Can the Registrar extend the date of an AGM?
The Registrar may extend an annual general meeting by up to three months, on an application in Form GNL-1, for a reason. That power does not cover the first AGM. The application window for the year ended 31 March 2020 closed on 29 September 2020.
What happened to the 2020 extension?
For the financial year ended 31 March 2020, companies could apply to the Registrar for more time, and the last date to make that application was 29 September 2020. General Circular 20/2020 also allowed the 2020 meeting to be held by video conferencing. Both of those measures were for that year. A company planning the meeting for a later year follows section 96 as it stands now.
What is the standing date?
Every company other than a one person company holds an AGM. The first one is within nine months of the first financial year end. Each later one is within six months of the financial year end, and not more than 15 months after the previous AGM. For a year ending 31 March, the six-month date is 30 September. The meeting rules are on the AGM page.
How is a later year extended?
The company files GNL-1 with the Registrar of Companies before the due date and states the reason. The third proviso to section 96(1) lets the Registrar extend the time by a period not exceeding three months. For a 31 March year, an extension that is granted in full moves the meeting to a date not later than 31 December.
Three months, on GNL-1. The Registrar’s extension cannot exceed three months, and it is not available for the first AGM.
Can the first AGM be extended?
No. The proviso that gives the Registrar this power excludes the first annual general meeting. A company in its first year holds the meeting within nine months of that financial year end. The filings that follow the meeting, AOC-4 and MGT-7, are on the private company compliance page.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover the 2020 date, the three-month limit, GNL-1, and a video meeting.
Is the 29 September 2020 date still open?
No. That was the last date to apply for an extension of the AGM for the year ended 31 March 2020. A later year uses a fresh application to the Registrar for that year.
How long can the Registrar allow?
Up to three months. The power is in the third proviso to section 96(1). It is not a general power to move the meeting by a year.
Which form is the application?
Form GNL-1, filed with the Registrar of Companies before the AGM date, stating the reason.
Does a video meeting replace the extension?
A circular that allows a video AGM changes how the meeting is held. It does not, by itself, move the last date. A company that cannot meet by the date still applies in GNL-1.
Sources
The date and the Registrar’s power are in section 96 of the Companies Act. The meeting itself is on the AGM page.