Maintenance and inspection of documents in electronic form :
According to section 120 of the Companies Act, 2013, where any document, record, register, minutes, etc.,—
(a) required to be kept by a company; or
(b) allowed to be inspected or copies to be given to any person by a company under this Act, may be kept or inspected or copies given, as the case may be, in electronic form in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
According to the rules provided on the maintenance and inspection of document in electronic form under the Companies (Management and Administration) rules, 2014 –
(1) Companies required to maintain the documents in electronic form: Every listed company or a company having not less than one thousand shareholders, debenture holders and other security holders, shall maintain its records, as required to be maintained under the Act or rules made there under, in electronic form.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-rule, it is hereby clarified that in case of existing companies, data may be converted from physical mode to electronic mode within six months from the date of notification of provisions of section 120 of the Act. (2) Maintenance of records according to the Board of Directors: The records in electronic form shall be maintained in such manner as the Board of directors of the company may think fit,
Provided that –
(a) the records are maintained in the same formats and in accordance with all other requirements as provided in the Act or the rules made there under;
(b) the information as required under the provisions of the Act or the rules made there under should be adequately recorded for future reference;
(c) the records must be capable of being readable, retrievable and reproducible in printed form;
(d) the records are capable of being dated and signed digitally wherever it is required under the provisions of the Act or the rules made there under;
(e) the records, once dated and signed digitally, shall not be capable of being edited or altered;
(f) the records shall be capable of being updated, according to the provisions of the Act or the rules made there under, and the date of updating shall be capable of being recorded on every updating.
Explanation: – For the purpose of this rule, the term “records” means any register, index, agreement, memorandum, minutes or any other document required by the Act or the rules made there under to be kept by a company.