Compliance calendar
SEBISEBI events and governance

Reg 36 annual report to shareholders

Sending the annual report, or a letter with the web link and exact path to it, to every shareholder ahead of the annual general meeting.

How this is timed

Standing duty, no filing date

Regulator
SEBI
Category
SEBI events and governance
Form
Not specified
Last verified
2026-09-01

LODR no longer fixes the dispatch date. Reg 36(2), which required the annual report to go out not less than twenty one days before the annual general meeting, was omitted with effect from 13 December 2024, so the dispatch clock now comes from the Companies Act, 2013. What Reg 36 still requires is the content: a soft copy to shareholders with a registered email, and a letter with the web link and the exact path for shareholders without one.

What changed

The LODR dispatch deadline is gone. Reg 36(2) required the annual report not less than twenty one days before the annual general meeting and was omitted with effect from 13 December 2024. A checklist that still shows a twenty one day LODR deadline is citing an omitted provision; the surviving clock sits in the Companies Act, 2013. What changed alongside it is the content for a shareholder without a registered email, who now gets a letter with the web link and exact path rather than a hard copy of the salient features.

Deadlines counted from an event

These have no calendar date. The clock starts when the event happens.

Standing duty

Send a soft copy of the full annual report to every shareholder who has registered an email address. Send every other shareholder a letter carrying the web link to the annual report and the exact path where it can be accessed. Reg 36(1)(b) was substituted with effect from 13 December 2024 and replaced the earlier hard copy of the salient features under section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013. A hard copy of the full annual report goes only to a shareholder who asks for it, under Reg 36(1)(c). Reg 36(3) requires the notice to carry the information about a new director, and Reg 36(5) requires the explanatory statement on an auditor appointment to carry the prescribed disclosures.

The rule

Stated as the law states it, so you can work out any period yourself.

Content and mode of the annual report to shareholders

Send a soft copy of the full annual report to every shareholder who has registered an email address. Send every other shareholder a letter carrying the web link to the annual report and the exact path where it can be accessed. Reg 36(1)(b) was substituted with effect from 13 December 2024 and replaced the earlier hard copy of the salient features under section 136 of the Companies Act, 2013. A hard copy of the full annual report goes only to a shareholder who asks for it, under Reg 36(1)(c). Reg 36(3) requires the notice to carry the information about a new director, and Reg 36(5) requires the explanatory statement on an auditor appointment to carry the prescribed disclosures.

Who must comply

  • Every entity with specified securities listed on a recognised stock exchange
  • Every shareholder, whether or not an email address is registered

Carve-outs

  • Reg 36(2), the requirement to send the annual report not less than twenty one days before the annual general meeting, was omitted with effect from 13 December 2024.

Statutory basis

Read the provision here where we hold it, or on the regulator's site.

Before you file

  • Get the annual report approved and published on the entity's website.
  • Get the register of shareholders with registered email addresses from the registrar and transfer agent.
  • Prepare the letter with the web link and the exact path to the annual report.
  • Prepare the Reg 36(3) information on any new director for the notice.
  • Prepare the Reg 36(5) disclosures for the auditor appointment explanatory statement.

How to file

  1. 1Send the soft copy of the annual report to every shareholder with a registered email address.
  2. 2Send the letter with the web link and exact path to every other shareholder.
  3. 3Send a hard copy to any shareholder who requests one.
  4. 4Take the dispatch deadline from the Companies Act, 2013, because LODR no longer fixes one.
  5. 5Submit the annual report to the exchanges under Reg 34.

Dispatch to shareholders, with the report filed to the exchanges

If you miss it

No per-day exchange fine is asserted here, because this provision is not on the fine table we have verified. A breach of a corporate-governance condition is a breach of listing conditions, which section 23E of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act reaches at not less than ₹5 lakh and up to ₹25 crore. SEBI's other head is section 15HB of the SEBI Act, the residual penalty that applies where the Act provides no specific penalty for the contravention. Section 15A(b) is not the right head, because a missed meeting is not a failure to furnish information.

  • The default shows in the quarterly governance report inside Integrated Filing (Governance), so it becomes visible to the exchange and to investors without any separate complaint
  • SEBI has moved to a settlement route for many governance defaults, which still carries a settlement amount and an admission on the record

Recent changes affecting this

From the regulator's own circulars and notifications.

sebi07 Apr 2026Circular

Relaxation from SEBI Master Circular for Minimum Public Shareholding Non-Compliance

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has granted a one-time relaxation from penal provisions regarding Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) requirements. This relief applies to listed entities whose compliance deadline falls between April 1, 2026, and September 30, 2026. Stock exchanges and depositories are directed to refrain from taking penal actions, such as levying fines or freezing promoter shareholding, for non-compliance during this period. Furthermore, any penal actions already initiated against such entities for non-compliance occurring between April 1, 2026, and the date of this circular must be withdrawn. This measure is in response to market volatility caused by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

sebi13 Oct 2025Circular

Minimum Information for Audit Committee and Shareholder Approval of Related Party Transactions

SEBI has modified the information requirements for Related Party Transactions (RPTs) to facilitate ease of doing business. Listed entities must generally follow Industry Standards Forum (ISF) guidelines. However, for transactions not exceeding 1% of the annual consolidated turnover or Rupees Ten Crore, whichever is lower, entities may provide a simplified set of information as specified in Annexure-13A. Transactions not exceeding Rupees One Crore are exempt from these specific information requirements. These modifications apply to both Audit Committee reviews and shareholder approval processes. The circular is effective immediately.

Common questions

Is the annual report still due twenty one days before the AGM?

Not under LODR. Reg 36(2) carried that period and it was omitted with effect from 13 December 2024. Any twenty one day figure now has to be cited to the Companies Act, 2013, not to LODR.

What goes to a shareholder with no registered email?

A letter carrying the web link to the annual report and the exact path where it can be accessed. That replaced the hard copy of the section 136 salient features on 13 December 2024.

Can a shareholder still get a hard copy?

Yes, on request. Reg 36(1)(c) covers that.

Last verified 2026-09-01. Confirm against the official source before you rely on it.