Companies Act, 2013
124.
Unpaid
Dividend Account.
1. Where a dividend has
been declared by a company but has not been paid or claimed within thirty days
from the date of the declaration to any shareholder entitled to the payment of
the dividend, the company shall, within seven days from the date of expiry of
the said period of thirty days, transfer the total amount of dividend which
remains unpaid or unclaimed to a special account to be opened by the company in
that behalf in any scheduled bank to be called the Unpaid Dividend Account.
2. The company shall,
within a period of ninety days of making any transfer of an amount under
sub-section (1 ) to the Unpaid Dividend Account, prepare a statement
containing the names, their last known addresses and the unpaid dividend to be
paid to each person and place it on the website of the company, if any, and
also on any other website approved by the Central Government for this purpose,
in such form, manner and other particulars as may be prescribed.
3. If any default is
made in transferring the total amount referred to in sub-section (1 ) or
any part thereof to the Unpaid Dividend Account of the company, it shall pay,
from the date of such default, interest on so much of the amount as has not
been transferred to the said account, at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum
and the interest accruing on such amount shall enure to the benefit of the
members of the company in proportion to the amount remaining unpaid to them.
4. Any person claiming
to be entitled to any money transferred under sub-section (1 ) to the
Unpaid Dividend Account of the company may apply to the company for payment of
the money claimed.
5. Any money transferred
to the Unpaid Dividend Account of a company in pursuance of this section which
remains unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven years from the date of such
transfer shall be transferred by the company along with interest accrued, if
any, thereon to the Fund established under sub-section (1 ) of section
125 and the company shall send a statement in the prescribed form of the
details of such transfer to the authority which administers the said Fund and
that authority shall issue a receipt to the company as evidence of such
transfer.
6. All shares in respect
of which unpaid or unclaimed dividend has been transferred under sub-section (5 )
shall also be transferred by the company in the name of Investor Education and
Protection Fund along with a statement containing such details as may be
prescribed:
Provided
that any claimant of shares transferred above shall be entitled to claim the
transfer of shares from Investor Education and Protection Fund in accordance
with such procedure and on submission of such documents as may be prescribed.
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7. If a company fails to
comply with any of the requirements of this section, the company shall be
punishable with fine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which
may extend to twenty-five lakh rupees and every officer of the company who is
in default shall be punishable with fine which shall not be less than one lakh
rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees.