Lahore: The Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has extended its previously set deadlines for companies to meet the regularity requirements of the Companies Act 2017 — in an effort to provide facilitation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a news source reported.
Exercising its powers under section 510 of the Companies Act
2017, the SECP has provided the following deadline extensions amid the COVID-19 pandemic crises:
Companies can now hold their Annual General
Meeting (AGM) for the year ended December 31, 2019 on or before May 29, 2020
Companies can file impediment reports with the
concerned registrar for delay in holding elections for their board of
directors. This is for businesses that expected the election before or during
the AGM
Companies can file their statuary returns due on
or after March 24, with a delay of 30 days. Businesses would not have to pay
any additional filing fees or face penal action for late filing
Meanwhile, the SECP has itself taken several coronavirus prevention measures. These include asking about 50% of their staff to work from home, with the rest to work from the office on a rotational basis. As part of the SECP’s many coronavirus prevention measures for its workforce, this rule came into effect from March 24.
