Sparsh Innovations Limited was incorporated on 10-08-2024. The company's first financial year, as per its Board resolution, is proposed to close on…

(i) Time Limit for Holding the First Annual General Meeting [Section 96(1) of the Companies Act, 2013]: Provisions: Every company is required to hold, in each year, an Annual General Meeting (AGM). As regards the first AGM, the proviso to Section 96(1) provides that a company shall hold its first AGM within a period of nine months from the date of closing of the first financial year of the company. Where a company holds its first AGM within this period, it is not necessary for the company to hold any AGM in the year of its incorporation. Analysis: In this case, Sparsh Innovations Limited was incorporated on 10-08-2024, and its first financial year closes on 31-03-2025. Accordingly, the first AGM must be held within nine months from 31-03-2025, i.e., on or before 31-12-2025. Conclusion: Since the Board had not convened the first AGM even by December 2025, the company is not yet in default as such, provided the AGM is held on or before 31-12-2025; however, the company is running perilously close to the statutory deadline and must convene the meeting without further delay to avoid default. (ii) Registrar's Power to Extend Time for the First AGM: Provisions: Under the proviso to Section 96(1), the Registrar of Companies has the power, for any special reason, to extend the time within which any AGM (other than the first AGM) shall be held, by a period not exceeding three months. Crucially, this extension power does NOT apply to the first Annual General Meeting. The law is explicit that the Registrar's discretionary power to grant extension is available only in respect of subsequent AGMs, and not the first AGM of a company. Conclusion: Therefore, a company cannot seek or obtain any extension of time from the Registrar for holding its first AGM, however genuine the operational or accounting difficulties may be. The Company Secretary's suggestion that Sparsh Innovations Limited may apply to the Registrar for extension of time for holding its first AGM is not legally tenable. The company has no statutory recourse to seek extension in this regard and must ensure that the first AGM is held on or before 31-12-2023, failing which the company and its officers in default would be liable to the penal consequences prescribed under Section 99 of the Companies Act.