3. Amendment of section 3.- In section 3 of the principal Act,— (a) in sub-section (1),— (i) in clause (iii),— (A) in the opening portion, for the words "means a company which, by its articles,—", the words "means a company which has a minimum paid-up capital of one lakh rupees or such higher paid-up capital as may be prescribed, and by its articles,—" shall be substituted; (B) after sub-clause (c), before the proviso, the following clause shall be inserted, namely:— "(d) prohibits any invitation or acceptance of deposits from persons other than its members, directors or their relatives:"; (ii) for clause (iv), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— '(iv) "public company" means a company which— (a) is not a private company; (b) has a minimum paid-up capital of five lakh rupees or such higher paid-up capital, as may be prescribed; (c) is a private company which is a subsidiary of a company which is not a private company;'; (b) after sub-section (2), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:— "(3) Every private company, existing on the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000, with a paid-up capital of less than one lakh rupees, shall, within a period of two years from such commencement, enhance its paid-up capital to one lakh rupees. (4) Every public company, existing on the commencement of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000, with a paid-up capital of less than five lakh rupees, shall within a period of two years from such commencement, enhance its paid-up capital to five lakh rupees. (5) Where a private company or a public company fails to enhance its paid-up capital in the manner specified in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4), such company shall be deemed to be a defunct company within the meaning of section 560 and its name shall be struck off from the register by the Registrar. (6) A company registered under section 25 before or after the commencement of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2000 shall not be required to have minimum paid-up capital specified in this section.". | 