"The provisions of appointment of Company Secretary in United Kingdom are same as in India under the Companies Act, 2013". Comment.

According to Section 203 of Companies Act, 2013 read with rule 8 and 8A of the Companies (Appointment and Remuneration of Managerial Personnel) Rules, 2014, every company with a paid- up capital of at least ₹Ten Crore shall have, inter alia, a whole time company secretary who is a member of ICSI as per Sec 2(1) (c) of Company Secretaries Act, 1980. Thus, only a qualified company secretary can be appointed as the company secretary of a company in India. On the other hand Section 270, 271 and 273 of UK Companies Act, 2006, govern the provisions pertaining to appointment and qualifications of company secretary as below: A Private Company is not required to have a Secretary. However, a public company must have a Secretary. It is the duty of the Directors of a public company to take all reasonable steps to secure that the Secretary (or each Joint Secretary) of the company- is a person who appears to them to have the requisite knowledge and experience to discharge the functions of Secretary of the company, and has one or more of the following qualifications. The qualifications are- that he has held the office of Secretary of a public company for at least three of the five years immediately preceding his appointment as Secretary; that he is a member of any of the bodies specified as below- the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland; the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants; the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland; the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators; the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants; the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. that he is a barrister, advocate or solicitor called or admitted in any part of the United Kingdom; that he is a person who, by virtue of his holding or having held any other position or his being a member of any other body, appears to the Directors to be capable of discharging the functions of Secretary of the company. Thus, the provisions of appointment of Company Secretary in United Kingdom are not exactly same as in India under the Companies Act, 2013.