President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has ratified the first amendment to the Companies Act. The Parliament passed the bill at its third extraordinary sitting held on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.
The Companies Act outlines the number of directors to be appointed for companies. As such, it mandates each public company to have at least two directors, while state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Local Government Authority (LGA) must have at least three directors. The Registrar has the authority to issue directives to companies to elect directors, if the number of directors are less than that outlined in the Act.
Under the amended Act, the 21-day deadline to send out invitations for meetings has been reduced to a 3-day deadline, and the three-month deadline for holding the meetings has been reduced to ten days. The amended bill stipulates a 14-day prior notice for private and public companies to send invitations for Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM), reducing it to a 7-day prior notice.
Furthermore, the amendment mandates a ten-day deadline for appointing directors when instructed by the Registrar, compared to the previous 30-day period. It also set a ten-day deadline for appointing a managing director when instructed by the Registrar, compared to the previous 30-day period.
The amendment has been published in the Government Gazette following the ratification and will take immediate effect.