205A. UNPAID DIVIDEND TO BE TRANSFERRED TO SPECIAL DIVIDEND ACCOUNT

(1) Where, after the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1974 (41 of 1974), a dividend has been declared by a company but has not been paid, or claimed, within thirty days from the date of the declaration, to any shareholder entitled to the payment of the dividend, the company shall, within seven days from the date of expiry of the said period of thirty days, transfer the total amount of dividend which remains unpaid or unclaimed within the said period of thirty days, to a special account to be opened by the company in that behalf in any scheduled bank, to be called "Unpaid Dividend Account of... Company Limited/Company (Private) Limited".

Explanation. - In this sub-section, the expression "dividend which remains unpaid" means any dividend the warrant in respect thereof has not been encashed or which has otherwise not been paid or claimed.

(2) Where the whole or any part of any dividend, declared by a company before the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1974 (41 of 1974), remains unpaid at such commencement, the company shall, within a period of six months from such commencement, transfer such unpaid amount to the account referred to in sub-section (1).

(3) Where, owing to inadequacy or absence of profits in any year, any company proposes to declare dividend out of the accumulated profits earned by the company in previous years and transferred by it to the reserves, such declaration of dividend shall not be made except in accordance with such rules as may be made by the Central Government in this behalf, and, where any such declaration is not in accordance with such rules, such declaration shall not be made except with the previous approval of the Central Government.

(4) If the default is made in transferring the total amount referred to in sub-section (1) or any part thereof to the unpaid dividend account of the concerned company, the company shall pay, from the date of such default, interest on so much of the amount as has not been transferred to the said account, at the rate of twelve per cent per annum and the interest accruing on such amount shall enure to the benefit of the members of the company in proportion to the amount remaining unpaid to them.

(5) Any money transferred to the unpaid dividend account of a company in pursuance of this section which remains unpaid or unclaimed for a period of seven years from the date of such transfer shall be transferred by the company to the Fund established under sub-section (1) of section 205C.

(6) The company shall, when making any transfer under sub-section (5) to the Fund established under section 205C any unpaid or unclaimed dividend, furnish to such authority or committee as the Central Government may appoint in this behalf a statement in the prescribed form setting forth in respect of all sums included in such transfer, the nature of the sums, the names and last known addresses of the persons entitled to receive the sum, the amount to which each person is entitled and the nature of his claim thereto and such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(7) The company shall be entitled to a receipt from the authority or committee under sub-section (4) of section 205C for any money transferred by it to the Fund and such a receipt shall be an effectual discharge of the company in respect thereof.

(8) If a company fails to comply with any of the requirements of this section, the company, and every officer of the company who is in default, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which the failure continues.