A Public Limited Company under Company Act 2013 is a company that has limited liability and offers shares to the general public. It’s stock can be acquired by anyone, either privately through (IPO) initial public offering or via trades on the stock market. A Public Limited Company is strictly regulated and is required to publish its true financial health to its shareholders.
A Public Limited Company is defined under Section 2(71) of the Companies Act, 2013 as:
Note : Under the Companies Act, 2013, a subsidiary company shall be deemed to be a public company if it is not a subsidiary to a private company, even if it is a private company as per its articles.
Minimum Paid-up share Capital | INR 5 lakhs |
Minimum number of Directors | 3 |
Maximum number of Directors | 50 |
Minimum number of Shareholders | 7 |
Maximum number of Shareholders | No Limit |
It is necessary that all the documents pertaining to registration of a Public Limited Company are in order to avoid any legal complications later on.
There are various rules and regulations prescribed under the companies act, 2013 for the formation of a public limited company. Here is what you should keep in mind when registering a public limited company:
In India, a Trust is controlled by the trustees mentioned in the Trust Deed. Section 8 Company will be governed by the Board of Directors, similar to a Private Limited Company.
During the process of incorporation, the DSC is obtained for the proposed directors. The following documents must be submitted.
1. PAN or Aadhar card.
2. Drivers License/ Passport/ Election ID/ Government Issued ID.
After submitting these documents, the applicant must complete an OTP and eKYC procedure to obtain a DSC in their name.
A Public Limited Company is considered as a separate legal entity from its shareholders. It has a perpetual existence and can have its own PAN, bank accounts, approvals, contracts, licenses, assets and liabilities.
Public Limited Company can raise funds from individuals as well as from financial institutions. The funds may be raised via equity shareholding, preference shareholding or debentures.
This is one of the biggest advantages of a Public Limited Company. The shares can be easily transferred by a shareholder to other legal entities – be it an individual or an organization, in India or abroad. The directorship of the company can also be changed for ensuring business perpetuity.
The shareholders of a Public Limited Company are given Limited Liability Protection. In a situation of unexpected liability, the same would be limited only to the company and not affect the shareholders.
To incorporate a Limited Company, a minimum of seven people are required. A Limited Company must have a minimum of three Directors and seven shareholders.
The Director needs to be over 18 years of age and must be a natural person. There are no limitations in terms of citizenship or residency. Therefore, even foreign nationals can be Directors in a Indian Private Limited Company.
You can start a Limited Company with any amount of capital. However, fee must be paid to the Government for issuing a minimum of shares worth Rs.5 lakhs [Authorized Capital Fee] during the incorporation of the Company. There is no requirement to show proof of capital invested during the incorporation process.
An address in India where the registered office of the Company will be situated is required. The premises can be a commercial / industrial / residential where communication from the MCA will be received.
No, you will not have to be present at our office or appear at any office for the incorporation of a Limited Company. All the documents can be scanned and sent through email to our office. Some documents will also have to be couriered to our office.
Identity proof and address proof is mandatory for all the proposed Directors of the Company. PAN Card is mandatory for Indian Nationals. In addition, the landlord of the registered office premises must provide a No Objection Certificate for having the registered office in his/her premises and must submit his/her identity proof and address proof.
The time taken for incorporation will depend on submission of relevant documents by the client and speed of Government Approvals. To ensure speedy incorporation, please choose a unique name for your Company and ensure you have all the required documents prior to starting the incorporation process.
Once a Company is incorporated, it will be active and in-existence as long as the annual compliances are met with regularly. In case, annual compliances are not complied with, the Company will become a Dormant Company and maybe struck off from the register after a period of time. A struck-off Company can be revived for a period of upto 20 years
Director Identification Number is a unique identification number assigned to all existing and proposed Directors of a Company. It is mandatory for all present or proposed Directors to have a Director Identification Number. Director Identification Number never expires and a person can have only one Director Identification Number.
Authorized capital of a Company is the amount of shares a company can issue to it shareholders. Companies have to pay the Government an authorized capital fee to issue shares in a Company. Companies have to pay authorized capital fee for a minimum of Rs.5 lakhs.
A limited company must hold a Board Meeting atleast once in every 3 months. In addition to the Board Meetings, an Annual General Meeting must be conducted by the Private Limited Company, atleast once every year.
Yes, a NRI or Foreign National can be a Director in a Limited Company after obtaining Director Identification Number. However, atleast one Director on the Board of Directors must be a Resident India.
Yes, NRIs / Foreign Nationals / Foreign Companies can hold shares of a Limited Company subject to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Guidelines.
100% Foreign Direct Investment is allowed in India in many of the industries under the Automatic Route. Under the Automatic Route, only a post-investment filing is necessary with the RBI indicating the nature of investment made. There are a few industries that require prior approval from the RBI, in such cases, approval must first be obtained from RBI prior to investment.