Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Corporate Affairs

13-August-2012 17:59 IST

Payment of Dividend by Companies

The data regarding companies which have not given dividend to their shareholders is not maintained in this Ministry. Further, there is no statutory compulsion on the companies under the Companies Act 1956 to declare and pay dividends to their shareholders every year.

This information was given by Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Shri R.P.N. Singh in reply to a written question in the Rajya Sabha today.

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ST

Dividend obligation: companies are not legally required to declare or pay annual dividends; ministry lacks central data. Companies are not subject to a statutory obligation to declare or distribute dividends annually, leaving dividend distribution to company discretion and internal governance; the Ministry of Corporate Affairs does not maintain a centralized dataset identifying companies that have not paid dividends.