Under
the 1956 Act, it was entirely up to the auditor whether to attend any general
meeting of the company or not and whether or whom to depute as his
representative at such meetings. Section 146 of the 2013 Act brings a sea
change in this. Now, auditor shall, unless otherwise exempted by the
company, attend any general meeting : (i) by himself or (ii)
through his authorised representative who is qualified to be an auditor.
Section 146 deals with:
- Duty of company to forward notices of general meetings to auditors
- Auditor’s duty to attend general meeting and right to be heard at general meeting
Notices
of general meetings to be forwarded to the auditor of the company
The
first limb of section 146 provides that all notices of, and other
communications relating to, any general meeting shall be forwarded to the
auditor of the company. The forwarding of notices and other communications is
required irrespective of whether the agenda for the meeting contains any item
related to accounts or audit or auditors.
Auditor’s
duty to attend general meeting and right to be heard at general meeting
The
second limb of section 146 deals with auditor’s attendance at general meetings
and auditor’s right to be heard at general meetings. The second limb of section
146 provides as under:
(A)he
auditor shall, unless otherwise exempted by the company, attend any general
meeting
(i)by
himself, or
(ii)through
his authorised representative who is qualified to be an auditor.
(B)The
auditor shall have right to be heard at such meeting on any part of the
business which concerns him as the auditor.
The following points are noteworthy:
- Section 146 makes auditor’s attendance at general meetings compulsory either by himself or authorized representative qualified to be an auditor.
- Such attendance is compulsory whether or not any matter related to accounts or audit or auditors is scheduled in the agenda of the general meeting.
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