Expert Guide
A complete walkthrough — Pvt Limited Registration
Localised for Olympia Tech Park, Chennai — where IT consultancies and software-services arms file GST predominantly under SAC 9983 and claim export-of-services LUT refunds.
Reading this guide locally — Across Olympia Tech Park, around the Olympia Tech Park Tower catchment of Olympia Tech Park. Practitioners note that Olympia Tech Park businesses in the it services arm find that businesses here routinely handle export-of-services GST refunds under Rule 89 and SOFTEX form reconciliation.
What Private Limited incorporation means under Indian company law
Limited liability and separate legal personality
The foundational doctrine of Private Limited incorporation is separate legal personality, articulated by the House of Lords in Salomon v A Salomon and Co Ltd [1897] and adopted by Indian jurisprudence in Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co Ltd v State of Bihar [1965 SCR 391]. The company is a distinct legal person from its members and directors, capable of holding property, suing and being sued in its own name. Liability of members under Section 2(22) is limited to the amount unpaid on the shares held. The corporate veil can be lifted only in narrow circumstances — fraud, sham, evasion of statutory obligation — as elaborated in Vodafone International Holdings BV v Union of India [2012 6 SCC 613]. The limited-liability shield is the principal commercial advantage of Private Limited over proprietorship and partnership, and is the reason promoters of consequence almost invariably elect the Private Limited form for ventures with external counterparties.
Constitutional documents — MOA and AOA
The Memorandum of Association under Section 4 is the foundational charter that defines the company's name, registered office State, objects, liability and capital. The MOA must be in one of the Tables A to E of Schedule I, depending on whether the company is limited by shares, limited by guarantee or unlimited. The Articles of Association under Section 5 contain the regulations for management of the company, covering board composition, meetings, share transfer, dividend declaration, and members' rights. Section 6 establishes the supremacy of the Act over any conflicting MOA / AOA provision. Section 13 governs alteration of MOA (special resolution plus Central Government approval for object-clause changes affecting registered office State), Section 14 governs alteration of AOA (special resolution plus filing of MGT-14 within thirty days). The MOA and AOA filed with SPICe+ Part B become the binding constitutional documents on incorporation.
Statutory framework under Section 7
Private Limited incorporation in India is governed by Section 7 of the Companies Act 2013 read with the Companies (Incorporation) Rules 2014. Section 7(1) requires the subscribers to the memorandum to file an application with the Registrar within whose jurisdiction the registered office of the company is to be situated, accompanied by the MOA and AOA duly signed by the subscribers, a declaration by a professional that the requirements of the Act and Rules have been complied with, a declaration from each subscriber and first director in Form INC-9, the address for correspondence till the registered office is established, the particulars of subscribers and first directors with proof of identity, and the particulars of first directors with their DIN and consent in Form DIR-2. Section 7(2) provides that the Registrar shall on the basis of the documents filed register the memorandum and articles and issue a Certificate of Incorporation in Form INC-11 with a Corporate Identity Number. The CIN under Section 7(3) is the company's unique identifier for all subsequent statutory filings.
The Section 7 incorporation framework
Documents accompanying the incorporation application
Section 7(1) prescribes the documents that must accompany the incorporation application — the MOA and AOA duly signed, a declaration by an advocate, CA, CS or CMA in practice in Form INC-8 that all requirements of the Act and Rules have been complied with, an affidavit from each subscriber and first director in Form INC-9 (now an integrated declaration within SPICe+) that they are not convicted of any offence in connection with promotion / formation / management of any company and have not been guilty of any fraud or misfeasance, the address for correspondence till the registered office is established, the particulars of each subscriber with proof of identity (PAN, Aadhaar, passport / driving licence / voter ID) and proof of residence, the particulars of first directors with DIN where allotted, and consent of first directors in Form DIR-2.
Role of the Central Registration Centre
The Central Registration Centre established under Section 396 read with the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules 2014 processes all incorporation applications filed through SPICe+. The CRC, located in Manesar Haryana, replaces the State-level ROC for the incorporation stage — once the Certificate of Incorporation is issued, jurisdiction transfers to the State ROC where the registered office is situated. The CRC processes SPICe+ applications on a first-in-first-out basis with a service-level commitment of one working day for clean applications. Deficiencies are communicated through resubmission requests, with the applicant given fifteen days to cure each. Three resubmission rounds are permitted under Rule 38(4) before the application is rejected, requiring fresh filing with renewed fees.
Effect of registration and conclusive evidence
Section 7(2) provides that on registration of the memorandum and articles, the Registrar shall issue a Certificate of Incorporation. Section 9 states that from the date of incorporation mentioned in the certificate, the subscribers to the memorandum and all other members of the company shall be a body corporate by the name contained in the memorandum, capable of exercising all the functions of an incorporated company. The Certificate of Incorporation under Section 7(3) is conclusive evidence of the fact that the company has been duly registered under the Act. The Supreme Court in Hari Khemu Gawali v Deputy Commissioner of Police [AIR 1956 SC 559] and subsequent cases has confirmed that the certificate cannot be questioned in collateral proceedings — challenges must be through striking-off proceedings under Section 248 or scheme proceedings.
Name reservation under SPICe+ Part A
Section 4(2) name availability test
Section 4(2) requires that the name stated in the memorandum shall not be identical with or resemble too nearly the name of an existing company registered under the Act or any previous company law. Rule 8 of the Companies (Incorporation) Rules 2014 elaborates the resemblance test — phonetic similarity, plural / singular variants, transposition of words, and minor spelling changes are all caught. The name must also not be undesirable in the opinion of the Central Government — Rule 8A enumerates undesirable categories including names suggesting government patronage, names of national heroes, words like 'Bank', 'Insurance', 'Stock Exchange' without sectoral regulator NOC, and names that violate the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950. Names containing 'India', 'National', 'Federal' or 'Republic' require an authorised-capital threshold under Rule 8(2)(b).
RUN versus integrated SPICe+ Part A
SPICe+ Part A, introduced in February 2020, integrates name-reservation with incorporation in a single web-form workflow on the MCA-21 portal. The applicant can apply Part A standalone (to reserve a name without immediately incorporating) or in continuation with Part B (to reserve and incorporate together). The earlier RUN service (Reserve Unique Name) continues for change-of-name applications but is no longer used for fresh incorporation. Two name proposals can be submitted ranked by preference, with a description of the proposed business activity and NIC-2008 codes. The CRC examines under Section 4(2) and Rule 8 and approves, rejects, or marks for resubmission within two working days. Approved names are reserved for twenty days from approval under Section 4(5), within which Part B must be filed.
Trade Marks Registry cross-search
Even if a proposed name clears the MCA-21 Section 4(2) test, the applicant must independently search the Trade Marks Registry (ipindia.gov.in) for prior trade mark filings in relevant classes. Rule 8B specifically prohibits names that infringe a registered trade mark or pending application — the CRC will reject on this ground if the Trade Marks Registry data is brought to its attention. The Bombay High Court in Bloomberg Finance LP v Prafull Saklecha [2014 (57) PTC 25 (Bom)] confirmed that a registered trade mark holder can compel a corporate-name change even after MCA registration. Prudent practice is to undertake a Trade Marks public-search and, where the proposed name is to become the brand, file a trade-mark application in parallel with SPICe+ Part A.
SPICe+ Part B — the integrated incorporation form
Professional certification and submission
SPICe+ Part B must be digitally signed by all subscribers and first directors using their respective Class 2 / Class 3 DSC. The form must additionally be certified by a practising professional — an advocate, CA, CS or CMA — in Form INC-8 that they have personally examined the documents and verified the facts, and that the requirements of the Companies Act 2013 and Rules have been complied with. The professional's DSC is also affixed to the form along with their membership number. The completed SPICe+ Part B with attached e-MOA, e-AOA and AGILE-PRO-S is filed on MCA-21 with the prescribed government fee and stamp duty (State-specific, paid through the integrated stamp-duty module). On successful filing, the CRC processes the application and issues the Certificate of Incorporation INC-11.
Structure and linked applications
SPICe+ Part B (INC-32) is the integrated incorporation form launched in February 2020 that consolidates incorporation, DIN allotment for first-time directors, PAN, TAN, EPFO, ESIC, Profession Tax (in select States), Bank Account opening (in collaboration with partner banks), and GSTIN (through linked AGILE-PRO-S). The form captures the company name (carried forward from Part A or freshly entered), registered office details, share capital structure, subscribers, directors, NIC codes, and related declarations. The accompanying webform AGILE-PRO-S (INC-35) captures the GSTIN, EPFO, ESIC and Profession Tax applications. INC-9 (now integrated within SPICe+) captures the subscriber and first-director affidavit. The MOA and AOA are attached as e-MOA (INC-33) and e-AOA (INC-34) respectively.
Capital and shareholding details
Part B captures the authorised share capital, the subscribed share capital, and the paid-up share capital. The authorised capital is the ceiling up to which the company can issue shares without amending the MOA under Section 13 and 61; the subscribed capital is the portion of authorised capital that the subscribers have committed to take; the paid-up capital is the portion of subscribed capital actually paid in. There is no minimum paid-up capital requirement after the Companies (Amendment) Act 2015 deletion of the proviso to Section 2(68) — companies can incorporate with paid-up capital of ₹1 lakh, ₹10,000 or any nominal figure. The face value per share is typically ₹10 though ₹1 and ₹100 are also common. Each subscriber's allocation is captured against name, address, PAN, occupation, and number of shares subscribed.
What Olympia Tech Park clients usually ask next: On the ground in Olympia Tech Park, supporting the IT-services workforce that commutes here from OMR Velachery and Anna Nagar; where IT consultancies and software-services arms file GST predominantly under SAC 9983 and claim export-of-services LUT refunds; for Olympia Tech Park units balancing production cycles with monthly GST and quarterly TDS compliance.