Following its decision to allow Board Meetings up to 30th June 2020 to be conducted through Video Conferencing (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) (Refer KM Legal update below), the MCA has now allowed 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 simplified mechanism for voting through registered emails (in place of postal ballot facility) has been put in place for easy compliance, without requiring the shareholders to physically assemble at a common venue and without compromising on other requirements of the Act.

As the meetings will be conducted over VC/ OAVM, the facility for appointment of proxies has been dispensed with, while representatives of bodies corporate will continue to get appointed for participation in such meetings.

As an additional check, all companies using this option are required to maintain a recorded transcript of the entire proceedings in safe custody, and public companies are also required to host this transcript on their website for greater transparency. 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. Other safeguards have also been provided to ensure transparency, accountability and protection of interests of investors.

To refer to the MCA circular dated 8 April 2020, click here.