Faced with a flood of applications from corporates for declaring interim dividends, the premier bourses, National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange, are examining whether they should waive companies from the compulsory 30-day notice period they have to give for fixing record dates.
It may be noted that the Finance Bill 2002 has amended Section 115-O, whereby the incidence of tax on dividends is shifted from the company to the shareholder from April 1, 2002.
At the last count, BSE had received applications from over 250 companies for payment of interim dividends. According to senior NSE officials, the exchange will examine whether it has the flexibility to grant such an exemption to companies.