Companies Act, 1956
Sec 69 -
Prohibition of allotment unless minimum subscription received.
(1) No allotment shall be made of any share
capital of a company offered to the public for subscription, unless the amount
stated in the prospectus as the minimum amount which, in the opinion of the
Board of directors, must be raised by the issue of share capital in order to
provide for the matters specified in clause 5 of Schedule II has been
subscribed, and the sum payable on application for the amount so stated has
been paid to and received by the company, whether in cash or by a cheque or
other instrument which has been paid.
(2) The amount so stated in the prospectus
shall be reckoned exclusively of any amount payable otherwise than in money,
and is in this Act referred to as " the minimum subscription ".
(3) The amount payable on application on each
share shall not be less than five per cent of the nominal amount of the share.
(4) All moneys received from applicants for
shares shall be deposited and kept deposited in a Scheduled Bank :
(a) until the certificate to commence business
is obtained under section 149, or
(b) where such certificate has already been
obtained, until the entire amount payable on applications for shares in respect
of the minimum subscription has been received by the company, and where such
amount has not been received by the company within the time on the expiry of
which the moneys received from the applicants for shares are required to be
repaid without interest under sub-section (5), all moneys received from
applicants for shares shall be returned in accordance with the provisions of
that sub-section. In the event of any contravention of the provisions of this
sub-section, every promoter, director or other person who is knowingly
responsible for such contravention shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to fifty thousand rupees.
(5) If the conditions aforesaid have not been
complied with on the expiry of one hundred and twenty days after the first
issue of the prospectus, all moneys received from applicants for shares shall
be forthwith repaid to them without interest ; and if any such money is not so
repaid within one hundred and thirty days after the issue of the prospectus,
the directors of the company shall be jointly and severally liable to repay
that money with interest at the rate of six per cent per annum from the expiry
of the one hundred and thirtieth day :
Provided that a director shall not be so liable
if he proves that the default in the repayment of the money was not due to any
misconduct or negligence on his part.
(6) Any condition purporting to require or
bind any applicant for shares to waive compliance with any requirement of this
section shall be void.
(7) This section, except sub-section (3)
thereof, shall not apply in relation to any allotment of shares subsequent to
the first allotment of shares offered to the public for subscription.