence of members at a common venue.
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