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ISLAMABAD, Nov 10: Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has notified further amendments in the Companies (General Provision and Forms) Rules, 1985, which, inter alia, accommodated the plea by the chartered secretaries for inclusion among persons eligible for appointment as a company secretary.
The qualifications of a Secretary as well as the limits for approval of capital expenditure, requirement of a consolidated financial statement of associated companies and particulars of subscribers, directors, etc., had been notified by the Commission for eliciting public opinion in March 2003.
After taking into consideration the comments received from different quarters, the Commission has published the amendments in official Gazette vide SRO 1003(1)/2003 dated October 29, 2003.
These changes, the SECP envisaged, would not only facilitate the companies but would also enable SECP to effectively regulate the corporate sector. The amendments with new forms have also been placed on the SECP website www.secp.gov.pk with download facility.
Following are salient features of the amendments:
QUALIFICATIONS OF COMPANY SECRETARY: The Companies Ordinance, 1984, as amended through Companies (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002, requires each listed company and single member company to have a secretary.
The amendments provide that a person to be appointed as secretary must either be:
* member of a recognized body of professional accountants or corporate/chartered secretaries; or
* a person holding a master’s degree in Business Administration or Commerce, or a Law Graduate from a university recognized by the Higher Education Commission, with at least two years relevant experience.
Furthermore, any person who had been engaged by a company as secretary before October 26, 2002, has been allowed to continue in that capacity provided that his experience in that position is not of less than five years.
