Company A merges with Company B. The companies sign the agreement on January 1, 2026. The board decides to set the financial transfer date as April 1, 2025 (beginning of the financial year for accounting convenience). Le

Appointed Date: April 1, 2025 (Start of financial year). Effective Date: June 1, 2026 (Date NCLT approval is filed with RoC). Who Owns the Earnings? Between the Appointed Date and the Effective Date, the transferor company (seller, Company A here) acts as a trustee for the transferee (buyer, Company B here). Therefore, all profits/earnings and liabilities accrued during this period belong to the Transferee Company (i.e., Company B). The appointed date is the specific date specified in a scheme of arrangement from which assets, liabilities, and transactions of a transferor company formally vest in the transferee company, often used for accounting purposes, whereas the effective date is the date when all legal formalities, such as filing approval orders with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), are completed, making the merger legally enforceable.