SEBI/CFD/DIL/CG/1/2004/12/1 0
October 29, 2004
The Managing Director/Executive Director/Administrator of all the Stock Exchanges
Dear Sir/Madam,
Sub: Corporate Governance in listed Companies – Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement
1. All Stock Exchanges are hereby directed to amend the Listing Agreement by replacing the existing Clause 49 of the listing agreement (issued vide circulars dated 21st February, 2000, 9th March 2000, 12th September 2000, 22nd January, 2001, 16th March 2001 and 31st December 2001) with the revised Clause 49 given in Annexure I through I D to this circular. SEBI Circular no. SEBI/MRD/SE/31/2003/ 26/08 dated August 26, 2003 (which has been since deferred) is hereby withdrawn. The revised Clause 49 also specifies the reporting requirements for a company.
2. Please note that this is a master circular which supersedes all other earlier circulars issued by SEBI on Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement.
3. The provisions of the revised Clause 49 shall be implemented as per the schedule of implementation given below:
a) For entities seeking listing for the first time, at the time of seeking in-principle approval for such listing.
b) For existing listed entities which were required to comply with Clause 49 which is being revised i.e. those having a paid up share capital of Rs. 3 crores and above or net worth of Rs. 25 crores or more at any time in the history of the company, by April 1, 2005.
Companies complying with the provisions of the existing Clause 49 at present (issued vide circulars dated 21st February, 2000, 9th March 2000, 12th September 2000, 22nd January, 2001 16th March 2001 and 31st December 2001) shall continue to do so till the revised Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement is complied with or till March 31, 2005, whichever is earlier.
4.The companies which are required to comply with the requirements of the revised Clause 49 shall submit a quarterly compliance report to the stock exchanges as per sub Clause VI (ii), of the revised Clause 49, within 15 days from the end of every quarter. The first such report would be submitted for the quarter ending June 30, 2005. The report shall be signed either by the Compliance Officer or the Chief Executive Officer of the company.
5. The revised Clause 49 shall apply to all the listed companies, in accordance with the schedule of implementation given above. However, for other listed entities which are not companies, but body corporate (e.g. private and public sector banks, financial institutions, insurance companies etc.) incorporated under other statutes, the revised Clause 49 will apply to the extent that it does not violate their respective statutes and guidelines or directives issued by the relevant regulatory authorities. The revised Clause 49 is not applicable to Mutual Funds.
6. The Stock Exchanges shall ensure that all provisions of the revised Clause 49 have been complied with by a company seeking listing for the first time, before granting the in-principle approval for such listing. For this purpose, it will be considered satisfactory compliance if such a company has set up its Board and constituted committees such as Audit Committee, Shareholders/ Investors Grievances Committee etc. in accordance with the revised clause before seeking in-principle approval for listing.
7. The Stock Exchanges shall set up a separate monitoring cell with identified personnel to monitor the compliance with the provisions of the revised Clause 49 on corporate governance. The cell, after receiving the quarterly compliance reports from the companies which are required to comply with the requirements of the revised Clause 49, shall submit a consolidated compliance report to SEBI within 60 days from the end of each quarter.
Yours faithfully,
Parag Basu
Encl: Annexure I, I A, I B, I C & I D
