Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

This amendment would deem documents or information sent or supplied by post to overseas addresses to be received by the intended recipient within 48 hours after it was sent. This seems an unreasonably short period. The problem is that to specify an alternative longer period for deemed delivery overseas is not realistic, as post can take much longer to be delivered to some places overseas than others—this is not, of course, unique to overseas territories. We therefore take the approach that we should not have a provision specifying the time for deemed delivery overseas, but should instead rely on the Interpretation Act 1978, Section 7 of which provides that delivery is deemed to be effected at the time when the letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. If companies want certainty, it is open to them to encourage greater use of electronic communications—so that Clause 755(3) applies—or to make provisions in their articles. I hope that noble Lords will agree that trying to specify when things arrive across the world would be an unreasonable task and that this is a better approach, and that they will withdraw their amendments.