Companies Act, 1956
Sec 292A - Audit Committee
(1) Every Public Company having paid-up
capital of not less than five crores of rupees shall constitute a committee of
the Board known as "Audit Committee" which shall consist of not less
than three directors and such number of other directors as the Board may
determine of which two-thirds of the total number of members shall be
directors, other than managing or whole time directors.
(2) Every Audit Committee constituted under
sub-section (1) shall act in accordance with terms of reference to be specified
in writing by the Board.
(3) The members of the Audit Committee shall
elect a chairman from amongst themselves.
(4) The annual report of the company shall
disclose the composition of the Audit Committee.
(5) The auditors, the internal auditor, if
any, and the director-in-charge of finance shall attend and participate at
meetings of the Audit Committee but shall not have the right to vote.
(6) The Audit Committee should have
discussions with the auditors periodically about internal control systems, the
scope of audit including the observations of the auditors and review the half
yearly and annual financial statements before submission to the Board and also
ensure compliance of internal control systems.
(7) The Audit Committee shall have authority
to investigate into any matter in relation to the items specified in this
section or referred to it by the Board and for this purpose, shall have full
access to information contained in the records of the company and external
professional advice, if necessary.
(8) The recommendations of the Audit Committee
on any matter relating to financial management including the audit report,
shall be binding on the Board
(9) If the Board does not accept the
recommendations of the Audit Committee, it shall record the reasons therefor
and communicate such reasons to the shareholders.
(10) The chairman of the Audit Committee shall
attend the annual general meetings of the company to provide any clarification
on matters relating to audit
(11) If a default is made in complying with
the provisions of this section, the company, and every officer who is in
default, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to
one year, or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, or with
both'.