The Ministry of Corporate Affairs on Wednesday issued a slew of measures to facilitate the functioning of companies as they grapple with the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Share Market Live

NSE

Among the measures include allowing companies to hold extraordinary general meetings through video conferencing and allowing electronic voting through e-mails.

“

It added: “The Companies Act, 2013 allows ordinary and special resolutions to be passed through postal ballot/e-voting route without holding a physical general meeting. However, in present lockdown/social distancing conditions due to COVID 19, postal ballot facility cannot be utilized by the companies.”

The MCA has also asked listed companies with more than 1,000 shareholders to provide electronic voting facilities to conduct EGMs.

“Accordingly, the General Circular No. 14/2020 dated 08.04.2020 issued by the MCA allows listed companies or companies with 1,000 shareholders or more which are required to provide e-voting facility under the Companies Act, 2013 to conduct EGM through VC/ OAVM and e-Voting.

“For other companies, a highly simplified mechanism for voting through registered emails has been put in place for easy compliance.”

The resolutions passed through the MCA’s framework need to filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) within 60 days so that they come in public domain.

“Further, all resolutions passed through this framework will be required to filed with the RoC within 60 days, so that such resolutions may be viewed publicly,” the MCA release stated.

The country is currently under a 21-day nationwide lockdown that remains in effect until April 14. All services deemed non-essential have been ordered shut.

Companies have been asked to leverage work from home facilities and people are advised to follow social distancing norms.

COVID-19, the disease that results from coronavirus, has claimed 149 lives in India so far. More than 5,000 people in the country have been infected by the virus.

First Published:Apr 8, 2020 8:49 PM IST