Q.What is the 'Register of Members'? State its importance under the Companies Act, 2013.

The register of members is the statutory record that gives legal meaning to the very word 'member' of a company.

The register of members is the statutory register that every company is required, under Section 88 of the Companies Act, 2013, to keep and maintain from the date of its registration. For a company having share capital, it records, for each member, particulars such as name, address, and PAN or CIN; the number, class, and distinctive numbers of shares held; the amount paid up; and the dates on which the person became, and (if applicable) ceased to be, a member. Companies with more than fifty members must also maintain an index of members for quick reference, and for dematerialised shares, the depository's own records serve this indexing function.

The register is ordinarily kept at the company's registered office, though it may be kept elsewhere within the same city, town, or village where more than one-tenth of the members reside, subject to a special resolution and advance notice to the Registrar of Companies. …

Students sometimes confuse the register of members with the annual return or the register of charges, and forget to mention its evidentiary value or the Secti …