Register of members, etc
📚 Law Minded summary
Every company keeps registers of who owns it: a register of members, one of debenture holders, and one of any other security holders.
The register of members has to show each person's shareholding and whether anyone else holds the beneficial interest behind it. Companies with more than fifty members also keep an index.
A foreign register may be kept abroad for members living outside India.
(1) Every company shall keep and maintain the following registers in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, namely:—
(a) register of members indicating separately for each class of equity and preference shares held by each member residing in or outside India;
(b) register of debenture-holders; and (c) register of any other security holders.
(2) Every register maintained under sub-section (1) shall include an index of the names included therein.
(3) The register and index of beneficial owners maintained by a depository under section 11 of the Depositories Act, 1996 (22 of 1996), shall be deemed to be the corresponding register and index for the purposes of this Act.
(4) A company may, if so authorised by its articles, keep in any country outside India, in such manner as may be prescribed, a part of the register referred to in sub-section (1), called “foreign register” containing the names and particulars of the members, debenture -holders, other security holders or beneficial owners residing outside India. 5[
(5) If a company does not maintain a register of members o r debenture-holders or other security holders or fails to maintain them in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the company shall be liable to a penalty of three lakh rupees and every officer of the company who is in default shall be liable to a penalty of fifty thousand rupees.]