The due date for AGM was September 30, 2026 (six months after the close of the accounting year), as required by the Companies Act. However, in a letter dated August 27, the RoC office, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, has given a three-month extension to Tata Sons for holding the AGM, giving it time till December 31, 2026, according to a source. The RoC order addresses the current uncertainty around the leadership of Tata Sons as Chairman N Chandrasekaran’s directorship renewal was on the agenda of the AGM and could not be taken up, the source said.

The extension is in response to a request from Tata Sons under extraordinary circumstances arising from the freeze on Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) — a key trust within Tata Trusts. Section 96(1) of the Companies Act, 2013, requires every company, except a one-person company, to hold an AGM every year.

While granting a three-month extension, the RoC is learnt to have told Tata Sons to be mindful in complying with the necessary provisions of the Companies Act in future.

In case the restriction on SRTT continues until the end of the year, the matter is likely to be taken up by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) regarding the way forward.  

The August 18 AGM had to be adjourned — for the first time in the group’s over 100-year history — following a freeze imposed by the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner on SRTT, a key shareholder of Tata Trusts, which holds 66 per cent in Tata Sons — the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

The Charity Commissioner’s order was over an alleged breach of the amended Maharashtra Public Trusts Act that perpetual trustees cannot make up more than 25 per cent of a trust’s board strength. Since the Articles of Association (AoA) of Tata Sons requires representatives jointly nominated by the key trusts -- SRTT and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) -- to attend a Tata Sons AGM, the freeze on one of the trusts came in the way of the meeting.    

Chandrasekaran’s directorship is up for renewal due to retirement on rotation, which is typically a routine process. But with the AGM not taking place, there’s been a suspense around Chandrasekaran’s (or Chandra as he’s called) status as director of Tata Sons.  

In a separate development, Chandra wrote to the board of directors earlier this month that he would not offer himself for another term when his tenure as chairman of Tata Sons ends in February 2027. Chandra became the chairman of Tata Sons in February 2017, after Cyrus Mistry was removed from the post in October 2016. Chandra’s letter mentioned that one board member was opposed to his third term.

Last year, Tata Trusts had passed a resolution recommending a third five-year term to Chandra as executive chairman of Tata Sons. But in February 2026, in a Tata Sons board meeting, Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata raised questions around financial performance of certain Tata businesses such as Air India and Tata Digital, after which a discussion on Chandra’s third term was put on hold.