Maintenance of minutes/Statutory register

Minutes are nothing but the records of any influential meeting happening in the company. Also, known as protocols these minutes are to be maintained like any other statutory register. These must include details about everyone who attended the meeting and must include everything important that happened in the meeting.

Maintenance of minutes is not optional but a mandatory norm as the companies may require the same for certain legal procedures. These must be available at the registered office at all the times as the regulatory bodies may ask for the same at any point of time. The directors of the company must also have access to these records. Usually, the company secretary is responsible for maintaining these records, however, the responsibility can always be delegated in his absence or any other circumstance.

There are a certain set of guidelines prescribed in The Companies Act, every entity has to make sure that they record minutes of the meeting in that particular format only. The companies associated with our firm need not worry about the same as we keep updating the changes and the requirements of such a statutory register.

• Minutes can be maintained either in physical form or electronic form. However, in the case of physical maintenance, the records must be time stamped.
• It can also be maintained in loose-leaf form but the company must ensure to bind all the records regularly.
• The minute should be maintained in the order of proceedings.
• Once the minutes are framed properly, within fifteen days the drafted document must reach to the directors of the company for their comments. Their comments must be recorded in the final draft with seven days of receiving.
• Any of the company director or auditor can check these records at any point of time.

Failing to record these minutes of the meeting can lead to heavy penalization from the Ministry of Corporate affairs.