Companies Act, 1956

Sec 318 - Compensation for loss of office not permissible except to managing or whole-time directors or to directors who are managers.

(1) Payment may be made by a company, except in the cases specified in sub-section (3) and subject to the limit specified in sub-section (4), to managing director, or a director holding the office of manager or in the whole-time employment of the company, by way of compensation for loss of office, or as consideration for retirement from office, or in connection with such loss or retirement.

(2) No such payment shall be made by the company to any other director.

(3) No payment shall be made to a managing or other director in pursuance of sub-section (1), in the following cases, namely:

(a) where the director resigns his office in view of the reconstruction of the company, or of its amalgamation with any other body corporate or bodies corporate, and is appointed as the managing director, manager or other officer of the reconstructed company or of the body corporate resulting from the amalgamation;

(b) where the director resigns his office otherwise than on the reconstruction of the company or its amalgamation as aforesaid;

(c) where the office of the director is vacated by virtue of section 203, or any of the clauses (a) to (l), of sub-section (1) of section 283;

(d) where the company is being wound up, whether by or subject to the supervision of the Court or voluntarily, provided the winding up was due to the negligence or default of the director:

(e) where the director has been guilty of fraud or breach of trust in relation to, or of gross negligence in or gross mismanagement of, the conduct of the affairs of the company or any subsidiary or holding company thereof;

(f) where the director has instigated, or has taken part directly or indirectly in bringing about, the termination of his office.

(4) Any payment made to a managing or other director in pursuance of sub-section (1) shall not exceed the remuneration which he would have earned if he had been in office for the unexpired residue of his term or for three years, whichever is shorter, calculated on the basis of the average remuneration actually earned by him during a period of three years immediately preceding the date on which he ceased to hold the office, or where he held the office for a lesser period than three years, during such period:

Provided that no such payment shall be made to the director in the event of the commencement of the winding up of the company, whether before, or at any time within twelve months after, the date on which he ceased to hold office, if the assets of the company on the winding up, after deducting the expenses thereof, are not sufficient to repay to the shareholders the share capital (including the premiums, if any), contributed by them:

(5) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prohibit the payment to a managing director, or a director holding the office of manager, of any remuneration for services rendered by him to the company in any other capacity.

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