Copies of MOA, AOA, etc. to be Given to Members – Section 17
# Section 17 – Members' Right to Copies
## The right
Every company, on being requested by a member, must send copies of the following documents:
Document
(a) The Memorandum
(b) The Articles
(c) Every agreement and every resolution referred to in Section 117 (resolutions and agreements required to be filed), if and to the extent they have not been embodied in the MOA or AOA
## Conditions
The request must come from a member.
The company can charge a prescribed fee.
Delivery must happen within 7 days of the request.
## Penalty for default
For each default, the company and every officer in default shall be liable to a penalty of:
₹1,000 per day during which the default continues, OR
₹1,00,000 — whichever is lower.
The 'whichever is less' cap is important — it puts a ceiling on what otherwise could be runaway daily penalties.
Worked example
### Example 1
Calculation: A member requests copies on 1 April. The company fails to supply for 60 days. Penalty per defaulting party = ₹1,000 × 60 = ₹60,000 (within the ₹1 lakh cap) — payable by the company AND each officer in default.
### Example 2
Outer cap: If the default continues for 200 days, the penalty would mathematically be ₹2,00,000, but the section caps it at ₹1,00,000.
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Forgetting that the obligation is triggered only by a MEMBER'S request — not an outsider's.
Missing the 7-day deadline.
Forgetting that section 117 resolutions need only be supplied if NOT already in MOA/AOA.
Quoting the penalty as ₹1,000 per day without remembering the ₹1 lakh ceiling (whichever is LESS).
Bare-Act text Section 17 · The Companies Act, 2013 · click to expand
Section 17: (1) A company shall, on being so requested by a member, send to him within seven days of the request and subject to the payment of such fees as may be prescribed, a copy of each of the following documents, namely:— (a) the memorandum; (b) the articles; and (c) every agreement and every resolution referred to in sub-section (1) of section 117, if and in so far as they have not been embodied in the memorandum or articles. (2) If a company makes any default in complying with the provisions of this section, the company and every officer who is in default shall be liable for each default, to a penalty of one thousand rupees for each day during which such default continues or one lakh rupees, whichever is less.