Articles of Association (AOA)

01/03/2020 0 By indiafreenotes

Articles of Association is an important document of a Joint Stock Company. It contains the rules and regulations or bye-laws of the company. They are related to the internal working or management of the company. It plays a very important role in the affairs of a company. It deals with the rights of the members of the company between themselves.

The contents of articles of association should not contradict with the Companies Act and the MoA. If the document contains anything contrary to the Companies Act or the Memorandum of Association, it will be inoperative. The pvt concern that are limited by shares and those limited by guarantee and unlimited companies must have their articles of association. Public companies may not have their articles but may adopt Model articles given in Table A of Schedule I of Companies Act, 1956. If a public company has only some articles of its own, for the rest, articles of Table A will be applicable.

Articles that are profound to be registered should be printed, segmented well and sequenced consecutively. Each subscriber to Memorandum of Association must sign the articles in the presence of at least one witness.

Contents of Articles of Association

The articles generally deal with the following

  1. Classes of shares, their values and the rights attached to each of them.
  2. Calls on shares, transfer of shares, forfeiture, conversion of shares and alteration of capital.
  3. Directors, their appointment, powers, duties etc.
  4. Meetings and minutes, notices etc.
  5. Accounts and Audit
  6. Appointment of and remuneration to Auditors.
  7. Voting, poll, proxy etc.
  8. Dividends and Reserves
  9. Procedure for winding up.
  10. Borrowing powers of Board of Directors and managers etc.
  11. Minimum subscription.
  12. Rules regarding use and custody of common seal.
  13. Rules and regulations regarding conversion of fully paid shares into stock.
  14. Lien on shares.

Alteration of Articles of Association

The alteration of the Articles should not sanction anything illegal. They should be for the benefit of the company. They should not lead to breach of contract with the third parties. The following are the regulations regarding alteration of articles:

A company may alter its Articles with a special resolution. Due importance and care should be given to ensure that the alteration of AoA does not conflict with the provisions of the Memorandum of Association or the Companies Act. A copy of every special resolution altering the Articles must be filed with the Registrar within 30 days of its passing.

  1. The proposed alteration should not contravene the provisions of the Companies Act.
  2. The proposed alteration should not contravene the provisions of the Memorandum of Association.
  3. The alteration should not propose anything that is illegal.
  4. The alteration should be bonafide for the benefit of the company.
  5. The proposed alteration should in no way increase the liability of existing members.
  6. Alteration can be made only by a special resolution.
  7. Alteration can be done with retrospective effect.
  8. The Court does not have any power to order alteration of the Articles of Association.