Company Secretarial Practice and Compliance
What this domain tests
Company Secretarial Practice and Compliance tests the CS’s operating system: statutory registers, minutes, board and general meetings, e-filing, annual compliance, and Secretarial Standards.
Core rules to know
- Maintain registers of members, directors, charges, and related records at the registered office unless the Act permits otherwise; keep minutes of board and general meetings, with board minutes recorded within 30 days under SS-1.
- File AOC-4 (financial statements) within 30 days of the AGM; MGT-7 (annual return) within 60 days; DIR-3 KYC annually by 30 September; charge creation in CHG-1 within 30 days of creation.
- Follow SS-1 and SS-2 for board and general meetings: notice, agenda, quorum, voting, minutes, and preservation.
- Event-based filings include DIR-12 for director changes, MGT-14 for specified resolutions, and BEN-2 for significant beneficial ownership.
Worked example
An AGM is held on 30 September. AOC-4 is due by 30 October (30 days), and MGT-7 by 29 November (60 days), assuming no extension. The company must also check whether XBRL filing applies and whether any event-based form, such as DIR-12, was triggered by board changes.
Traps that cost marks
MGT-7 is the annual return, not the financial statements. Late filing usually attracts additional fees and can affect compliance records; it is not cured by later filing alone. Minutes must be signed and preserved; unsigned notes are not minutes. Do not file event-based forms without first passing the underlying board or shareholder resolution.