Relaxations for Listed Companies in respect of General Meting through Virtual mode- Extended till 31.12.2021
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued circular no. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD2/CIR /P/2021/11 dated January 15, 2021 regarding relaxation from compliance with certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 due to the CoVID -19 pandemic.
SEBI vide Circular no. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD1/CIR/P/2020/79 dated May 12, 2020 had inter-alia relaxed certain provisions of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (“LODR”) related to general meetings, pursuant to relaxations by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) which interalia includes following:
1. Requirement of sending physical copies of annual report to shareholders
2. Requirement of proxy for general meetings
3. Relaxation from publication of advertisements in the newspapers
4. Relaxation from publishing quarterly consolidated financial results under regulation 33(3)(b) of the LODR for certain categories of listed entities.
Subsequently, MCA vide Circular dated December 31, 2020 has further extended relaxations to companies to conduct their Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) through Video Conferencing (VC) or through other audio-visual means (OAVM) (hereinafter referred to in this circular as ‘electronic mode’) upto June 30, 2021. Further, vide Circular dated January 13, 2021, MCA has also extended these relaxations to Annual General Meeting (AGMs) of companies due in the year 2021 (i.e. till December 31, 2021).
Accordingly, the relaxations in Paras 3 to 6 of the aforementioned SEBI Circular dated May 12, 2020 in respect of sending physical copies of annual report to shareholders and requirement of proxy for general meetings held through electronic mode, are extended for listed entities, till December 31, 2021.
All Listed companies are requested to take note and comply accordingly.
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SSAS & Associates LLP | CS Shruti Srivastava | Designated Partner | Email: ssaslegal@gmail.com
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