Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908

Meetings and Proceedings.

64 Annual general meeting.

(1) A general meeting of every company shall be held once at the least in every calendar year, and not more than fifteen months after the holding of the last preceding general meeting, and, if not so held, the company and every director, manager, secretary, and other officer of the company, who is knowingly a party to the default, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(2) When default has been made in holding a meeting of the company in accordance with the provisions of this section, the court may; on the application of any member of the company, call or direct the calling of a general meeting of the company.

65 First statutory meeting of company.

(1) Every company limited by shares and registered on or after the first day of January nineteen hundred and one shall, within a period of not less than one month nor more than three months from the date at which the company is entitled to-commence business, hold a general meeting of the members of the company which shall be called the statutory meeting.

(2) The directors shall, at least seven days before the day on which the meeting is held, forward a report (in this Act called “the statutory report”) to every member of the company and to every other person entitled under this Act to receive it.

(3) The statutory report shall be certified by not less than two directors of the company, or, where there are less than two-directors, by the sole director and manager, and shall state—

(a) the total number of shares allotted, distinguishing shares allotted as fully or partly paid up otherwise than in cash, and stating in the case of shares partly paid up the extent to which they are so paid up, and in either case the consideration for which they have been allotted ;

(b) the total amount of cash received by the company in respect of all the shares allotted, distinguished as aforesaid ;

(c) an abstract of the receipts of the company on account of its capital, whether from shares or debentures, and of the payments made thereout, up to a date within seven days of the date of the report, exhibiting under distinctive headings the receipts of the company from shares and debentures and other sources, the payments made thereout, and particulars concerning the balance remaining in hand, and an account or estimate of the preliminary expenses of the company ;

(d) the names, addresses, and descriptions of the directors, auditors (if any), managers (if any), and secretary of the company; and

(e) the particulars of any contract, the modification of which is to be submitted to the meeting for its approval together with the particulars of the modification or proposed modification.

(4) The statutory report shall, so far as it relates to the shares allotted by the company, and to the cash received in respect of such shares, and to the receipts and payments of the company on capital account, be certified as correct by the auditors, if any, of the company.

(5) The directors shall cause a copy of the statutory report, certified as by this section required, to be filed with the registrar of companies forthwith after the sending thereof to the members of the company.

(6) The directors shall cause a list showing the names, descriptions, and addresses of the members of the company, and the number of shares held by them respectively, to be produced at the commencement of the meeting, and to remain open and accessible to any member of the company during the continuance of the meeting.

(7) The members of the company present at the meeting-shall be at liberty to discuss any matter relating to the formation of the company, or arising out of the statutory report, whether previous notice has been given or not, but no resolution of which notice has not been given in accordance with the articles may be passed.

(8) The meeting may adjourn from time to time, and at any adjourned meeting any resolution of which notice has been given in accordance with the articles, either before or subsequently to the former meeting, maybe passed, and the adjourned meeting shall have the same powers as an original meeting.

(9) If a petition is presented to the court in manner provided by Part IV. of this Act for winding up the company on the ground of default in filing the statutory report or in holding the statutory meeting, the court may, instead of directing that the company be wound up, give directions for the statutory report to be filed or a meeting to be held, or make such other order as may be just.

(10) The provisions of this section as to the forwarding and filing of the statutory report shall not apply in the case of a private company.

66 Convening of extraordinary general meeting on requisition.

(1) Notwithstanding anything in the articles of a company, the directors of a company shall, on the requisition of the holders of not less than one-tenth of the issued share capital of the company upon which all calls or other sums then clue have been paid, forthwith proceed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the company.

(2) The requisition must state the objects of the meeting, and must be signed by the requisitionists and deposited at the registered office of the company, and may consist of several documents in like form, each signed by one or more requisitionists.

(3) If the directors do not proceed to cause a meeting to be held within twenty-one days from the date of the requisition being so deposited, the requisitionists, or a majority of them in value, may themselves convene the meeting, but any meeting so convened shall not be held after three months from the date of the deposit.

(4) If at any such meeting a resolution requiring confirmation at another meeting is passed, the directors shall forthwith convene a further extraordinary general meeting for the purpose of considering the resolution and, if thought fit, of confirming it as a special resolution; and, if the directors do not convene the meeting within seven days from the date of the passing of the first resolution, the requisitionists, or a majority of them in value, may themselves convene the meeting.

(5) Any meeting convened under this section by the requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner, as nearly as possible, as that in which meetings are to be convened by-directors.

67 Provisions as to meetings and votes.

In default of, and subject to, any regulations in the articles—

(i) A meeting of a company may be called by seven days' notice in writing, served on every member in manner in which notices are required to be served by Table A, in the First Schedule to this Act :

(ii) Five members may call a meeting :

(iii) Any person elected by the members present at a meeting may be chairman thereof :

(iv) Every member shall have one vote.

68 Representation of companies at meetings of other companies of which they are members.

A company which is a member of another company may, by resolution of the directors, authorise any of its officials or any other person to act as its representative at any meeting of that other company, and the person so authorised shall be entitled to-exercise the same powers on behalf of the company which he represents as if he were an individual shareholder of that other company.

69 Definitions of extraordinary and special resolution.

(1) A resolution shall he an extraordinary resolution when it has been passed by a majority of not less than three fourths of such members entitled to vote as are present in person or by proxy (where proxies are allowed) at a general meeting of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as an extraordinary resolution has been duly given.

(2) A resolution shall be a special resolution when it has been—

(a) passed in manner required for the passing of an extra ordinary resolution ; and

(b) confirmed by a majority of such members entitled to vote as are present in person or by proxy (where proxies are allowed) at a subsequent general meeting, of which notice has been duly given, and held after an interval of not less than fourteen days, nor more than one month, from the date of the first meeting.

(3) At any meeting at which an extraordinary resolution is submitted to be passed or a special resolution is submitted to be passed or confirmed, a declaration of the chairman that the resolution is carried shall, unless a poll is demanded, be conclusive evidence of the fact without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against the resolution.

(4) At any meeting at which an extraordinary resolution is submitted to be passed or a special resolution is submitted to be passed or confirmed a poll may be demanded, if demanded by three persons for the time being entitled according to the articles to vote, unless the articles of the company require a demand by such number of such persons, not in any case exceeding five, as may be specified in the articles.

(5) When a poll is demanded in accordance with this section, in computing the majority on the poll reference shall be had to the number of votes to which each member is entitled by the articles of the company.

(6) For the purposes of this section notice of a meeting shall be deemed to be duly given and the meeting to be duly held when the notice is given and the meeting held in manner provided by the articles.

70 Registration and copies of special resolutions.

(1) A copy of every special and extraordinary resolution shall within fifteen days from the confirmation of the special resolution, or from the passing of the extraordinary resolution, as the case may be, be printed and forwarded to the registrar of companies, who shall record the same.

(2) Where articles have been registered, a copy of every special resolution for the time being in force shall be embodied in or annexed to every copy of the articles issued after the confirmation of the resolution.

(3) Where articles have not been registered, a copy of every special resolution shall be forwarded in print to any member at his request, on payment of one shilling or such less sum as the company may direct.

(4) If a company makes default in printing or forwarding a copy of a special or extraordinary resolution to the registrar it shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two pounds for every day during which the default continues.

(5) If a company makes default in embodying in or annexing to a copy of its articles or in forwarding in print to a member when required by this section a copy of a special resolution, it shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one pound for each copy in respect of which default is made.

(6) Every director and manager of a company who knowingly and wilfully authorises or permits any default by the company in complying with the requirements of this section shall be liable to the like penalty as is imposed by this section on the company for that default.

71 Minutes of proceedings of meetings and directors.

(1) Every company shall cause minutes of all proceedings of general meetings and (where there are directors or managers) of its directors or managers to be entered in books kept for that purpose.

(2) Any such minute if purporting to be signed by the chairman of the meeting at which the proceedings were had, or by the chairman of the next succeeding meeting, shall be evidence of the proceedings.

(3) Until the contrary is proved, every general meeting of the company or meeting of directors or managers in respect of the proceedings whereof minutes have been so made shall be deemed to have been duly held and convened, and all proceedings had thereat to have been duly had, and all appointments of directors, managers, or liquidators, shall be deemed to be valid.