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Microlesson · 5-min read

Buy Back of Shares — Notes to Accounts Presentation

## Notes to Accounts: Share Capital and Reserves After Buy Back

### What Changes in the Balance Sheet?

When a company buys back shares, three notes are affected: Share Capital, Reserves & Surplus, and Cash & Cash Equivalents (or the relevant asset used for payment).

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### Note 1 — Share Capital

Head
Equity Share Capital
Opening balancexxx
Less: Bought back during the year(xxx)
Add: New issue during the year (if any)xxx
Closing balancexxx
Preference Share Capital
Opening balancexxx
Add: New issuexxx
Closing balancexxx
Total Share Capitalxxx

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### Note 2 — Reserves & Surplus

This note captures all movements. Key movements triggered by buy back:

1. Securities Premium A/c — Debited for excess of buy-back price over face value (to the extent available). Any shortfall is then debited to Capital Redemption Reserve or P&L.

2. Capital Redemption Reserve (CRR) — Created (credited) equal to the face value of shares bought back. Funded by transferring from:

  • Free reserves (Revenue Reserve, Profit & Loss), OR
  • Securities Premium (only when free reserves are insufficient)

3. Revenue Reserves / P&L — Reduced by the amount transferred to CRR.

4. Securities Premium may also increase if debentures/preference shares are issued during the same period at a premium.

#### Sample Reserves & Surplus Note Structure

a. Capital Reservexxx
b. Securities Premium
Opening balancexxx
Add: Premium on debenture/preference issuexxx
Less: Premium used on buy back(xxx)xxx
c. Revenue Reserve
Opening balancexxx
Less: Transfer to CRR(xxx)xxx
d. Profit & Loss Account
Opening balancexxx
Add: Profit on sale of investmentsxxx
Less: Transfer to reserves(xxx)xxx
e. Dividend Equalisation Fundxxx
f. Capital Redemption Reserve (CRR)
Created via transfer from free reservesxxx
Less: Utilised for bonus issue(xxx)xxx
Total Reserves & Surplusxxx

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### Key Rule for CRR Creation

> CRR = Face value of shares bought back

The source of funding is free reserves (Revenue Reserve, P&L, General Reserve). Securities Premium can fund CRR only when free reserves are insufficient — not as a first choice.

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### Cash & Cash Equivalents Note

Since buy back is paid in cash, the note shows buy back payment as a cash outflow. Other items like proceeds from fresh debenture or preference share issue appear as inflows.

Worked example

### Example 1

Reconstructed Example from Class Notes (Pages 25–26)

Given data:

  • Opening ESC: ₹50,00,000; Shares bought back at premium; Face value ₹10
  • Buy back payment: ₹12,50,000 (nominal value of shares bought back)
  • New issue during year: ₹7,50,000 (equity)
  • Preference Share Capital opening: ₹10,00,000; New preference issue: ₹2,50,000
  • Securities Premium (opening): ₹12,00,000; Premium on debenture issue: ₹60,000; Premium used on buy back: ₹10,00,000
  • Revenue Reserve: ₹5,00,000; transferred to CRR: ₹3,00,000
  • P&L opening: ₹20,00,000; Profit on sale of investments: ₹50,000; Transfer to reserve: ₹7,00,000
  • Dividend Equalisation Fund: ₹5,50,000
  • CRR created: ₹10,00,000; used for bonus issue: ₹7,50,000
  • Capital Reserve: ₹1,00,000

Note 1: Share Capital

Equity Share Capital (50,00,000 − 12,50,000 + 7,50,000)45,00,000
Preference Share Capital (10,00,000 + 2,50,000)12,50,000
Total57,50,000

Note 2: Reserves & Surplus

Capital Reserve1,00,000
Securities Premium (12,00,000 + 60,000 − 10,00,000)2,60,000
Revenue Reserve (5,00,000 − 3,00,000)2,00,000
Profit & Loss (20,00,000 + 50,000 − 7,00,000)13,50,000
Dividend Equalisation Fund5,50,000
CRR (10,00,000 − 7,50,000 bonus)2,50,000
Total Reserves & Surplus27,10,000

⚠️ Common exam mistakes

  • Debiting Securities Premium for buy-back premium even when free reserves are available — the correct sequence is free reserves first, then Securities Premium.
  • Creating CRR based on buy-back price instead of face value (CRR = face value × number of shares bought back, not the total buy-back consideration).
  • Omitting the CRR entry entirely — students forget that every buy back mandates a CRR credit equal to nominal value redeemed.
  • Showing buy-back deduction inside the body of the balance sheet rather than in the Notes to Accounts as a movement within Share Capital.
  • Netting the CRR creation against the deduction from Revenue Reserve instead of showing both lines separately in R&S.
Bare-Act text Section 68(7) · Companies Act, 2013 · click to expand
Where a company purchases its own shares out of free reserves or securities premium account, a sum equal to the nominal value of the shares so purchased shall be transferred to the Capital Redemption Reserve Account and details of such transfer shall be disclosed in the balance sheet.
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