The effective income tax rates on domestic companies are as under:-

** For availing the above special income tax rates following conditions should be met:-

• The company should be a newly registered domestic company that should not be formed due to any splitting up or reconstruction of existing business.
• The company should be eligible and should have opted under Section 115BAA (for non-manufacturing entities) or 115BAB (for manufacturing entities) of the Income Tax Act, 1961

Usually, it takes 5 to 7 days for company incorporation. Still, the same depends on the completeness of the information and documents provided to us and upon the workload at the registrar's office.

No, registration of a new company is an entirely online process involving the filing of all the documents with the registrar of companies electronically; thus, physical presence is not required. We only need scanned copies of all the required documents & forms.

It means that the company is a separate person from its owners (shareholders), which can hold property, have assets & liabilities, file & defend cases and therefore, a company is also called an artificial person in the eyes of the law.

What's in the name is not truly the case when it comes to a business name. Thus it becomes essential to have a name which apart from other factors is relevant, indicative of the company's line of business and catchy.

The Ministry of Corporate affairs has complete guidelines for the approval of names by the registrar of companies. The most important one being that the proposed name should not be similar to the name of any other registered company / LLP or any registered trademark. Also, the name should end with the words "private limited" in case of a private limited company.

Further, there are certain subjective conditions/restrictions on name availability which are subject to the interpretation of the concerned officer handling the case at the registrar's office.

We will do a comprehensive search on the names provided by you to check their availability in the relevant databases. Thus, we recommend you to provide us with 3-4 alternatives. 

Furthermore, in case the name has already been taken, don't worry it's not compulsory to have your company name and brand name the same; you can keep your brand name and company name different but do make sure the brand name which you are finalizing is also not a trademark of any other person.

A Memorandum of Association (MOA) is a document that records the intent of persons coming together to form a company and subscribe to the company's initial capital. MOA also contains the name of the company, the business objects (i.e. what business the company can and will do in future), the registered office clause (in which state the company's registered office will be situated), and the company's authorized capital. 

 Articles of Association (AOA) is a document which contains internal rules & regulations relating to governance of the company. A company can either adopt the standard format of AOA or make its own regulations, which cannot be beyond the provisions mentioned in the Companies Act, 2013.

A digital signature certificate (DSC) is an electronic signature issued in a token under the provisions Information Technology Act 2000, which helps the DSC holder to sign documents digitally. A document containing a digital signature is considered a validly signed document and does not require physical signatures.

As the name indicates, Director Identification Number (DIN) is a unique number allotted to every person who is, has been, or is proposed to be Director. In case of LLPs, their designated partners are also required to obtain DIN. It is issued to the applicant either along with the incorporation of a company / LLP or while intending to become a Director in an existing company / Designated Partner in an existing LLP.

The authorized capital is the maximum limit up to which the company is authorized to raise capital by issuing shares.

The Paid-up capital is the total amount paid by all the shareholders on the date shares are issued by the company.

There are no minimum paid-up capital criteria for registering your private limited company. The capital with which the company started should ideally depend upon the initial requirements based on the business plan.

The business which a company can carry out is mentioned in the object clause of the MOA of the Company.

Yes, a company can carry out multiple businesses, in case while filing the incorporation application; the object clause contains numerous businesses and the same is approved by the office of the registrar of companies. However, it is generally seen that if the said multiple businesses are not related to the same industry, then approval is not given by the office of the registrar of companies.

Scan copy of following documents are required for each of the proposed Director and Shareholder:-

1. Photograph – Latest Passport size 

2. Identity Proof 1 – PAN Card (Compulsory for Indian Nationals) or Passport (For Foreign Nationals)

3. Identity Proof 2 – AADHAR Card / Driving License / Passport / Voter ID (any one)

4. Address Proof – Latest Bank Statement / Electricity / Phone Bill (any one), containing complete address and name of the ID holder

Also, Scan copies of the following documents are required for Registered Office:-

1. Registered Office Address Proof 1 – Latest Electricity / Phone Bill (any one) in the name of the property owner

2. Registered Office Address Proof 2 – NOC from the property owner or taken on rent then rent agreement

Every private limited company post-incorporation has to comply with the following post-incorporation compliances:-

• Immediate basis – 
•  Outside every office – Name and Registered Office address in English and in the local language.
• On every bill, letter, notice etc. – Name, Registered Office address, CIN, Telephone Number, E-mail ID. If the company has a website, then the web address also needs to be mentioned.

• Within 15 days of Incorporation - Establish the Registered Office. 
• Within 30 days of Incorporation – 
• Obtain Disclosure of interest (form MBP-1) – from every Director before the 1st Board meeting 
• Hold 1st Board of Director's meeting to proceed with:- 
• Appointment of a statutory auditor 
• Opening of Bank A/c of the Company 
• Other agenda's like obtaining necessary licenses for the business.

• Within 60 days of Incorporation – 
• Shareholders to deposit in the company's bank A/C the share capital amount subscribed by them in MOA. 
• Issue share certificates to the shareholders

• Within 180 days of Incorporation – 
• File declaration of commencement of business in e-form INC-20A. 
• After filing this form with ROC, the company can commence business and borrow money. 

Note: the above indicates only one-time post-incorporation compliances; apart from this there are other routine and ongoing compliances also.

Apart from any sector-specific laws & their compliances, the basic routine compliances applicable to private limited companies can be divided into 3 (three) categories: accounting & auditing, statutory returns (TDS, GST & ITR) and ROC compliances.

Assuming that there are no other statutory registrations, licenses or sector-specific compliances and that all the compliances mentioned in the above three basic categories are done in a timely manner, the annual compliance cost to run a private company should range between Rs. 36,000 to Rs. 48,000 at the minimum.

Yes, every company must get its accounts audited irrespective of whether there was no business done, no profit etc.

An individual who is above the age of 18 after obtaining DIN (director identification number) can become a director in a company.

A private limited company should have a minimum of 2 (two) and can have a maximum of 15 (fifteen) directors. However, the maximum limit can be increased by taking 3/4th majority approval (special resolution) of shareholders.

NRIs and foreign nationals can also become a director in a company subject to attaining the age of 18 and obtaining a DIN number.

There is no restriction under the law regarding a person in employment becoming a director in a company. However, it is suggested that you go through the terms of employment also to check if any restriction on becoming a director / carrying on any business is mentioned or not.

Any individual (Indian or foreign national), Company, LLP, other body corporates, registered society, or HUF (through its Karta) can become a shareholder in a company. A partnership firm cannot become a shareholder; however, the partners can jointly hold shares in their name.

A private limited company should have a minimum of 2 (two) and can have a maximum of 200 (two hundred) shareholders.

Yes, if you don’t have any other person to join you in your business and since a private limited company needs to have a minimum of 2 directors and shareholders, you can involve your family member for the same.

A registered office is an address designated as the company's official address for receiving all communications from government departments, statutory authorities, shareholders, directors, and others. Also, all the records and papers relating to the company need to be maintained at this registered office address only.

Yes, there is no such requirement of having a commercial space for a company's registered office.

Yes, an LLP or a partnership firm can be converted into a company.

No, a sole proprietorship cannot be converted into a private limited company. However, after incorporating a new company, you can take over the running business of your sole-proprietorship firm in the company.

Yes, a private limited company can be converted into LLP