Q.Explain the provisions of Section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013 relating to the Annual General Meeting.

Section 96 lays down the statutory timetable and conditions every company (other than a One Person Company) must follow for holding its Annual General Meeting each year.

Section 96 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires every company, other than a One Person Company, to hold a general meeting called the Annual General Meeting (AGM) once in every calendar year, and lays down detailed conditions governing it:

• Timing of the first AGM: must be held within nine months from the date of closing of the first financial year of the company — so no AGM is required in the year the company is actually incorporated.
• Timing of subsequent AGMs: each later AGM must be held within six months from the close of the relevant financial year, and the gap between one AGM and the next must not exceed fifteen months.
• Extension of time: the Registrar of Companies may, for any special reason, grant an extension of the time for holding an AGM by up to three months — but this extension is not available for the first AGM.
• Day and hours: the AGM must be held on a day that is not a National Holiday, during business hours, that is, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Place: at the registered office of the company, or at some other place within the city, town or village in which the registered office is situated; an unlisted company may, with the prior consent of members, hold its AGM anywhere in India. …

Students often confuse the 6-month and 9-month limits, or forget that the 15-month gap and the Registrar's extension power apply only to AGMs after the …