Section 247. Accounting periods of companies within the same group

(1) Subject to subsections (10), (11) and (12), the directors of every holding company that is not a foreign company shall take such necessary steps to ensure that within two years after any corporation becomes a subsidiary of the holding company, the financial year of that corporation coincides with the financial year of the holding company.

(2) Where the financial year of a holding company that is not a foreign company and that of each of its subsidiaries coincide, the directors of the holding company shall at all times take necessary steps to ensure that the financial year of the holding company or any of its subsidiaries is not altered so that all the financial years do not coincide with the holding company unless the consent of the Registrar is obtained.

(3) If the directors of the holding company are of the opinion that there is good reason why the financial year of any of its subsidiaries should not coincide with the financial year of the holding company, the directors may apply in writing to the Registrar for an order authorizing any subsidiary to continue to have or to adopt, as the case requires, a financial year which does not coincide with that of the holding company.

(4) The application shall be supported by a statement by the directors of the holding company stating their reasons for seeking the order.

(5) The Registrar may require the directors who make an application under this section to supply any information relating to the operation of the holding company and of any corporation that is deemed by virtue of section 7 to be related to the holding company as he thinks necessary for the purpose of determining the application.

(6) In determining the application, the Registrar, may at the expense of the holding company of which the applicants are directors, request any approved company auditor to investigate and report on the application.

(7) The Registrar may make an order granting or refusing the application or granting the application subject to such limitations, terms or conditions as he thinks fit and shall serve the order on the holding company.

(8) The applicants aggrieved by any order made by the Registrar may appeal against the order to the Minister within two months after the service of the order on the holding company.

(9) The Minister shall determine the appeal and in determining the appeal, may make any order that the Registrar had power to make on the original application and may exercise any of the powers that the Registrar may have exercised in relation to the original application.

(10) If the directors of a holding company have applied to the Registrar for an order authorizing any subsidiary to continue to have a financial year which does not coincide with that of the holding company, the operation of subsection (1) shall be suspended in relation to that subsidiary until the determination of the application and of any appeal arising out of the application.

(11) Where an order is made authorizing any subsidiary to have a financial year which does not coincide with that of the holding company, compliance with the terms of the order of the Registrar or where there has been an appeal, compliance with the terms of any order made on the determination of the appeal shall be deemed to be a compliance with subsection (1) in relation to that subsidiary.

(12) Where an application for an order to authorize any subsidiary to have a financial year which does not coincide with that of the holding company and the appeal, if any, arising out of that application are refused, the time within which the directors of the holding company are required to comply with subsection (1) in relation to that subsidiary shall be deemed to be the period of twelve months after the date upon which the order of the Registrar is served on the holding company or the period of twelve months after the determination of the appeal, as the case may be.

(13) Where the directors of a holding company have applied to the Registrar for an order authorizing any of its subsidiaries to continue to have or to adopt a financial year which does not coincide with that of the holding company and the application and the appeal, if any, arising out of that application, has been refused, the directors of the holding company shall not make a similar application with respect to that subsidiary within three years after the refusal of the application or where there is an appeal, after the determination of that appeal unless the Registrar is satisfied that there has been a substantial change in the relevant facts or circumstances since the refusal of the former application or the determination of the appeal, as the case may be.

(14) Any director who contravenes this section commits an offence.