Expert Guide
A complete walkthrough — Pvt Limited Registration
Localised for Perungudi, 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 — In Perungudi, in the it corridor residential micro-market of Perungudi; Perungudi 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.
Share capital structure design
Equity and preference share classes
Section 43 recognises two kinds of share capital — equity share capital (with voting rights or with differential voting rights as to dividend, voting or otherwise) and preference share capital. Equity shares with differential voting rights under Section 43(a)(ii) are subject to Rule 4 of the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules 2014. Preference shares carry preference over equity for dividend and on winding up, but are typically non-voting under Section 47(2) (with exceptions for unpaid dividend periods). Preference shares can be cumulative or non-cumulative, participating or non-participating, convertible or non-convertible, redeemable or irredeemable. Section 55 prohibits issuance of irredeemable preference shares; redemption period cannot exceed twenty years (thirty years for infrastructure project companies). The class composition is set out in the MOA and elaborated in the AOA.
Sweat equity and ESOP planning
Section 54 read with Rule 8 of the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules 2014 permits issuance of sweat equity shares to employees and directors at a discount or for consideration other than cash, for know-how, intellectual property or value additions. The issuance requires a special resolution and is capped at 15% of paid-up capital per year (5% for startups in their first ten years under the Startup India relaxation). Section 62(1)(b) permits ESOP issuance to employees through schemes approved by special resolution. The ESOP scheme is governed by SEBI guidelines for listed companies and by Rule 12 of the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules 2014 for unlisted companies. Trust-based and direct-allotment models are both permitted. Authorised-capital headroom at incorporation is critical for ESOP planning.
Section 42 private placement framework
Section 42 governs private placement of securities — issuance to a select group of persons (maximum 200 in a financial year per class of security, excluding qualified institutional buyers and employees under ESOP). Each round requires a board resolution authorising the issuance, a special resolution of members under Section 62(1)(c), a PAS-4 private placement offer letter, an explanatory statement under Section 102, separate bank account for receipt of application money, allotment within sixty days of receipt of application money (failing which refund with interest at 12% p.a.), PAS-3 return of allotment within thirty days of allotment, and FCGPR / FCTRS filings with RBI through AD bank where the allottee is a foreign person. The framework, post the Companies (Amendment) Act 2017 simplification, is now largely consolidated and codified.
Stamp duty on incorporation by State
State Stamp Acts and Schedule I
Stamp duty on the MOA, AOA and the share-capital allotment at incorporation is levied under the Indian Stamp Act 1899 as applied to each State, or under the State-specific Stamp Act where the State has enacted its own (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Kerala, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu have variations). The duty is typically computed as a percentage of authorised share capital, with a minimum and maximum cap. SPICe+ has an integrated stamp-duty payment module that calculates the duty based on the State of registered office declared in Part A and remits it to the State Treasury. The duty applies once at incorporation; subsequent increases in authorised capital under Section 61 attract additional duty on the incremental amount, payable along with the SH-7 filing.
Tamil Nadu duty structure
In Tamil Nadu, the Indian Stamp Act 1899 as amended by the Tamil Nadu Government applies. The stamp duty on Memorandum of Association under Article 39 of Schedule I to the Indian Stamp Act (Tamil Nadu) is ₹200. The stamp duty on Articles of Association under Article 10 is 0.5% of authorised share capital subject to a maximum of ₹5,00,000. For incorporation with authorised capital of ₹1 lakh, the total stamp duty is approximately ₹700; for authorised capital of ₹10 lakh, approximately ₹5,200; for authorised capital of ₹1 crore, approximately ₹50,200. The duty is paid through the SPICe+ integrated module to the Tamil Nadu Treasury. Where additional places of business are in Tamil Nadu, no further State-specific stamp duty is triggered at the incorporation stage — INC-22 changes attract a flat ₹100 duty.
Comparison across major States
Stamp duty rates vary significantly across States. Maharashtra charges 0.2% of authorised capital with a minimum of ₹1,000 (no cap), making it one of the most expensive States for high-authorised-capital incorporations. Karnataka charges ₹500 on MOA and ₹500 on AOA, plus 0.5% on authorised capital subject to ₹1 crore cap. Delhi charges ₹200 on MOA and 0.15% on authorised capital with no cap. Gujarat charges 0.5% with ₹2,000 minimum and ₹50,000 cap on AOA. Kerala charges 0.5% with ₹3,000 minimum. The choice of registered office State affects the stamp-duty cost at incorporation and at every subsequent authorised-capital increase. For high-capital incorporations, the differential can run to lakhs of rupees and is a legitimate consideration in State selection alongside commercial factors.
Post-incorporation compliance — PAN TAN GST
EPFO ESIC PT and Shop & Establishment
Beyond PAN, TAN and GSTIN, post-incorporation compliances include EPFO Establishment Code activation (mandatory from twenty employees under EPF & MP Act 1952), ESIC Code activation (mandatory from ten employees in covered areas under ESI Act 1948), Profession Tax registration in States other than those integrated in AGILE-PRO-S, Shop and Establishment registration under the State Shops and Establishments Act (Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments Act 1947, with online registration through the Labour Department portal), Labour Welfare Fund contribution registration (annual in Tamil Nadu), MSME registration through Udyam portal (optional but commonly opted for benefits under MSMED Act 2006), and sectoral licences as applicable (FSSAI, Drug Licence, IEC, BIS, etc.). The order of obtaining these depends on the business activity and the time horizon to commencement.
PAN and TAN through SPICe+
PAN under Section 139A of the Income Tax Act 1961 and TAN under Section 203A are allotted automatically along with the Certificate of Incorporation through the SPICe+ integration with the Income Tax Department's PAN / TAN systems. The PAN is the company's identifier for all income-tax filings, including ITR-6 annual returns, advance tax instalments under Section 211, TDS deduction obligations, and assessment proceedings. The TAN is required for deducting tax at source under Chapter XVII-B, filing quarterly TDS returns (Form 24Q for salaries, 26Q for non-salary domestic, 27Q for non-resident, 27EQ for TCS), and issuing TDS certificates (Form 16 / 16A). PAN and TAN are typically generated within forty-eight hours of the Certificate of Incorporation issuance.
GSTIN allotment timeline and obligations
Where GSTIN is opted-in through AGILE-PRO-S, the GSTIN is allotted by GSTN within three to fifteen working days. From the date of GSTIN allotment, the company is liable to file monthly returns — GSTR-1 by the eleventh of the following month (or quarterly under QRMP scheme if turnover under ₹5 crore), GSTR-3B by the twentieth of the following month, and the annual return GSTR-9 by 31 December of the following financial year (where turnover exceeds ₹2 crore, with reconciliation statement GSTR-9C signed by a CA / CMA where turnover exceeds ₹5 crore). The first invoice must be issued only after the GSTIN is allotted; pre-GSTIN invoices cannot bear a GSTIN and ITC pass-through is broken. Companies opting out of GSTIN at AGILE stage can apply separately when needed.
What Perungudi clients usually ask next: On the ground in Perungudi, 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 Perungudi IT-services firms managing export-LUT cycles alongside payroll and TDS.