21 September 2016
Section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013 (‘the Act’) states that ‘the first’ annual general meeting of a company shall be held within 9 months from the closing of its first financial year. Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’), other than the first AGM, shall be held by companies within 6 months from the close of its financial year.
Every company shall file with the Registrar a copy of the annual return, within sixty days from the date on which the annual general meeting is held or where no annual general meeting is held in any year within sixty days from the date on which the annual general meeting should have been held together with the statement specifying the reasons for not holding the annual general meeting, with such fees or additional fees as may be prescribed, within the time as specified, under section 403. However, as per third proviso to sub-section (1) to section 96 of the 2013 Act, ROC may extend time within which AGM must be held by not more than three months on the ground of sufficient reason. And this provides a 3 months cooling period in addition to the 60 days for filing of Annual Return