Annual Shareholders’ Meeting by the end of September 2020?

According to the regulations in force to date, the majority of companies should have prepared a financial statement by 31st March and approved it during the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting within the next three months.

The so-called Anti-Crisis Shield and the Ordinance of the Minister of Finance, which came into force on 31st March 2020, changed these dates. In case of entities obliged to maintain accounting books in accordance with the Accounting Act, i.e., among others, limited liability companies, the obligations to draw up, approve and submit financial statements are postponed by three months.

This means that if the financial year in a limited liability company corresponded with the calendar year, the deadline for drawing up the report which passed on 31st March 2020 is postponed to 30th June 2020. The regulation entered into force on the last day for drawing up a report on the basis of the existing regulations, so the entities which did not fulfil this obligation gained three additional months to complete it.

At the same time, the deadline for approval of the report, which is equivalent to the deadline for the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, is postponed from 30th June to 30th  September 2020. It should be noted that this is the end date and if the companies have the possibility, they can organize the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting earlier, e.g. in an electronic form, which is currently possible even if the articles of association do not provide for it.

We write more about the possibilities of holding an online shareholders’ meeting in the attached article: https://kolecka.pl/2020/03/26/zgromadzenie-wspolnikow-sp-z-o-o-na-whatsappie-praktyczne-rozwiazania-dla-nowoczesnego-biznesu/

Author: Aleksandra Hajdukiewicz, Trainee Attorney-at-law, associate at Kołecka Law Firm