New Delhi, May 14 In the prevailing pandemic times, listed companies have been given another compliance relief. Market regulator SEBI has relaxed its listing obligation and disclosure requirement (LODR) regulations as regards dispatch of hard copies of annual reports to shareholders.

SEBI has now said, up to December-end, listed companies need not send hard copies of annual reports to shareholders who have not registered their email addresses. However, it has mandated that the notice of the Annual General Meeting published by advertisement should contain a link to the annual report, so as to enable shareholders to have access to the full annual report. 

However, it has stipulated that listed entities would have to necessarily send a hard copy of the full annual report to those shareholders who request the same.

Also, till December-end this year, SEBI has dispensed with the requirement for sending proxy forms in case of general meetings held in the electronic mode only.

The latest SEBI move comes on the heels of the Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) on May 5 extending relaxations from dispatching of physical copies of financial statements for the year 2022 (till December 31, 2022). Following the MCA decision, , SEBI had received representations from listed companies for dispensing with the requirement of sending a hard copy of the annual report to shareholders.

Moin Ladha, Partner, Khaitan & Co, a law firm, said this relaxation will bring in consistency and provide much needed relief to companies from complying with strict procedural requirements. Especially when efficient systems for electronic distribution and updated databases have been accelerated given the impact of the pandemic, he added.

Hans Raj Chugh, a chartered accountant, said: “In view of greater transparency and strengthening of corporate governance, shareholders should be fully informed about the essentials of a public limited company. In spite of increasing digital penetration in India, there are still concerns for small retail shareholders to whom the technology has not been reached. Good corporate governance involves building a practice of transparency and outreach to even smaller shareholders who have reposed trust in the company and its management. Therefore, SEBI should take into consideration the interest of these small shareholders and consider these issues while relaxing any regulations”.