Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1999

Section 32 : supplemental provisions.

33.—(1) A company shall not avail itself of the exemption in a financial year if any member or members of the company holding shares in the company that confer, in aggregate, not less than one-tenth of the total voting rights in that company requests or request the company not to avail itself of the exemption in that year.

(2) A request referred to in subsection (1) shall be contained in a notice served by the member or members concerned on the company in the financial year preceding the financial year concerned (but not later than 1 month before the end of that preceding year).

(3) A notice served under and in accordance with subsection (2) shall be valid notwithstanding that subsection (1) is not in operation on the date of its being served.

(4) If a company avails itself of the exemption in a financial year, the balance sheet prepared by the company in respect of that year shall contain a statement by the directors of the company that, in respect of that year—

(a) the company is availing itself of the exemption (and the exemption shall be expressed to be “the exemption provided for by Part III of the Companies (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1999)”,

(b) the company is availing itself of the exemption on the grounds that it satisfies the conditions specified in section 32 ,

(c) no notice containing the request referred to in subsection (1) has been served, in accordance with subsection (2), on the company, and

(d) the directors acknowledge the obligations of the company, under the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1999, to keep proper books of account and prepare accounts which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company at the end of its financial year and of its profit or loss for such a year and to otherwise comply with the provisions of those Acts relating to accounts so far as they are applicable to the company.

(5) The statement required by subsection (4) shall appear in the balance sheet in a position immediately above the signatures of the directors required by section 156 of the Principal Act or, as the case may be, the statement required by section 18(2) of the Act of 1986.

(6) If subsection (4) or (5) is not complied with, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine.

(7) The reference in subsection (1) to a voting right in a company shall be construed as a reference to a right exercisable for the time being to cast, or to control the casting of, a vote at general meetings of members of the company, not being such a right that is exercisable only in special circumstances.