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NEWS

Case Law Regarding Payment of a Share of Profit


16/5/2018

According to such prior decisions, an Extraordinary General Meeting held in the same year after the expiration of six months from the end of the financial year may not decide, on the basis of the same financial statement, on the distribution of profit in a manner different from the decision of the preceding General Meeting held in a due term within six months from the last day of the financial year. The High Court believes that such conclusion will continue to prevail regardless of whether or not the company is in a good financial position because of the fact that the provisions concerning the matter in the Commercial Code and the Business Corporations Act are, in principle, identical. As the High Court believes, essential in this respect is that the General Meeting did previously issue a decision on profits within a statutory period. This automatically disallows revocation of the decision on the basis of the same financial statement after the expiration of the said period and issuing of a different decision on the distribution of profit. However, some professionals disagree with the opinion, saying that it will not prevail, among other things with regard to the express provisions of the Business Corporations Act on the “insolvency test” the primary purpose of which is the protection of company creditors. The Business Corporations Act amendment expressly provides that the profit distribution based on the financial statement approved by the corporation’s supreme body is possible by the end of the following financial year. If the amendment is adopted, the current uncertainty as to the interpretation of the option of profit distribution on the basis of a regular financial statement during the second half of the year will be eliminated.