Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday extended the relaxation to listed companies whereby they will not be required to dispatch physical copies of annual reports to their shareholders till December this year.
The decision has been taken after Sebi received multiple representations from listed companies, seeking dispensation from requirements of sending hard copies of annual reports to the shareholders.
Against this backdrop, the watchdog has decided to provide relaxation up to December 31, 2022, from LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, which require companies to send hard copies of annual reports to the shareholders who have not registered their email addresses, according to a circular.
Further, the notice of Annual General Meeting published by advertisement in terms of LODR rules, should contain a link to the annual report so as to enable shareholders to have access to the full annual report.
“It is however emphasised that in terms of… LODR Regulations, listed entities are required to send hard copy of full annual report to those shareholders who request for the same,” Sebi said.
Further, the requirement of sending proxy forms has been dispensed with up to December 31, 2022, in case of general meetings held through electronic mode only, as per the circular.
The new framework wil come into force with immediate effect, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said.
Earlier, the regulator had given similar relaxations to listed companies till December 2021.
The latest move also comes after the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on May 5 extended the relaxations from dispatching of physical copies of financial statements for the year 2022 till December 31, 2022.