Expert Guide
A complete walkthrough — Pvt Limited Registration
Localised for Velachery, 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 Velachery, in the it residential retail mall hub micro-market of Velachery; Velachery 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
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.
Distinction from One Person Company and LLP
Section 2(68) defines a Private Limited as a company having a minimum paid-up share capital as may be prescribed and which by its articles restricts the right to transfer its shares, limits the number of members to two hundred (excluding present and former employee-members) and prohibits any invitation to the public to subscribe for any securities. The OPC under Section 2(62) is a company with only one person as member — a sub-form of Private Limited but with restrictions on conversion above turnover / capital thresholds under Rule 6 of the Incorporation Rules. The LLP under the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2008 is a hybrid form with partner-based governance under the LLP Agreement, no minimum capital, and a simpler annual filing regime under Form 8 and Form 11. The choice among Private Limited, OPC and LLP turns on the number of promoters, the need for ESOP issuance, contemplation of external investment under Section 42, and the comfort with annual compliance cost.
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.
Share capital structure design
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.
Authorised subscribed and paid-up capital
The Companies Act 2013 retains the three-tier capital structure inherited from the 1956 Act — authorised, subscribed, paid-up. The authorised capital is the maximum capital the company can raise without amending the MOA under Section 13 and 61. The subscribed capital is the portion that subscribers have committed to take. The paid-up capital is the portion actually paid by subscribers. The Companies (Amendment) Act 2015 removed the ₹1 lakh minimum paid-up capital for Private Limiteds (and ₹5 lakh for Public Limiteds), making the choice of paid-up capital a commercial decision. The face value per share is also unconstrained — ₹10 is conventional but ₹1, ₹100 and other denominations are equally valid. The authorised capital determines the SPICe+ stamp duty under State Stamp Acts and the initial MCA fee.
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.
Stamp duty on incorporation by State
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 stamp duty events
Beyond incorporation, several events trigger State stamp duty: increase in authorised capital under Section 61 (additional duty on the incremental amount, paid with SH-7); issuance of share certificates under Section 56 and Rule 6 of the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules 2014 (stamp duty under Article 19 of the Stamp Act, typically ₹1 per ₹1,000 of share value, payable within thirty days of issuance); transfer of shares (stamp duty at 0.015% of consideration or value, whichever is higher, under the Indian Stamp (Amendment) Act 2019 read with the Indian Stamp (Collection of Stamp-duty through Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories) Rules 2019 — applies through the depository for demat shares); issuance of debentures (0.005% of face value); and registration of charges (varies 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.
Post-incorporation compliance — PAN TAN GST
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.
Section 10A commencement declaration
Section 10A inserted by the Companies (Amendment) Act 2019 requires every company incorporated after 2 November 2018 having a share capital to file a declaration of commencement of business in Form INC-20A within 180 days of incorporation. The declaration is filed by a director and certified by a practising professional confirming that every subscriber to the memorandum has paid the value of shares agreed to be taken by him on the date of making of such declaration, and that the company has filed with the Registrar verification of its registered office in INC-22. Non-filing attracts a penalty of ₹50,000 on the company and ₹1,000 per day on every officer in default up to ₹1 lakh. The Registrar can also strike off the company under Section 248(1)(b) for non-filing.
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.
What Velachery clients usually ask next: For Velachery engagements specifically — 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 Velachery IT-services firms managing export-LUT cycles alongside payroll and TDS.