Chapter 3 GENERAL MEETING AND FILING OF RETURNS

General Meeting.—(1) Every society registered under this Act shall convene an annual general meeting in each year and the annual working report, audited balance sheet, income and expenditure accounts and audit report for the previous year in respect of the management of the society shall be submitted for approval: Provided that Registrar may on satisfaction of the special cause submitted by the governing body extend the period for convening an annual general meeting for a further period of six months on receipt of such fee as may be prescribed: Provided further that, except the case mentioned above, the period between two annual general meetings shall not exceed fifteen months.

1. (2) At the annual general meeting so held, elections to the governing body shall be conducted as may be provided in the rules and regulations of the society and the governing body shall consist of at least three members.
2. (3) The list of members of the first governing body of the society shall be filed with the Registrar within twenty one days of its registration and thereafter within twenty one days of the date of holding the annual general meeting, the members list of the governing body and the audited accounts shall be filed: Provided that for any reason, the list of governing body of the members or the audited statement of income and expenditure is not filed in time, the same may be filed along with an amount of fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, as may be prescribed.
3. (4) Every society shall keep a record of all the proceedings of the general meeting in a book kept for that purpose and such minutes shall be signed by the President or Chairperson of the meeting.
4. (5) The President or Chairperson of the governing body shall, on the requisition of one-tenth of the total members having voting right of the society in writing of the matter for which they are convening the meeting shall, within ten days of the receipt of such requisition in writing, take steps to call a meeting duly convened on a day for the purpose of considering the same for any reason whatsoever and in any case such meeting shall not exceed forty days from the date of receipt of such demand in writing.

Condonation of delay.—Delay in filing of documents, annual statement of accounts or list of members of a society may be condoned by payment of fine for each year on such amount as the Government may, from time to time, specify by order condone the delay in submission of any or all of them and such documents may be regularised.

Filing of returns etc. through electronic system.—The Government may require the societies registered under this Act to file the returns, forms and other documents to be filed under this Act through electronic system in such manner, as may be prescribed.

Books of Accounts and Audit.—(1) The governing body of every society shall keep at the registered office of the society or at any other place within the jurisdiction of the Registrar of society, as the governing body thinks fit, proper books of accounts with respect to,—

1. (a) all sums of money received and expended by the society and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure takes place;
2. (b) all sales and purchases by the society; and
3. (c) the assets and liabilities of society.

1. (2) On default of complying with the provisions of sub-section (1), every member of the governing body, who has knowingly by his act or omission, cause such default, shall be liable to pay a fine not exceeding one thousand rupees, as may be prescribed.
2. (3) The accounts of every society shall be audited once in every year by a duly qualified auditor and a balance sheet and income and expenditure statement prepared and certified by him: Provided that in the case of societies, whose annual income is less than two lakh rupees, the accounts may be audited by a member other than a member of the governing body.
3. (4) In the case of a society, the accounts of which are made up with the previous sanction of the Registrar to any date other than 31st December, the first balance sheet and income and expenditure accounts of such society after such previous sanction is accorded shall, for the purposes of sub-section
4. (3) for such period as the Registrar may specify in the order according previous sanction. Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, “a duly qualified auditor” means a Chartered Accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Central Act 38 of 1949).

Balance Sheet and annual list of governing body to be filed with the Registrar.—Within twenty one days of each annual general body meeting of a society there shall be filed with the Registrar a list of names, addresses and occupation of the members of the governing body entrusted with the management of the affairs of the society and a copy of the balance sheet and income and expenditure account certified by the auditor under section 18: Provided that, for any sufficient reason if a society has not filed the list of members of governing body and a copy of balance sheet and income and expenditure account within twenty one days of annual general body meeting of the society, it may make an application to the Registrar to condone the delay and permit to file the records, and the Registrar may, if he is satisfied that there are sufficient cause for the delay in filing such records, condone the delay and permit the society by order to file such records subject to payment of fine, as may be prescribed, and where no sufficient reasons are shown, he may, after giving an opportunity of being heard to the society, reject the application and return such records to the society: Provided further that, where a society has failed to file such records for a consecutive period of five years, the Registrar may, after giving a reasonable opportunity of being heard to the society, pass an order cancelling the registration or allow to continue operation of such society and in the case of cancellation of the society, and thereupon the assets of the society shall be distributed, and the liabilities discharged in the same manner as if the society had been dissolved under section 30. Explanation.— For the purpose of this proviso, where the application filed by a society to condone the delay in filing records for any year is rejected and the records are returned under the first proviso, such society shall be deemed to have failed to file records for that year.